PUI Law in Mexico City: the federal rule plus extra local requirements
Mexico City is the only jurisdiction with obligations on top of the federal PUI Law. Here we explain the two layers a lodging in Mexico City must meet: the national Single Identity Platform and the local reforms requiring photo ID, vehicle registration, CCTV in common areas and record retention.
What is the PUI Law and why does it apply to all lodging in Mexico?
PUI (the Single Identity Platform) comes from the General Law on Enforced Disappearance of Persons (LGMDFP). Its Article 12 Bis requires every lodging establishment in the country to register guest identity and connect to the federal platform; its Article 43 Bis penalizes non-compliance with a fine of 10,000 to 20,000 UMA per infraction (roughly $1.17 to $2.35 million pesos, with the 2026 daily UMA value of $117.31). Its sole purpose is to help locate people reported missing.
This federal obligation applies equally across the country: hotel, hostel, motel, vacation home or short rental; individual or company; of any size. In Mexico City, there is also a second local layer that no other state has today.
The Mexico City local layer: reforms published December 19, 2025
Mexico City amended its Commercial Establishments Law and its Tourism Law, published December 19, 2025, with full force as of April 18, 2026. These rules are additional to the federal PUI Law and apply only to properties located in Mexico City.
In practice, a lodging in the capital must meet both layers at once: capture identity for the national platform and, separately, keep the local record with photo, vehicle data, video monitoring and document retention that the Mexico City rules require.
The extra LOCAL requirements of Mexico City
Additional to the federal PUI Law. Only for properties in Mexico City.
Photo identification
Record the guest’s photo ID, plus name, address and the entry and exit time of each stay.
Vehicle registration
Record the vehicle’s license plates, along with the driver and the room number assigned to the stay.
CCTV with 90-day retention
Video surveillance (CCTV) in common areas, keeping the recordings for 90 days.
Keep records for 1 year
Retain guest records for at least one year, available to the Mexico City authority.
How the federal layer and the Mexico City layer relate
You don’t choose: in Mexico City they coexist. Here’s the order.
- 1. Identity for the federal platformCapture CURP, name, date of birth and document (INE; or passport/migratory form plus nationality for foreigners) for the Single Identity Platform. This applies across all of Mexico.
- 2. Local record with photo and vehicleIn Mexico City you add photo identification, the address, entry and exit time, and the vehicle’s plates with driver and room.
- 3. Video surveillance and retentionCCTV in common areas with 90-day retention and guest records kept for at least one year.
- 4. Answering when the authority asksThe federal platform works on a query model: the government asks about a specific person when it’s searching, it does not monitor everyone live.