CRYPTO LAW PROFILE

Mexico LFPIORPI General Rules

Mexico’s LFPIORPI General Rules set AML procedures for vulnerable activities, including registration, customer identification, UIF notices via SAT, and virtual asset provider registration.

MXMexicoEffective§ RegulationEffective 2013-09-01
IDENTIFIERAcuerdo 02/2013; Acuerdo 09/2014; Acuerdo 126/2020
ENACTED2013-08-23
LAST VERIFIED2026-06-30
SUMMARY

At a glance

Status

In force in Mexico; SAT/UIF criteria say existing rules continue until updated.

Scope

Dormancy

Administrator

LEGISLATIVE RECORD

Bill details

Bill number
Session
Chamber
Legislative stageEffective
LATEST ACTION
SPONSOR
SOURCESAT / SHCPAcuerdo 02/2013; Acuerdo 09/2014; Acuerdo 126/2020Official bill page ↗
EXPLAINER

Overview

Mexico’s Reglas de Carácter General a que se refiere la LFPIORPI are the administrative rules issued by the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público for the Federal Law for the Prevention and Identification of Operations with Illicit Proceeds. The rules were published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on Aug. 23, 2013, took effect on Sept. 1, 2013, and remain in force as part of Mexico’s AML framework for “Actividades Vulnerables,” including the virtual asset activity added to the law.

The rules do not operate as a standalone crypto statute. They provide the operational layer for the LFPIORPI and its Reglamento: registration, customer identification, notices and reports, electronic filing through the SAT prevention portal, record handling, use of designated compliance representatives, and procedures for specific vulnerable activities. It is therefore best categorized as a regulation and AML/CFT implementation instrument rather than a market-access license or investor-protection regime.

Key provisions of the LFPIORPI General Rules

Administrative scope

The rules set minimum measures and procedures for persons that carry out vulnerable activities under article 17 of the LFPIORPI. They also establish the terms and modalities for notices to the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, submitted through the Servicio de Administración Tributaria. In practice, the rules are the bridge between statutory AML duties and the SAT systems used to register, file and receive communications.

Registration, notices and customer identification

Entities or individuals carrying out covered vulnerable activities must register through the prevention portal, maintain identifying information, and submit notices or zero-activity reports when the law and forms require them. The framework also ties customer and beneficial-owner information to the identification files and official formats that accompany the rules and related resolutions.

Virtual asset provider layer

Acuerdo 126/2020 added a Chapter II Bis for those operating with virtual assets. It requires additional pre-registration documentation for persons carrying out the vulnerable activity in article 17, fraction XVI, including corporate documents, ownership information, operating websites, legal representative data, and update obligations. This layer is separate from financial-entity regulation under Mexico’s fintech law and applies to non-financial persons that fall within the LFPIORPI definition.

Crypto relevance and jurisdictional impact

For the crypto sector, the rules matter because article 17, fraction XVI of the LFPIORPI treats the habitual and professional exchange of virtual assets by non-financial persons, through electronic or digital platforms, as a vulnerable activity when the legal conditions are met. The statute also references services that custody, store or transfer virtual assets. Mexico’s SAT portal identifies “Proveedores de activos virtuales” as a vulnerable-activity category.

The current statutory text sets UMA-based notice thresholds for virtual asset operations and service fees. The SAT threshold page presents identification as “always” for virtual asset operations and lists notice thresholds in UMA and Mexican pesos. These thresholds should be reviewed against the current official SAT page before publication because peso equivalents change with the UMA value.

Status and implementation timeline

As of June 30, 2026, the LFPIORPI General Rules are in force. The SAT/UIF criteria published after the July 2025 LFPIORPI reform state that the existing Reglamento and General Rules should continue to be observed until updated. The 2025 reform also requires SHCP, with SAT’s opinion, to modify the General Rules within twelve months after the reform entered into force, and leaves the effective dates for new article 18 obligations on risk assessments, internal policies, training, monitoring and audits to future rule amendments.

This profile uses June 30, 2026 as the verification date and should be reviewed when SHCP publishes the pending amendments. Editors should treat it as a profile of the current general-rule instrument, not as a complete profile of the LFPIORPI, the Reglamento, the fintech law, or Banco de México’s virtual asset determinations.

Status and timeline

2013-08-23Original rules published
2013-09-01Rules enter into force
2014-07-242014 amendments published
2020-11-30Virtual asset chapter added
2025-07-17LFPIORPI reform effective
2026-03-28Reglamento reform effective
WHAT IT DOES

Key provisions

Administrative AML procedures

Sets minimum AML procedures and notice modalities for persons carrying out LFPIORPI Article 17 vulnerable activities.

AML/CFTEffective 2013-09-01Source ↗

Portal registration and notices

Requires electronic registration and notices or reports through SAT-controlled systems for covered vulnerable activities.

Licensing & RegistrationEffective 2013-09-01Source ↗

Customer and beneficial-owner identification

Links identification files, customer information, beneficial-owner data and record retention to official formats and rule procedures.

AML/CFTEffective 2013-09-01Source ↗

Virtual asset operator registration

Adds Chapter II Bis requiring extra pre-registration documentation for operators carrying out Article 17 XVI virtual asset activity.

CustodyEffective 2020-11-30Source ↗

Post-2025 rulemaking bridge

Existing rules continue while SHCP prepares updates for new risk, policy, monitoring, training and audit obligations.

AML/CFTEffective 2025-07-17Source ↗
HISTORY

Status and timeline

Original rules published

Acuerdo 02/2013 published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación.

EnactedSource ↗

Rules enter into force

Original transitory provision set Sept. 1, 2013 as the effective date.

In forceSource ↗

2014 amendments published

Acuerdo 09/2014 modified the General Rules.

EnactedSource ↗

Virtual asset chapter added

Acuerdo 126/2020 added Chapter II Bis for virtual asset operators.

In forceSource ↗

LFPIORPI reform effective

2025 decree took effect and required General Rule updates within 12 months.

In forceSource ↗

Reglamento reform effective

Reglamento reform entered force the day after its Mar. 27, 2026 publication.

In forceSource ↗
COVERAGE

Who it affects

Actors

unidad-de-inteligencia-financierasecretaria-de-hacienda-y-credito-publicoservicio-de-administracion-tributariabanco-de-mexico

Asset classes

virtual-assets
PRIMARY REFERENCES

Official sources

RELATED COVERAGE

Coverage

Editorial note

Profile covers the LFPIORPI General Rules as an administrative AML/CFT instrument. It should be reviewed when SHCP publishes post-2025 amendments to the rules.