Escrow (Depósito en Garantía / Cuenta de Plica)
Escrow is a neutral third-party account that holds a buyer's funds until all closing conditions are met, then releases them to the seller. Escrow is not legally required in Mexico and is not a standardized system as in the United States or Canada, but it is strongly recommended for foreign buyers.
By Daniel Ortega · Last reviewed 10 November 2026
How it works
In Mexico, escrow protects buyers by holding the deposit (typically 5 to 10 percent of the purchase price) in a segregated account until the escritura pública is signed, title is clear and all contractual conditions are satisfied. Unlike in the United States, Mexican attorneys, notaries and real estate agents are not legally authorized to hold client funds in trust, so most cross-border transactions use US-based or Canadian escrow companies that hold funds outside the Mexican banking system under US or Canadian regulations. Escrow fees range from USD 450 to 3,000, either as a flat fee or 0.2 to 0.5 percent of the purchase price, and are typically paid by the buyer or split between buyer and seller. The escrow agreement signed by all parties specifies the exact conditions for fund release and dispute resolution. In Spanish, escrow is called cuenta de plica or depósito en garantía (though the latter more commonly refers to rental security deposits). The Federal Civil Code defines the legal framework for depósito contracts in Articles 2516 and 2522, requiring the depositario to guard the funds and return them when conditions are met.