Requirements to Open a Restaurant in Mexico: CDMX and Monterrey

What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Mexico?

There's no single permit: to open a restaurant in Mexico you file with the city or borough, the health authority, the tax authority (SAT) and the social security institute (IMSS), and the local part changes from city to city. The federal registrations are the same everywhere; land use, the operating license, civil protection and alcohol depend on the address. So we follow two cities end to end, Mexico City (CDMX) and Monterrey.

Everything is in Spanish: the laws, the forms and the online portals. The names below are the official ones, with a plain translation the first time they appear.

The food-safety standard NOM-251-SSA1-2009 isn't something you file; you comply with it from day one. What it requires is in the NOM-251 guide.

Does a restaurant need the COFEPRIS notice of operation?

Most likely yes, but confirm it with your state's health authority, because the list of activities that must file sits in a Secretaría de Salud order we couldn't read in its current version. The basis is article 200 Bis of the Ley General de Salud: establishments that don't need a sanitary authorization, and that the Secretaría de Salud lists by an order published in the Diario Oficial, must file an operating notice.

The notice is filed in writing with the Secretaría de Salud or your state government at least 30 days before you start. It carries the owner and establishment details, the processes and product lines, the sanitary manager's credential "when applicable" and a statement, under oath ("bajo protesta de decir verdad"), that you comply with the applicable rules (sections I to VI).

Here's why we think a restaurant is covered. The official instructions for the form say the notice is for "a new establishment or a new branch," and its category COFEPRIS-05-018 covers establishments with one or more food and beverage processes. The law defines a process to include preparation and the "expendio o suministro al público," meaning sale or supply to the public (article 197). That's our reading of the instructions, not the order's list.

We couldn't confirm what the filing costs, how long the answer takes or whether your restaurant's activity code is in the current order, and we won't guess. Ask the health office in your state and keep the receipt.

It's a notice, not an approval: the compliance statement is yours (section IV), and what backs it up is meeting NOM-251 from day one. Once you're open, article 202 gives you 30 business days to report a change of owner, company name or address, new product lines or a suspension.

How do land use and civil protection work in Mexico City and Monterrey?

In Mexico City you open with an online operating notice that requires the land-use zoning certificate and compliance with civil protection measures; in Monterrey you need a municipal license that authorizes use of the building, with a civil protection sign-off among its documents.

Mexico City

Restaurants are 'impacto vecinal' businesses (article 19, section II of the LEM), so they don't need prior permission: you file a notice in the SIAPEM system with your Llave CDMX login, fill in form EM-11, pay with a payment reference and download the notice. The procedure sheet says "resolución inmediata" (immediate resolution) and a validity of 3 years.

Article 31 lists what you declare: your details, ownership or possession of the property, location and surface area, the business type, the land-use zoning certificate, parking spaces, capacity, the safety and operation approval (Visto Bueno de Seguridad y Operación), proof of no unpaid property tax and water bills, and the fee payment. The law and the sheet differ on one point: the law lists the approval with no condition (section X), while the sheet asks for it "if the capacity is over 50 people or the business type requires it." If your capacity is near 50, ask before assuming you don't need it.

Once the requirements and the civil protection rules are met, finishing the notice in the system counts as filing it and the owner can start operating (last paragraph of article 31). Get the zoning certificate before you sign the lease: without it the notice doesn't move.

For civil protection, a risk questionnaire classifies your venue (article 39 of the Reglamento de la Ley de Gestión Integral de Riesgos). With a capacity under 100 people and/or under 250 m² of construction it's low risk and needs no Programa Interno (article 56 TER), but you still meet the measures in article 64 of the law: fire extinguishers with signage, a first-aid kit, evacuation route signs, waste storage, trained staff and an emergency directory. Article 56 BIS adds using the venue only for its authorized business type, avoiding crowds at entrances and exits and attending the drills the authority calls. At medium or high risk, a ROPC registers the Programa Interno within 120 or 90 calendar days of opening.

Monterrey

The building-use license authorizes use of the property for the functions you ask for (article 158 of the Reglamento de Zonificación y Uso de Suelo), and a different use needs a new one (article 159). Its documents include the title or proof of your interest in the property, current property tax, plans, photographs, the street alignment and the "visto bueno de la Dirección de Protección Civil competente" (article 162, section XI).

If the lot is vacant or built but unused, the procedure is the land-use license (article 160 BIS; sheet P-SDU-DEC-03). Ask at the urban development counter which one applies to you before you pay a fixer.

For civil protection, the municipal regulation asks for an opinion for commercial establishments when you apply for the land-use license: at most 1,500 m² of construction and a favorable visit to the property (articles 57 Bis IV and VI). Once you operate, you need first-aid, fire, evacuation and search-and-rescue teams, and at least two drills a year (article 81). With 10 employees or fewer, an emergency procedures manual valid for one year is required (article 83); the department has 45 business days to register or reject a Programa Interno (article 85). We read the 2021-2024 versions published by the city, so check that they haven't changed.

What do the SAT, IMSS and labor law require of a new restaurant?

You need to register with the RFC and hold an e.firma, a digital seal certificate to issue invoices, an employer registration at IMSS and written employment terms.

