Mexico family trip pack: three documents, one set of answers

Who this pack is for, and what each document does

It is for a trip where a child travels from the United States to Mexico with an adult who is not a parent, in a vehicle that belongs to someone else, usually a parent who stays home. If a parent travels with the child, you probably need less than this, and if the vehicle is yours and you drive it, you do not need the permission letter.

The travel authorization is the one with the strongest backing. CBP strongly recommends that a child traveling with an adult who is not a parent carry a letter authorizing the trip, naming the custody adults and giving their contact details, and highly advises notarizing it. ^[1] Mexico’s own migration rules about children concern those who leave Mexico, so for a foreign child entering we found no federal letter requirement. ^[2]

The medical authorization covers the gap between emergencies and everything else. In an emergency the General Health Law lets the accompanying relative authorize treatment and, if that is not possible, has the provider act at once to preserve life and health. ^[3] A fever or a sprained ankle is not an emergency, and this document lets the parents name who may consent to routine care, with the child’s allergies, medications and insurance on the same page.

The vehicle letter is the one to read carefully. Mexico’s customs agency lists the documents an importer must show for the temporary import permit, and an owner’s permission letter is not among them; insurers say drivers of a car that is not in their name could be asked for one. ^{[4] [5]} It records the owner’s consent, the driver and the vehicle identifiers, and it is not a replacement for the title, the permit or Mexican auto insurance. The Customs Law also limits who may drive a vehicle imported by a Mexican resident abroad, so check the driver’s citizenship first. ^[6]

If a lienholder or lessor is involved, it has to issue its own authorization, and we do not provide that letter. An airline, a border officer or an insurer decides what it accepts, and the pack promises nothing about that.

What you get

• Document 1: child travel authorization, signed by one or both parents, naming the adult who travels with the child and stating that no parent travels
• Document 2: medical authorization for this trip only, with the scope you choose (emergency, or emergency and routine) and a plain statement of what it does not cover
• Document 3: vehicle owner’s permission for named drivers, with VIN, plates, make, model and year, the border crossing and the dates
• One shared set of questions: parents, the traveling adult, the children and the trip are entered once and used in all three
• Extra questions only where they are needed: allergies and insurance for the medical document, and the owner, the driver’s license and the vehicle for the vehicle letter
• Three separate PDFs, each with its own signature blocks and a blank notary public area, so each can be signed and carried on its own
• English and Spanish side by side on every page, on U.S. Letter paper
• The same PDFs you would get buying each document alone, at one price

How it works

1. Answer the questions below once. Add the second parent if both have parental authority and the second owner if two people are on the title.
2. Look through the free, watermarked preview of all three documents. Nothing is stored to make it.
3. Pay once ($29, no subscription) and download the three PDFs.
4. Print them. The parents sign the first two, and the owners sign the vehicle letter, each in front of a notary public with photo ID.
5. Give the originals to the traveling adult with the child’s passport, the vehicle title or registration, the temporary import permit and Mexican auto insurance, and keep copies. Mexico’s customs agency says the permit can be requested online 10 to 60 days before the trip. ^[4]

Is there a free official form?

No authority publishes a model for any of the three. CBP lists what a travel letter should contain, and the insurers’ guides list what a vehicle permission letter usually includes; this pack prints those items. ^{[1] [5]}

The temporary import permit itself comes from Banjercito and is requested separately. ^[4]

Frequently asked questions