FAQ

How difficult is it to obtain construction permits and licenses?

Permits are issued by city governments, so they vary from city to city. In general, they are granted faster than in the United States. You have to submit a basic package of drawings and specifications for the building, the application has to be submitted by a registered architect or engineer and you have to comply with a number of formalities, but generally speaking, permitting is not a big problem.

Can I contract design-build in México?

Yes you can and, as a matter of fact, more and more companies are doing it and finding it extremely advantageous. By teaming up with a proficient, capable design-build contractor who is familiar with México—and even better, with the specific area of the country where you will be building—since the inception of the project, they minimize surprises, pin down costs early on in the schedule and actually eliminate many costs from the entire process while actually reducing total project time. Design-build is becoming extremely popular in many light industrial construction applications.

When building in México, do you use a Mexican or a U.S. architect?

Companies go successfully either way. The important thing is to have somebody in the project who is thoroughly familiar with Mexican codes, Mexican common construction practices and overall availability of materials, equipment and skilled tradesmen, as well as with the possible costs of using imported goods when not locally available.

Do you design to comply with United States codes?

Some companies do, often as an overall good practice approach. Generally speaking, most Mexican codes are not too different from U.S. codes. The Mexican electric code is more stringent than its U.S. counterpart, in other cases there is no local code and the American norm is applied. What you really want to do is have a contractor that can discuss intelligently, ahead of time, what are the differences and implications in each case.