Overview
Civilian firearms in Mexico are governed by federal law and administered almost entirely by the military. The constitutional starting point is Article 10 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, which, in its current form, provides that inhabitants have the right to keep arms in their home for their security and legitimate defense, excepting those prohibited by federal law and those reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard. The same article states that federal law determines the cases, conditions, requirements, and places in which the carrying of arms may be authorized. The right is therefore framed around the home; carrying a firearm in public is treated as a separate, discretionary authorization rather than a general entitlement.
The implementing statute is the Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives (Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos, "LFAFE"), first published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 11 January 1972 and amended numerous times, most recently by a decree published on 7 June 2024. According to the LFAFE (Article 2), the law is applied by the President, the Secretariat of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación), and the Secretariat of National Defense (Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional, "SEDENA"), among other federal authorities. Article 4 assigns the control of all arms in the country to the federal executive through those two secretariats and establishes a Federal Arms Registry (Registro Federal de Armas). In practice, SEDENA is the central authority: it registers firearms, issues possession and carrying authorizations, and maintains the registry.
Mexico operates one of the more restrictive civilian firearms regimes in the Americas. According to the LFAFE, private individuals may lawfully possess only firearms falling within defined caliber ceilings (Article 9) or, for registered sport shooters and hunters, a broader but still capped list of sporting arms (Article 10). Weapons above those thresholds—including higher-caliber handguns, military-caliber rifles, and fully automatic firearms—are reserved for the armed forces under Article 11 and cannot be owned by ordinary civilians. The 7 June 2024 amendment added remotely piloted aircraft adapted to carry, activate, or detonate explosives or weapons to that reserved-use list.
Retail sale is likewise centralized. Lawful commercial acquisition of a firearm by a civilian runs through SEDENA's arms and ammunition sales directorate, widely reported as the country's only authorized firearms retail outlet, located in Mexico City. Because possession, registration, sale, and carrying all pass through federal and military channels, the everyday reality for a private owner is that a firearm must be a permitted model, purchased and registered through official channels, and generally kept at a single declared residence. This article summarizes those rules as reflected in the current LFAFE and the constitutional text; where the statute delegates detail to its Regulation (Reglamento) or to SEDENA's administrative practice, that is noted.
Ownership & licensing
According to the LFAFE (Article 15), a person may keep firearms in the home for the security and legitimate defense of its occupants, and possession carries a duty to declare each arm to SEDENA for registration, with a registration certificate issued per weapon. Article 16 requires each individual to declare a single permanent residence for registration purposes, and Article 17 obliges anyone who acquires one or more firearms to notify SEDENA in writing—stating make, caliber, model, and serial number—within thirty days. Registration is thus mandatory for all lawfully held firearms, and the home is the default lawful location for a registered defensive weapon.
The categories a civilian may own are defined by caliber. Under Article 9, permitted arms include semi-automatic pistols of caliber not exceeding .380" (9 mm)—expressly excluding .38 Super, .38 Comando, and 9 mm Parabellum/Luger/Mauser/Comando types—and revolvers not exceeding .38" Special, excluding .357 Magnum. Article 10 lists additional arms that may be authorized to registered target shooters and hunters, such as .22" rimfire pistols, revolvers and rifles, .38" pistols for Olympic or competition shooting, shotguns of most gauges, and certain high-power repeating or semi-automatic rifles that are not convertible to automatic fire (excluding specified military calibers such as .223", 7 mm, 7.62 mm, and .30" carbine). Article 11 places higher-caliber handguns, military-caliber rifles, automatic weapons, short-barreled or large-bore shotguns, and war materiel in the exclusive-use category, off-limits to ordinary civilians.
On quantity, the LFAFE ties defensive possession to the home and delegates numeric detail to its Regulation. Government and legal summaries describe an administrative ceiling of up to ten registered firearms per person and note that, under the Regulation, registering more than two weapons for the defense of a single household requires the owner to justify the need; SEDENA applies further practical allocations (for example, a larger allowance of long guns for club-affiliated hunters versus a single handgun for pure home defense). The exact per-arm ammunition allotments are set by the LFAFE (Article 50) and its Regulation and are not restated here as specific figures because they were not independently verified for this summary.
Lawful acquisition generally proceeds by applying to SEDENA, purchasing an approved model through the military's sales outlet, and registering it. Article 26 lists eligibility conditions used for carrying licenses—including an honest livelihood, completion of obligatory military service where applicable, absence of a physical or mental impediment, no conviction for a crime committed with a weapon, and no drug use—criteria that also frame who SEDENA regards as a suitable arms holder. Sport and hunting authorizations under Article 10 additionally require membership in a club or association registered with the authorities (Articles 19–20).
Carry & transport
According to the LFAFE (Article 24), carrying a firearm requires the corresponding license; the constitutional home-based right does not by itself authorize carrying a weapon in public. Members of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are exempted from the license requirement under the terms of the applicable laws and regulations, and members of federal, state, and municipal police forces and of authorized private security services may carry arms under the conditions the law sets for them.
