Apostille Mexican Federal and State Criminal Record Certificates for use in the United States and abroad
Isarey provides specialist attestation services in Mexico to authenticate Mexican Police Certificates (Constancia de Antecedentes Penales) with Apostille Stamps and at all major embassies.
Criminal record certificates issued in Mexico can be authenticated for official use in countries which are signatories to the Apostille Convention by obtaining an Apostille stamp. Apostille Stamps on Federal background checks are issued by the Secretary of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación). Apostilles on State background checks are issued by the respective State Authority.
Certificates required for non-apostille countries must also be legalized by the destination country's embassy in Mexico. Non-Apostille countries include: 
Qatar - Kuwait - United Arab Emirates - Taiwan - Vietnam
- Apostilles on Federal criminal record certificates are normally obtained in one working day and delivered worldwide by courier.
Isarey will take care of the entire process for you. We offer individual assistance certifying your documents and a dedicated project manager to ensure that each process is carried out efficiently and securely.
We also provide certified translations into English, French, Portuguese and other languages, so that your certificate is properly legalized and ready to submit in the country where you need to present it. Translations can be certified in Mexico with a second Apostille Stamp, or a translation can be certified locally in the destination country.
How to obtain a Mexican Criminal Record Certificate
There are different types of Criminal Record Certificates issued in Mexico. Check with the requesting authority which certificate(s) they require to show an absence of a criminal record in Mexico:
Federal Criminal Record Certificate (Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales) which records any criminal convictions at a Federal level.
Registry Data Certificate (Constancia de Datos Registrales) which lists any judicial records, including preliminary investigations, involving the applicant.
State Criminal Records (Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Estatales) which record criminal convictions at State level.
Federal Criminal Record Certificate
Federal Certificates are issued by the Secretary of Citizen Security (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública). Certificates are issued as digitally signed PDFs. Certificates are available to Mexican and non-Mexican nationals who require a criminal record certificate for submission to a foreign embassy or consulate. Federal Criminal Record Certificates do not have an expiry date.
To apply online, you need to provide your CURP - Unique Population Registry Code (Clave Única de Registro de Población).
In case of a positive match against a criminal record, Mexican nationals will need to upload a copy of their birth certificate and valid ID. Non-Mexican nationals will need to provide an Apostilled copy of their birth certificate translated into Spanish, passport and FM3 residency visa (tarjeta migratoria)
Federal Registry Data Certificate
Registry Data Certificates or Proof Of Registration Data are issued by the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de la República"). To obtain a Registry Data Certificate, a requesting letter is required from a Mexican
Embassy or Consulate (valid for 30 days). Applicants will also need to provide a recently issued Mexican birth certificate or apostilled foreign birth certificate, proof of legal residence in Mexico (non-nationals) and proof of address. Persons applying from outside Mexico through a representative must provide fingerprints.Applications must be submitted in person to the Dirección General de Control de Procesos Penales Federales in Mexico City or local office of the Procuraduría General de la República elsewhere in Mexico. Applicants not residing in Mexico can submit the application through a representative with power of attorney. The Certificate is valid for 30 days from issue.
State Criminal Record Certificates
As well as a Federal Certificate, each state in Mexico issues state certificates (Constancia de antecedentes penales estatales). If you have been asked to provide a State certificate, an application must be made to the competent state authority, in most cases the Attorney General's Office (Fiscalía General de Justicia) or the Secretariat of Public Security (Secretaría de Seguridad Pública). Depending on the State, applications can be made online, in person or by post.
- State of Mexico (Carta de Antecedentes No Penales) (in Spanish)
- Mexico City (Constancia Digital de No Antecedentes Penales) (in Spanish)
- Jalisco (Constancia de No Antecedentes) (in Spanish)
- Veracruz (Constancia relativa a los antecedentes penales) (in Spanish)
- Guerrero (Carta de No Antecedentes Penales) (in Spanish)
Most authorities requiring criminal record certificates ask for a recent certificate (usually issued within the last three months)
Certified translations of Mexican Criminal Record Certificates
When presenting a Mexican criminal record certificate in a country which does not have Spanish as an official language, then a certified translation may be required. The certified translation must meet the requirements of the destination country, so that a translation done locally in Mexico (unless also certified with an Apostille stamp) may not be valid.
Most Mexican States do not issue Apostilles on certified translations. However, Isarey can arrange translations in Mexico certified with an Apostille from the State of Querétaro, as well as certified and sworn translations in a wide range of destination countries. We'll take care of the entire legalization and translation process, so that your certificates are correctly translated and ready to submit:
- GERMANY: translations into German must be certified by an officially authorized and appointed sworn translator.
- SPAIN: translator must be authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in Spanish) ("Traducción Jurada")
- FRANCE: translations into French must be certified by a translator accredited by a French court of appeal (Cour d'appel)
- ITALY: translations must be authenticated by a Court Clerk or by a Notary Public in Italy
- PORTUGAL: translations into Portuguese can be certified in Portugal by a local notary