Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request CFCRL Mexico (Solicitud de Conciliación ante el CFCRL)

A Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request CFCRL Mexico (Solicitud de Conciliación ante el Centro Federal de Conciliación y Registro Laboral) is the formal written application that initiates the mandatory pre-litigation conciliation proceeding (conciliación previa obligatoria) required by Articles 684-A through 684-E of the Ley Federal del Trabajo (LFT) as reformed by the Decreto published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 1 May 2019. Without first submitting this request and completing — or attempting — conciliation before the CFCRL, a worker in Mexico cannot file an individual labour claim (demanda laboral) before the competent Tribunal Laboral.

The CFCRL was created by the 2019 reforma laboral as an autonomous federal body (órgano público autónomo) replacing the Juntas de Conciliación y Arbitraje in the conciliation function. The reforma separated conciliation from adjudication to speed up dispute resolution and reduce the massive backlog of cases that characterized the former Junta system — where cases routinely took five to ten years to resolve. The CFCRL operates conciliation centres (centros de conciliación) in all 31 states of Mexico and in Mexico City, with dedicated offices in major industrial zones (zonas industriales) such as Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Querétaro, and Toluca. Online scheduling of conciliation appointments is available at cfcrl.gob.mx.

The mandatory conciliation proceeding under Articles 684-A through 684-E LFT must be completed within 45 calendar days from the date the solicitud de conciliación is filed. During this period, a federal conciliator (conciliador federal) facilitates negotiation between the worker (trabajador) and the employer (patrón). The conciliator is a trained neutral professional employed by the CFCRL — not a judge — whose role is to facilitate settlement, not to adjudicate claims or issue binding rulings. If the parties reach a settlement, it is documented as a Convenio de Terminación Laboral that acquires res judicata force upon ratification under Article 987 LFT. If no settlement is reached within 45 days, the CFCRL issues a constancia de no conciliación — a certificate confirming that mandatory conciliation was attempted but unsuccessful — which the worker must attach to any demanda laboral filed before the Tribunal Laboral.

Article 684-A LFT provides that the solicitud de conciliación must specify: the name and domicile of the worker (solicitante); the name and domicile of the employer (citado); a brief description of the facts giving rise to the dispute (hechos del conflicto); the claims being asserted (prestaciones reclamadas); and any evidence the worker intends to offer at the conciliation hearing. The CFCRL uses this information to notify the employer (through a citation — citatorio) of the hearing date, time, and location. Under Article 685-B LFT, the employer must attend the CFCRL hearing or send a duly authorized representative — failure to appear constitutes a procedural sanction that may disadvantage the employer in subsequent Tribunal Laboral proceedings.

The 2019 reforma laboral also created parallel state conciliation centres (centros de conciliación estatales) for workers employed under state-jurisdiction employment relationships — primarily state government workers under Article 123, Apartado B of the Constitución Política. Workers who are uncertain whether their employment relationship falls under federal or state jurisdiction should consult a Licenciado en Derecho specializing in derecho laboral before filing — filing at the wrong conciliation centre could delay the mandatory conciliation period and affect the two-year statute of limitations under Article 516 LFT.

Before the solicitud de conciliación can be filed, the worker must register with the CFCRL's online platform at cfcrl.gob.mx and provide their CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población) for identity verification. The CFCRL system assigns a folio number (número de folio) to the solicitud, which becomes the case reference for all subsequent proceedings. Many CFCRL offices in major cities allow workers to file solicitudes in person if they do not have internet access — this service is provided at no cost to the worker as part of the CFCRL's mandate to democratize access to labour justice in Mexico.

A Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request before the CFCRL Mexico is required in every case where a worker intends to file an individual labour claim before the Tribunales Laborales arising from an employment relationship governed by the Ley Federal del Trabajo under Article 123, Apartado A of the Constitución Política. The mandatory conciliation proceeding is a jurisdictional prerequisite — a Tribunal Laboral will not accept a demanda laboral if the worker has not first obtained a constancia de no conciliación from the CFCRL.

The solicitud de conciliación is needed immediately when a worker has been dismissed — whether the dismissal is characterized as justified (rescisión justificada under Article 47 LFT) or unjustified (rescisión injustificada under Article 50 LFT) — and the worker wishes to challenge the dismissal or claim unpaid benefits. The two-year statute of limitations under Article 516 LFT begins running from the date the claim arose (typically the last working day), so workers should file the solicitud de conciliación promptly to preserve their rights within the limitation period.

