Freight Transport Contract Mexico (Contrato de Transporte Terrestre de Mercancías)

A Freight Transport Contract Mexico (Contrato de Transporte Terrestre de Mercancías) is a commercial agreement by which a carrier (transportista) undertakes to move goods from a point of origin (punto de origen) to a destination (destino) by road in exchange for a freight charge (flete), with the shipper (remitente) and consignee (destinatario) bound by the obligations established in the Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal (LCPAF), the Reglamento de Autotransporte Federal y Servicios Auxiliares (RAFSA), and the Código de Comercio (CCom) Article 75 of Mexico.

The Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal Article 66 is the primary statutory basis for overland freight transport in Mexico. Article 66 LCPAF requires that the legal relationship between the carrier and the shipper be documented in a carta de porte (bill of lading) — a transport document that serves simultaneously as a receipt for the cargo, evidence of the transport contract, and title document for delivery. The Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes (SCT), now renamed Secretaría de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transportes (SICT), administers federal highway transport concessions under Articles 5 through 9 LCPAF and the Reglamento de Autotransporte Federal.

Since January 2022, Mexican law requires that all freight transport movements on federal roads be accompanied by a CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) with the complemento Carta Porte issued by the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) under the Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal and the Anexo 20 del SAT. The SAT CFDI Carta Porte serves both as a tax compliance document proving the legal origin of goods in transit and as a digital equivalent of the traditional carta de porte paper document. Carriers without a valid CFDI Carta Porte on a federal road are subject to infractions and fines under the LCPAF and the Código Fiscal de la Federación (CFF).

The Reglamento de Autotransporte Federal y Servicios Auxiliares (RAFSA, DOF 22 November 1994 as amended) establishes the specific technical and operational requirements for overland freight carriers in Mexico — including vehicle weight and dimension limits under NOM-012-SCT-2-2017, mandatory insurance requirements, driver licencing under the Licencia Federal de Conductor, and cargo security protocols. Article 47 RAFSA establishes that the carrier is liable (responsable) for loss, damage, or delay to cargo from the moment of receipt until delivery to the consignee.

The carrier's civil liability for cargo loss or damage is governed concurrently by the LCPAF, the RAFSA, and the Código Civil Federal (CCF) Articles 2025 through 2043 on service contracts. Mexican courts and the Profeco (Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor) in relevant consumer contexts apply the principle of responsabilidad objetiva (strict liability) to professional carriers for cargo loss — the carrier cannot escape liability by proving absence of negligence; the shipper need only prove the cargo was delivered to the carrier in good condition and arrived damaged or not at all. The carrier may limit liability through express contractual clauses subject to maximum amounts per kilogram established by SICT tariff regulation.

The SAT Carta Porte digital complement is mandatory for transport movements on federal highways (carreteras federales), including both full truckload (FTL / carga completa) and less-than-truckload (LTL / grupaje or carga consolidada) shipments. Third-party logistics providers (operadores logísticos), freight brokers (agentes de carga terrestre), and customs brokers (agentes aduanales) who arrange transport on behalf of shippers must ensure that the CFDI Carta Porte is issued before the vehicle departs the origin facility. Failure to carry the CFDI Carta Porte during transit may result in detention of the vehicle and cargo by the Guardia Nacional on federal highways under verification programmes authorised by the CFF Article 42.

A Freight Transport Contract Mexico is required every time goods move by road between two points within Mexico on federal highways under the jurisdiction of the Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal, or when goods cross state lines on any road under federal or state concession.

The contract is needed when a manufacturer (fabricante), exporter (exportador), or distributor (distribuidor) hires a carrier (transportista) or freight broker (agente de carga) to move finished goods, raw materials (materias primas), or components between production facilities, distribution centres (centros de distribución), ports (puertos), customs warehouses (recintos fiscalizados), or final delivery points anywhere in Mexico.

A formal written Contrato de Transporte Terrestre de Mercancías is required when maquiladora operators under the IMMEX Programme (Industria Manufacturera, Maquiladora y de Servicios de Exportación, Decreto DOF 1 November 2006) transport bonded goods (mercancías bajo régimen de importación temporal) between plants — the SAT and the Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de México (ANAM) require documentary evidence of authorised movements of temporarily imported goods.

The contract and accompanying CFDI Carta Porte are mandatory under SAT Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal provisions effective January 2022 for all professional cargo carriers using federal roads — including courier companies (paqueterías), refrigerated transport operators (transportistas de carga refrigerada), tanker carriers (pipas), flatbed operators (transportistas de carga sobredimensionada), and last-mile delivery providers operating under federal permits.

Companies engaged in cross-border trade between Mexico and the United States or Guatemala under USMCA (T-MEC, Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá, effective 1 July 2020) or other trade agreements require the domestic segment of cross-border shipments to be covered by a Mexican freight transport contract and CFDI Carta Porte for the inland portion — separate from the international bill of lading or CMR document covering the cross-border leg.

