It is very common for a vessel to owned by an LLC. If that is the case, there are a few things you should know before taking the LLC-owned vessel to Mexico.
When travelling in Mexican waters, your vessel must have a Mexican Temporary Import Permit (“TIP”) issued to the vessel. Before heading to Mexico be sure that the vessel either never had a Mexican TIP, or that it has been cancelled.
A TIP remains recorded with the foreign vessel identified in the permit and will not be transferred to another owner. In fact, without cancellation of TIP by the original permit holder, a new owner of any TIP-registered vessel can never be issued a new TIP, even if the old TIP is expired.
You can obtain the TIP at your first port of entry, which, for most of us here in Southern California is Ensenada. Helpful contacts in Ensenada to assist you with obtaining a TIP include Fito Espinoza, dockmaster at the Hotel Coral Marina, and Mario Niza, owner of Niza Marine.
If the vessel is owned by an LLC, you will need a notarized Letter of Authorization and Limited Power of Attorney (“Representante Legal”) from the LLC, executed by the manager of the LLC, allowing specifically identified individuals, whether it be the members of the LLC or a hired captain, to operate the vessel in Mexico and to obtain a TIP for the vessel in the LLC. A copy of the manager’s passport will need to be attached to the Letter of Authorization as the Port captain will compare the two and verify the signature on the Letter of Authorization as true. The Letter of Authorization should have the full name, date of birth and passport number of every authorized operator.
Mexico does not have a set of rules and regulations like we have in the states. As a result, some port captains ask for additional documentation. Recently, some port captains have been asking for, in addition to the notarized Letter of Authorization, a notarized copy of the LLC’s Articles of Organization. Some port captains have been insisting that the notarization be a part of the Articles. When setting up LLCs for my clients, I include an optional Notarial Acknowledgement with the actual document name and page number in a footer so that there is no question that the Notaries Acknowledgement is connected to the signatures on the LLC’s Operating Agreement.
Finally, when reviewing documentation of multi-member LLCs, including husband and wife owned LLCs, a few port captains have even asked to see the executed LLC Membership Certificates showing the percent of ownership of each member on the Membership Certificate.
In conclusion, when seeking a TIP at your first port of entry:
- Bring your LLC’s Company Records Book;
- Have a properly completed and notarized Letter of Authorization and Limited Power of Attorney with a copy of the manager’s (signer’s) passport attached;
- File out your Membership Certificates and sign. There have been no requests that these be notarized;
- To be on the safe side, have a notarized copy of your LLC’s Operating Agreement; and
- Take a few extra copies of the documents identified in 2-4.
If you need assistance with any of the documents described in the blog, please feel free to give us a call.
Mike Wales is a licensed attorney with over 30 years of experience and the co-owner of AGL Yacht Sales, Inc., along with his wife Leilani Wales, CYPB, a licensed, bonded, and certified professional Yacht Broker. You may contact Mike at mwales@waleslaw.com or at 619.493.1700.