Legalización (Consular Legalization)leh-gah-lee-sah-see-OHN
Legalización is the chain authentication of a foreign public document through consular channels, certifying that the signature and seal of the issuing official are genuine. Governed by Federal Civil Procedure Code Articles 130 and 546 and the Reglamento de la Ley del Servicio Exterior Mexicano Articles 83-84, this process is required when the issuing country is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.
By Daniel Ortega · Last reviewed 13 November 2026
How it works
Consular legalization applies when a foreign public document—such as a birth certificate, corporate resolution or notarized contract—must be presented in Mexico and the issuing country is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. The consular officer certifies that the signature or seal on the document matches the specimen registered in consular archives; the certification does not validate the document content itself. For United States and Canadian buyers or investors in Quintana Roo, consular legalization is rarely needed, because both countries are Hague Convention members and documents are authenticated by apostille instead. A common scenario is a power of attorney granted at a local notary in the US or Canada: if the document will be used for a Quintana Roo real-estate transaction, it must carry an apostille issued by the competent state or provincial authority, not consular legalization. Once a Mexican consulate abroad legalizes a document under Article 130 of the Federal Civil Procedure Code, the legalization takes effect in Mexico without further certification by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores. The consular legalization itself does not expire, though the underlying document may have its own validity period.