SAT. The Código Fiscal de la Federación requires you to register in the RFC if you'll file periodic returns or issue tax receipts (article 27, part A, section I). Part B adds reporting changes of address and tax status, naming your tax address and getting the e.firma; a company also keeps a shareholder ledger with each partner's RFC. To invoice, article 29 requires CFDI invoices issued through the SAT, with a valid e.firma and a digital seal certificate. Prepared food for eating on site, takeaway or delivery carries 16% VAT (article 2-A, last paragraph, of the Ley del IVA).

IMSS. Article 15, section I of the Ley del Seguro Social requires you to register yourself and your workers and to report hires, terminations and salary changes within 5 business days. Section II tells you to keep payroll records for 5 years. The employer registration for companies (form IMSS-02-001-C) is free, is done online with an e.firma and is treated as a notice, with no resolution from IMSS.

Labor law. Without a collective agreement, the Ley Federal del Trabajo requires the employment terms in writing, in two copies (article 24), with the details in article 25: among others, name, CURP, RFC, type of relationship, schedule, salary and payment date. If you don't have it signed, the worker doesn't lose any rights and the omission is held against the employer (article 26). Article 804 requires you to keep contracts, payroll receipts, attendance records and proof of profit-sharing (PTU), vacation and year-end bonus payments. Tips have their own rules, in the tips guide.

How long do the permits take and what do they cost?

The Mexico City notice resolves immediately and costs from $14,277 MXN for the first 50 m² of construction, the Monterrey license has a legal deadline of 21 business days and the health notice goes in 30 days before you open; we couldn't confirm the total cost of all the filings in either city.

In Monterrey the regulation and the city's own sheet disagree (21 against 10 business days). Plan with the longer one and leave room for a correction request: the city has 15 business days to ask you for fixes and you have 20 to make them. If it doesn't resolve in time, the negativa ficta applies, which means the request is treated as denied (article 191).

The 2026 Mexico City Código Fiscal (article 191, section I) charges the notice by square meter of construction: $14,277 for the first 50, plus $286 per square meter from 50 to 100 and $572 per square meter from 100 to 300, adding up the earlier tiers; past 300 m², the sum of all three. This table is our reading, and the payment reference SIAPEM gives you is the number that counts:

Two cautions. Section I says "Permiso" (permit), but the procedure sheet points to that same section for the notice, and the sheet still shows the 2022 amounts ($13,118 for the first 50 m²), a sign that they change every year. The same article sets $2,195 for the notice of a change in surface area (section VI).

We found no verifiable figure for the health notice, for the Monterrey license fees or for the fees of a fixer or a ROPC. Ask for a written quote and compare it with the official payment reference.

What changes when you open a second location?

Almost everything repeats per location: each branch needs its own land use, its own notice or license, its own civil protection review and its own health notice; what you share is the company, the RFC and the e.firma.

The Mexico City notice is filed per establishment, with its location, surface area and business type (article 31), and revalidated under its own unique key (article 32). The health instructions speak of "a new branch." For invoicing, article 29 of the Código Fiscal de la Federación lets you use the same digital seal certificate for all establishments or one for each. We didn't confirm whether IMSS requires a new employer registration per branch; ask before you hire the team.

Two locations are two calendars. Each notice expires 3 years from its own date, and in Monterrey the alcohol clearance is revalidated every year by February 28. Write each expiry on a shared calendar with one person responsible.

In the DENUE, Mexico's national business directory, 73.3% of the groups running 2 to 15 locations under a company name (at least 875) operate in a single state, per our Mexico restaurant industry data. That usually means the same health authority but not the same file: each address starts its own with its municipality or borough. The full opening sequence is in the guide to opening a second location.

Multi-unit

New Restaurant Location Opening Checklist

A 120-days-out-to-day-30 opening timeline for a group's next location: permits, hiring, a break-even model and a soft-open plan, in English and Spanish.

PDFExcel

What if you're going to sell alcohol?

The procedure changes by city: in Mexico City a restaurant sells alcohol as part of its impacto vecinal business type, and in Monterrey you need the city's clearance (anuencia) and then the state license.

In Mexico City, article 21 of the LEM says a restaurant's main activity is selling prepared food and, as a complement, alcoholic drinks, and that this doesn't "in any circumstance" mean providing services of a zonal-impact business without the corresponding permit. You can't serve alcohol to anyone without a table or an assigned place. Article 24, letter b, sets permanent service and alcohol sales from 9:00 to 2:00 the next day.

In Monterrey, the alcohol regulation requires the municipal clearance as a prerequisite for the license (article 27), and the licenses are issued by Nuevo León state authorities (article 28). For the clearance, property tax must be current and the venue must sit 400 meters or more from schools, churches, temples, hospitals, clinics and health centers, with the exceptions in article 24 of the state law (article 30). Check that distance before you sign the lease. The Comisión de Espectáculos y Alcoholes has 30 business days to rule, and no answer means denied (article 33). The clearance lasts a year and is revalidated by February 28 (article 30 Bis).

Where Restaurant Codex fits

Restaurant Codex doesn't file permits or track your expiry dates; that stays with your fixer or accountant. What it does is hold, location by location, what you declared when you opened.

Operations schedules opening and closing lists, temperature logs and deep cleans per location, with photo proof and alerts when something isn't done. The Knowledge Base holds the procedures and the house manual, and Codex Bot answers staff from what you wrote. If you're heading for a second location, look at software for multi-location restaurants and the guide to running a restaurant group.