Article 25 divides carrying licenses into two classes: private licenses (particulares), which must be revalidated every two years, and official licenses (oficiales), which remain valid while the holder occupies the post or employment that justified them. For a private individual, Article 26 conditions issuance on the requirements noted above—an honest livelihood, completed military service where obligatory, no disqualifying physical or mental impediment, no conviction for an armed offense, and no consumption of drugs or psychotropics—together with demonstrating, to SEDENA's satisfaction, a genuine need to carry arms arising from the nature of the applicant's occupation, the special circumstances of where they live, or another justified motive. Private licenses may also be issued for one or more arms for target shooting or hunting, but only to members of a registered club or association meeting the first five conditions.
Because the need requirement is assessed case by case and at the authority's discretion, carrying licenses for ordinary private citizens are, in practice, issued sparingly; carrying a firearm in public without the required license is a criminal offense (see Penalties). The LFAFE regulates "portación" (carrying) generally and does not, in these provisions, draw a distinction between open and concealed carry—both fall under the same licensing requirement. Legal-services licenses for private security companies are handled through the corporate-license route under Article 26, which additionally requires a favorable opinion from the Secretariat of the Interior on the justification, number, and characteristics of the armament.
A narrow exception exists for the countryside: under Article 9, ejido members, communal landholders, and rural day laborers outside urban zones may possess and carry, on the strength of the registration declaration alone, one permitted arm, or a .22" rifle, or a shotgun of any gauge (excluding barrels shorter than 635 mm or gauges above 12). Transport of a lawfully registered firearm—for example, moving it between a residence and a shooting range—is distinct from carrying for personal protection and is subject to SEDENA's authorization and the conditions in the LFAFE and its Regulation. Loss, theft, destruction, or seizure of an owned or carried arm must be reported to SEDENA under Article 14. Beyond the specific carve-outs above, the general rule remains that a firearm may not be borne in public without an individually granted license.
Travel & import
Mexico controls the entry of firearms and ammunition tightly, and this is one of the areas where travelers most often encounter the law. According to the LFAFE (Article 84), participating in the clandestine introduction into national territory of arms, munitions, cartridges, explosives, and materiel reserved for the armed forces is a serious offense carrying a lengthy prison term. Article 84 Bis separately addresses the clandestine introduction of firearms that are not reserved for military use, providing for a term of imprisonment for that conduct; it also provides that a foreign resident who brings in a single such arm for the first time is instead subject only to an administrative fine (fixed by the statute in "días multa"), with the weapon retained against a receipt and returned when the person leaves the country. In effect, bringing a firearm or ammunition across the border without prior Mexican authorization exposes a traveler to criminal or administrative liability, and cases involving even small quantities of ammunition carried inadvertently by visitors are well documented.
Because all arms control runs through SEDENA, a foreign firearm cannot be brought in on the strength of a permit issued by another country: foreign carry permits and ownership licenses have no legal effect in Mexico. Visitors who wish to bring firearms lawfully—chiefly hunters and competitive shooters—must obtain a temporary import authorization from Mexican authorities in advance. In practice this is arranged through SEDENA, typically with the involvement of Mexican consulates and, for hunting, coordination with the environmental authorities that regulate seasons and species; the permit specifies the particular arms and ammunition covered and is time-limited to the visit. Prospective travelers should treat the process as one requiring documentation and lead time rather than an on-arrival formality, and the precise current procedural steps and fees are administrative details set by SEDENA that are not restated here.
For residents and citizens, importation of a firearm for personal keeping is likewise channeled through official acquisition and registration rather than private cross-border purchase; the ordinary route to owning a firearm is buying an approved model through SEDENA's sales outlet, not importing one. The registration duty in Article 17—declaring any acquired arm to SEDENA within thirty days—applies to lawfully obtained firearms once in the country. The combined effect of Articles 84 and 84 Bis, the single-outlet retail structure, and the temporary-import permit requirement is that lawful cross-border movement of firearms is possible but must be authorized by Mexican authorities beforehand; undertaking it without that authorization is prosecuted. Where a specific limit, fee, or permit duration would be decisive for a traveler, the current SEDENA guidance and consular instructions should be consulted directly, as those figures are set administratively and can change.
Hunting & sport shooting
Hunting and target shooting are the principal lawful activities for which civilians may hold arms beyond a single home-defense weapon, and the LFAFE addresses them directly. Under Article 10, the arms that may be authorized to sport shooters and hunters, to keep at their residence and carry under license, include .22" rimfire pistols, revolvers, and rifles; .38" pistols for Olympic or competition shooting; shotguns of all gauges and models except those with barrels shorter than 635 mm (25") or gauges larger than 12 (.729"/18.5 mm); three-barreled shotguns in the authorized gauges; and high-power repeating or semi-automatic rifles that are not convertible to automatic fire, excluding specified military calibers such as .223", 7 mm, 7.62 mm, and .30" carbine. Article 10 also allows, by special permit, higher-caliber rifles for use abroad in hunting large game not present in national fauna, and it permits practitioners of charrería (Mexican equestrian sport) to be authorized revolvers of a larger caliber than those in Article 9, solely as part of the charro attire and carried unloaded.
