MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s mandatory cellphone registration program may be headed for a last-minute extension, but users should not treat that as guaranteed until authorities make it official.
According to reporting based on telecom industry sources, the Comisión Reguladora de Telecomunicaciones, or CRT, is preparing a 120-day extension to allow more mobile lines to be linked to an identified user. The reported change comes as more than 82 million lines remain unregistered only days before the deadline.
As of June 19, the CRT had recorded 61,422,202 registered lines, according to the same report. Mexico has roughly 144 million active mobile lines by the regulator’s count, while some telecom analysts place the number closer to 160 million when smaller mobile virtual network operators are included.
The difference matters because the current rules say unregistered lines may be suspended beginning July 1. That could affect prepaid and postpaid users, as well as physical SIM and eSIM lines, unless the government confirms an extension or introduces a phased regularization period.
For now, the official CRT registration page still lists June 30 as the deadline and says service may be suspended starting July 1 for lines that are not properly linked. That means the safest advice for users is still to complete the registration as soon as possible.
The registration requirement began earlier this year as part of a federal effort to link mobile numbers to a verified identity. Mexican citizens register using their name and CURP, while businesses use their RFC and legal information. Foreign users may register with a passport or temporary CURP, depending on their carrier and status.
The government says the goal is to reduce crimes such as extortion, fraud, and virtual kidnapping by making it harder to use anonymous mobile lines. Mexico has long struggled with phone-based extortion scams, including calls made from prisons, cloned numbers, and prepaid lines that are difficult to trace.
The program has also raised privacy and legal concerns, partly because many people remember PANAUT, the National Register of Mobile Phone Users that was struck down by Mexico’s Supreme Court in 2022. That earlier registry would have required the collection of biometric data, including fingerprints or facial recognition, and was ruled unconstitutional.
Officials insist the current system is different. The government has said there is no centralized national cellphone database controlled by the state. Instead, each mobile operator is responsible for collecting and protecting the information of its own users. The CRT’s official guidance also says the process does not store biometric data. Some systems may use a live identity check to confirm that the person registering is real, but officials say that information is not stored after the process is completed.
That distinction has not eliminated public concern. Critics argue that mass suspension of mobile lines could affect access to banking apps, emergency communication, work, school, transport services, two-factor authentication, medical appointments, and daily life. In Mexico, a mobile number is often tied to much more than phone calls.
Telecom operators have reportedly told authorities they have the technical capacity to process registrations, but that a total and immediate disconnection of millions of lines would be difficult to execute. Industry representatives have pushed for a reinterpretation of the rules that would allow suspension or regularization to happen gradually rather than all at once.
The possible 120-day extension appears to be an attempt to avoid a digital disruption at the beginning of July. However, previous CRT officials had publicly said no extension was planned because the deadline is established in law. That is why any extension would need clear legal and regulatory language.
For users, the practical message is simple: do not wait for the rumored extension. Register your line through your mobile provider’s official portal or in person at a customer service center. The process is free, and users should be careful with unofficial links, text messages, or calls requesting personal information.
If an extension is confirmed, it will give millions of users more time. If it is not, unregistered lines could begin losing service as early as July 1.
Until the CRT publishes a formal update, the deadline remains the deadline.
