What are the steps to register a nonprofit civil association in Mexico and obtain tax-exempt status?

Hello. Yes — we’ve set up Mexican Asociaciones Civiles and obtained donataria autorizada status before SAT, so we can definitely help you navigate this process and obtain full legal status.

In general terms, you will need to:

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  Incorporate the A.C. before a Mexican notary with properly drafted bylaws and a lawful, non-profit purpose, then register it and obtain an RFC with SAT.

  
  


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  Align the corporate purpose with the charitable categories that SAT recognizes for tax-deductible donations (e.g., education, health, social assistance, culture, environment, etc.).

  
  


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  Apply to SAT for donataria authorization, submitting corporate documents, tax registration, and supporting evidence, and responding to clarification requests.

  
  


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  Comply with annual obligations, including tax and information returns as a donataria, and transparency/reporting duties on SAT’s public portal.

  
  

Typical timelines (very approximate):

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  Incorporation and initial registrations: about 3–5 weeks.

  
  


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  Donataria authorization: often 3–6 months, depending on SAT and how clean the file is.

  
  

A key legal point is that not every project qualifies. Everything must be built around the organization’s giro (purpose and activities), so the first step is to define that correctly.

What will be the main purpose and activities of your A.C.? Once that is clear, the legal structure, wording of the bylaws, and the donataria strategy can be tailored to fit Mexican law and SAT criteria.

Warm regards,
Attorneys at Law