Access to these sporting arms is conditioned on organized participation. According to the LFAFE (Article 19), SEDENA determines, case by case, which of the Article 10 arms may be possessed given their characteristics and sets the corresponding ammunition allotments; for hunting arms it first seeks the opinion of the state secretariats or agencies with jurisdiction. Article 20 requires clubs and associations of shooters and hunters to be registered with the Secretariat of the Interior and SEDENA, and Article 26 allows sport and hunting licenses to be issued only to members of such a registered club or association who meet the general eligibility conditions. A shooter's carrying license for sporting arms is tied to club membership: under Article 80, that license is suspended if the club's registration is cancelled, until the person affiliates with another registered club.
Hunting itself is further regulated outside the LFAFE by Mexico's wildlife and environmental framework, which sets seasons, permitted species, bag limits, and hunting permits through the environmental authorities; the firearms statute governs the weapon, while separate rules govern the act of hunting. Collectors are treated under a distinct regime: Articles 21–23 allow individuals and institutions to hold collections or museums of antique or modern arms, and even prohibited or exclusive-use arms of cultural, scientific, artistic, or historical value, subject to specific SEDENA authorization and registration. For a civilian, then, the realistic path to owning more than a basic defensive firearm—and to owning rifles and shotguns suitable for hunting or competition—runs through registered club membership, SEDENA authorization of the specific arm under Article 10, and compliance with the separate wildlife rules when actually hunting. Specific ammunition quantities and any per-discipline equipment limits are set administratively and are not restated here as figures.
Penalties
The LFAFE criminalizes unlicensed carrying, unauthorized possession of military-reserved arms, and trafficking, with penalties scaling by the category of weapon and the nature of the conduct. The specific ranges below are drawn from the current statutory text (última reforma published 7 June 2024), and, where a provision was itself last amended, that year is noted.
According to Article 81 (as amended in 2021), a person who carries an arm of those listed in Articles 9 and 10—i.e., a civilian-permitted firearm—without having obtained the corresponding license is punished with three to eight years' imprisonment and a fine of 100 to 400 días multa ("day-fine" units); carrying two or more such arms increases the penalty by up to two-thirds. Article 82 punishes transferring ownership of a firearm without the required permit with one to six years' imprisonment and a fine.
Offenses involving arms reserved for the armed forces are graded by weapon type. Under Article 83, carrying an exclusive-use arm without a permit is punished by three months to one year for the least serious items (Article 11(i), such as bayonets, sabers, and lances); by three to ten years for magnum revolvers and 9 mm/.38-Super-class pistols (Article 11(a)–(b)); and by four to fifteen years for the remaining Article 11 arms, with increases where multiple arms are carried or where three or more people act as a group. Article 83 Ter separately punishes mere possession (as opposed to carrying) of exclusive-use arms, with graduated terms—three months to one year for the lightest category, four to seven years for the (a)–(b) category (as amended in 2021), and two to twelve years for others. Article 83 Bis punishes unlawful stockpiling (acopio), defined as possessing more than five exclusive-use arms, with two to nine years for the (a)–(b) category and five to thirty years for others; related provisions (Articles 83 Quat and 83 Quintus) penalize possessing excess ammunition and possessing magazines for military-caliber arms.
Trafficking and cross-border offenses carry the heaviest terms. According to Article 84, the clandestine introduction into national territory of arms, munitions, explosives, and military-reserved materiel is punished by five to thirty years' imprisonment and a fine, with a parallel penalty for officials who fail in a duty to prevent it. Article 84 Bis punishes the clandestine introduction of non-military firearms with three to ten years' imprisonment, while providing the reduced first-time administrative fine for a foreign resident who brings in a single such arm, as described in Travel & import. Article 84 Ter increases penalties by up to one-half where the offender is or was a police officer, private-security member, or a member of the armed forces. Finally, Article 88 provides that arms involved in these offenses are confiscated and destroyed, except exclusive-use arms (assigned to the armed forces) and arms of historical, cultural, scientific, or artistic value (assigned to SEDENA's arms museum). Beyond these criminal penalties, Article 89 preserves SEDENA's power to impose administrative sanctions for other breaches of the law.
Sources
- Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos — texto vigente (última reforma DOF 07-06-2024), hosted by PAOT (Gobierno de la Ciudad de México) (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Cámara de Diputados del H. Congreso de la Unión — Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (reform history) (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Secretaría de Marina (gob.mx) — Ley Federal de Armas de Fuego y Explosivos (accessed 2026-07-17)
- Wikipedia — Firearms regulation in Mexico (accessed 2026-07-17)