Under Ley de Caminos art. 66, RAFSA, and CFF art. 42, the transport contract and CFDI Carta Porte documentation should be prepared and signed before cargo is loaded — companies that operate without this documentation risk fines, cargo detention, and loss of IMMEX benefits if the goods are under temporary import regime.

Dangerous goods and specialised cargo: Companies transporting hazardous materials (materiales y residuos peligrosos) classified under NOM-002-SCT/2011 — including chemicals, fuels, explosives, and medical waste — require a specialised SICT permit for hazardous materials transport (autotransporte de materiales y residuos peligrosos), a trained Operador de Unidad Vehicular certificado, and specific emergency response documentation. The transport contract must reference the applicable NOM classification and insurance coverage for third-party environmental damage under the Ley General del Equilibrio Ecológico y la Protección al Ambiente (LGEEPA). Shipper and carrier both face joint strict liability for environmental spills under LGEEPA Article 203 regardless of fault.

A valid Freight Transport Contract Mexico under the Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal (LCPAF) and SAT CFDI Carta Porte requirements must contain the following essential elements:

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes), and domicilio fiscal of the carrier (transportista) with its Permiso Federal de Autotransporte de Carga number issued by the SICT; the shipper (remitente) with RFC; and the consignee (destinatario). Where a freight broker (intermediario de carga) or third-party logistics provider (3PL) is involved, all three parties must be identified separately along with their respective SAT registrations.

Cargo Description (Descripción de Mercancías): Detailed description of the goods being transported including quantity (cantidad), weight (peso en kilogramos), unit of measure (unidad de medida), packaging type (tipo de embalaje), and the SAT product/service classification code (clave de producto del catálogo SAT) required for the CFDI Carta Porte complement. Dangerous goods (materiales peligrosos) must be identified with the UN hazard class number, proper shipping name, and emergency contact information per NOM-002-SCT/2011.

Route and Delivery Details: Origin address (domicilio de origen) with RFC of the pickup location, destination address (domicilio de destino) with RFC of the delivery location, federal highway route (ruta de carreteras federales), and estimated transit time (tiempo estimado de tránsito). All origin and destination locations must have valid RFC-linked addresses in the SAT RFC database for CFDI Carta Porte compliance.

Vehicle and Driver Information: Vehicle licence plate (número de placa), SCT/SICT vehicle registration (número de registro vehicular SCT), vehicle type and configuration (configuración vehicular per NOM-012-SCT-2-2017), driver name and federal driver licence number (Licencia Federal de Conductor), and insurance policy details (número de póliza de seguro de carga y responsabilidad civil).

Freight Charge and Payment Terms: Agreed flete (freight rate) in MXN, basis (per kilogram, per pallet, per FTL), payment due date (fecha de pago), and any fuel surcharges (sobrecargo por combustible), waiting time charges (tiempo de espera), or accessorial fees (cargos adicionales). The CFDI Carta Porte must reflect the agreed flete amount for SAT purposes.

Carrier Liability and Insurance: Acknowledgment that the carrier assumes strict liability (responsabilidad objetiva) under RAFSA Article 47 for cargo loss, damage, or delay from receipt to delivery. Mandatory cargo insurance (seguro de carga obligatorio) amount and insurer identification. Maximum liability per kilogram of cargo lost or damaged, and the claims notification period (typically 24–72 hours from delivery or attempted delivery).

SAT CFDI Carta Porte Compliance: Express obligation of the carrier or freight broker to issue a CFDI with the complemento Carta Porte 3.0 (current version per SAT) before departure from the origin, containing all SAT-required data fields including autotransporte data, merchandise data, figure data (figuras de transporte), and location data (ubicaciones). Allocation of responsibility between shipper and carrier for providing accurate cargo data for the CFDI.

Delivery and Receipt Conditions: Procedure for delivery (entrega) at destination, signature of delivery receipt (acuse de recibo / remisión), inspection of cargo at delivery, notation of apparent damage at delivery, and proof of delivery (POD) documentation requirements.

Dispute Resolution: Submission to the jurisdiction of the Juzgados de Distrito en Materia Civil Federal or Tribunales Superiores de Justicia of the agreed state for cargo loss and damage claims, with the PROFECO mediation procedure available for disputes involving small shippers under the Ley Federal de Protección al Consumidor where applicable.

Forms-legal.com provides this Freight Transport Contract Mexico template as a practical starting point. Carriers operating under federal permits and shippers engaged in high-volume or international freight movements should have the contract reviewed by a Licenciado en Derecho specialised in derecho del transporte or comercio exterior to confirm full compliance with current SAT CFDI Carta Porte technical specifications and SICT permit conditions.