Avoid Million-Peso Water Fines in Mexico

QUINTANA ROO, Mexico — The Mexican government is offering opportunities for individuals and businesses to normalize their water usage status under current regulations. This initiative aims to register all producers who use this resource to guarantee their operations and avoid severe financial penalties.

To use water for commercial purposes, the government of Mexico provides concessions, which serve to guarantee that these resources are not used irregularly. Currently, the country issues two primary types of licenses to operate these national goods. The first is granted to agricultural producers under the figure of individuals, and the second is for legal entities, which can use them for irrigation systems or for exploitation. Both have precise rules.

Failing to possess this type of permit can result in million-dollar fines against those who utilize the water without authorization.

Fines for Using Water Without a Concession

According to the National Water Law in fraction IV of Article 119, individuals who use water, basins, channels, and currents of national waters without holding a concession title will be sanctioned.

The corresponding fines can fall between the following two figures:

• 1,950 times the Unit of Measure and Update: 220,623 pesos.
• 26,000 times the Unit of Measure and Update: 2,941,640 pesos.

The specific amount of the fine will be determined by the authority following a corresponding investigation and will be set depending on the consequences or damages caused to the community or environment.

How to Register a Water Concession in Quintana Roo

To allow individuals with a concession that expired between October 1, 2017, and March 1, 2025, to normalize their situation, the government has opened a period for regularization. This period will remain open until April 2026.

The procedure will have no cost and is carried out through eight steps that can be completed online from any mobile device, though using a computer is recommended:

1. Register as an individual or legal entity at llave.gob.mx.
2. Enter this link to validate your identity using your FIEL (e.signature) or your PUUC user.
3. Select the option "use of the title object of the adhesion to the decree" and confirm that the applicant's data preloaded in the system is correct.
4. Select the title you wish to regularize.
5. Accept electronic notification and the terms and conditions of the procedure.
6. Upload your documents.
7. Sign the application by hand for agricultural, domestic, or livestock use, or electronically for public urban use with more than 2,500 inhabitants.
8. Once your procedure is processed, you will receive a notification by email.

Required Documents for the Platform

The documents that must be uploaded to the platform are:

• A free-form letter requesting adhesion to the decree (for individuals or legal entities).
• A letter of compliance with tax obligations (or of not having filed returns, as applicable).
• Proof of active use of the volumes from the last two years (this can be electricity receipts, invoices, federal programs, etc.).
• A copy of the expired concession or allocation title (if you do not have it, you must indicate so).
• Proof of payment of rights (only for aquaculture and public urban use).