The document is required when a worker wishes to claim any of the following: unpaid wages (salarios caídos), unjustified dismissal indemnity (indemnización por rescisión injustificada under Article 50 LFT), finiquito components not paid upon termination (aguinaldo, vacaciones, prima vacacional, PTU), violations of the Salario Mínimo General established by CONASAMI, IMSS registration and contribution failures, INFONAVIT contribution failures, or other individual labour rights guaranteed by the LFT.

The solicitud de conciliación is also useful — though not strictly required — when an employer preemptively files a conciliation request to resolve a dispute before the worker escalates to a Tribunal Laboral complaint. Under Article 684-A LFT, either party to an employment dispute may initiate the conciliation proceeding. Employers who proactively file conciliation requests demonstrate good faith, may gain procedural advantages in subsequent litigation, and often resolve disputes at a fraction of the cost of Tribunal Laboral proceedings.

For groups of workers involved in a collective dispute — such as a mass layoff (reducción colectiva de personal) or a plant closure (cierre de planta) — the CFCRL can process multiple individual solicitudes de conciliación arising from the same employer action in coordinated concurrent proceedings, reducing the timeline for resolution compared to sequential individual filings. Employers facing collective disputes should consult with labour counsel immediately to coordinate CFCRL strategy.

A valid Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request CFCRL Mexico under Ley Federal del Trabajo arts. 684-A through 684-E must include the following elements to be accepted by the CFCRL and to properly notify the employer of the conciliation proceeding.

Worker Identification (Solicitante): Full legal name, CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población), RFC, official identification number (INE/IFE credential or passport), residential address, and contact telephone number and email of the worker filing the solicitud. The CFCRL uses the CURP for identity verification and as the unique identifier for the worker's CFCRL account.

Employer Identification (Citado): Full legal name (razón social) of the employer, RFC, IMSS registro patronal, registered address (domicilio fiscal), and, where known, the name of the legal representative (representante legal) and their contact details. The CFCRL uses this information to issue the citation (citatorio) notifying the employer of the hearing. Providing accurate employer information is critical — errors in the employer's name or address can delay service of the citation and push the hearing date beyond the 45-day statutory window.

Employment Relationship Description: The job title (puesto), start date (fecha de inicio), termination date (fecha de terminación), and daily salary (salario diario) during the employment. Specifying the correct salary is important because all monetary claims — finiquito components, indemnity payments, and back pay — are calculated on the basis of the salary.

Description of Dispute Facts (Hechos del Conflicto): A concise but specific chronological account of the facts giving rise to the dispute — the alleged dismissal date, the employer's stated reason for termination (if any), any prior warnings or disciplinary actions, and any communications with the employer regarding the dispute. The factual description does not need to be exhaustive at the conciliation stage — its purpose is to inform the CFCRL conciliator of the nature of the dispute and enable meaningful facilitation.

Claims Asserted (Prestaciones Reclamadas): A specific list of all monetary and non-monetary claims the worker is asserting — for example: three months' constitutional indemnity (art. 50 LFT); 20 days per year seniority indemnity (art. 50 LFT); proportional aguinaldo (art. 87 LFT); proportional vacation and prima vacacional (arts. 76, 80 LFT); proportional PTU (art. 117 LFT); prima de antigüedad (art. 162 LFT if applicable); IMSS registration (art. 15 LSS); and any other specific benefit. Quantified monetary amounts for each claim strengthen the conciliator's ability to facilitate a realistic settlement.

Preferred Hearing Modality: Whether the worker prefers an in-person hearing (presencial) at the CFCRL office or a remote hearing (videoconferencia) through the CFCRL platform. Since 2020, the CFCRL has offered videoconference conciliation hearings for workers who cannot attend in person due to distance, disability, or other constraints — a significant accessibility improvement over the former Junta system.

Evidence Available: A general reference to the documentary evidence the worker has available — copies of employment contract, payroll receipts (recibos de nómina), dismissal notice, WhatsApp communications, or any other relevant documents. The evidence does not need to be filed with the solicitud but should be brought to the conciliation hearing.

Forms-legal.com provides this Pre-Litigation Conciliation Request CFCRL Mexico template as a practical preparation tool for workers navigating the mandatory CFCRL conciliation process. Workers should note that CFCRL conciliation is free of charge, bilingual services are available in indigenous languages (lenguas indígenas) at designated CFCRL offices under the INPI program, and the CFCRL's federal conciliators are neutral — they do not represent either party. Workers are strongly encouraged to consult a Licenciado en Derecho specializing in derecho laboral — many provide a free initial consultation (consulta gratuita) — before the conciliation hearing to understand their rights and the realistic value of their claims under the Ley Federal del Trabajo.