Guidance

Mexico: Knowledge Base profile

Published 8 May 2025

Version 4.0

About: Mexico

This document contains useful information about Mexico which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff to process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 4.0
• published for Home Office staff on 14 January 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Mexico: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Mexico.

Names in Mexico consist of:

• forenames
• 2 surnames:
  • where parents are married - father’s first surname and mother’s first surname 
  • where the parents are not married and the father recognises the child – father’s first surname and mother’s first surname
  • where the parents are not married and the father does not recognise the child - both of the mother’s surnames

Since 2017 Mexico allows parents to choose the order of the surnames, so there are children with the mother’s surname first.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed. 

A married woman’s surname can either be:

• father’s first surname and then husband’s first surname; or
• her maiden surnames followed by “de” and her husband’s surnames

Other name changes can only be done in exceptional circumstances including:

• name change through adoption – if adopted under a full or simple adoption the child can have their name changed
• name change through revoked adoption – if adopted under a simple adoption which is then revoked, the child’s name can revert back to the birth name
• Mexico nationals who were born and registered outside of Mexico under another country’s legislation can change their name.
  • these name changes can only be applied for through a court in Mexico approved by a judge

 

Name alignment

HM Passport Office will not ask a customer to align their passport unless the name change meets one of the exceptional circumstances above.

Mexico: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Mexico.

Dual nationality is recognised in Mexico.

Mexico: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Mexico.

Legitimacy

Mexico recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. A child is:

• legitimate if the parents were:
  • married at the time of the birth
  • not married at the time of birth but the father recognises the child as his own and the birth is registered (or re-registered) to include the father’s details
• illegitimate if the parents never marry and the father does not recognise the child as his own

 

Parental responsibility

Both parents have parental responsibility unless ordered by the courts.

Mexico: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Mexico.

Adoption is legal in Mexico.

There are two types of adoption in Mexico, these are:

• full adoption (Adopción Plena) – this cannot be revoked
• simple adoption (Adopción Simple) – this can be revoked

The adoption certificate will confirm if it is a full adoption or a simple adoption.

Mexico: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Mexico.

Surrogacy is legal in Mexico.

Mexico: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Mexico.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Mexico.

Mexico: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Mexico.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriages are legal in Mexico.

Only civil marriages are recognised in Mexico, these are conducted by a civil judge.

 

Mexico: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Mexico.

  There is a central registry of births, marriages or deaths in Mexico. Each state issues their own version of birth, marriage and death certificates and the designs vary.

 

Birth certificates

Birth registration in Mexico is open ended, there is not a set period of time when a birth should be registered.

Hospital notification records do exist, and these are used to get a birth certificate. Hospital notifications can be obtained from the registry office or the hospital.

Marriage certificates

Marriages are registered immediately.