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Records requests: Mexico.

A take-home sheet for people at the session. Other countries: United States · United Kingdom · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · India · Philippines · Argentina.

On your phone? Tap any address to open it. After the session: where to go next. Short address for this sheet: moraph.org/s/records-requests/mx. Pass it on: cards to hand to someone.

Moraph for Good · Voice

Records requests: Mexico

Handout · moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/records-requests

In many places you have a legal right to ask public bodies for the information they hold. This sheet covers how to ask clearly and what to do next.

Before you ask

  • Check the body’s website, meeting papers and any disclosure log.
  • Work out which body holds the records.

Writing your request

  • Describe the records you want, plainly and specifically.
  • Give dates and the format you’d like.
  • Ask for records, not answers to questions.
  • Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.

Deadlines and fees

  • Time limits and fee rules depend on the country and the body: see the country section.
  • Ask for an estimate before any charges, and narrow the request to reduce them.

If you’re refused

  • The reply should say why and how to ask for a review.
  • Ask for a review promptly, then go to the independent body if needed.

In Mexico

  • Your right. Under the Constitution, anyone can get public information free of charge, without showing an interest or saying why they want it. Information held by federal, state and municipal authorities, or by anyone receiving public money, is public and can be held back only temporarily, for reasons set by law.
  • How to ask. Under the General Law on Transparency (Ley General de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública) of March 2025, you can ask a body’s transparency unit (Unidad de Transparencia) through the Plataforma Nacional de Transparencia, at its office, by email, by post or verbally. You only need to give a way to receive replies, a description of the information and how you want it.
  • Deadline and cost. The reply is due within 20 business days, which can be extended once by up to 10 more for reasons the body must justify. Requests made on the Platform get a folio (reference number). Access is free; you can be charged only for copies or delivery.
  • If you’re refused. You can file an appeal (recurso de revisión) with the oversight authority (autoridad garante), or with the transparency unit, within 15 business days of the reply or of the deadline passing. The authority has up to 40 business days to decide, which it can extend once by up to 20.
  • Who oversees it. Under the 2025 law, the federal oversight authority is Transparencia para el Pueblo, part of the Secretaría Anticorrupción y Buen Gobierno. In each state it is the state comptroller’s office or equivalent, which also covers municipalities.

Official places to check:

General information, not advice about your own situation. Checked 22 October 2026. If an official source says something different, it is right. Free to copy and adapt. moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/records-requests Version of .

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