Why does Mexico run NOM and IFT in parallel rather than as a single regime?

Mexico separates two distinct legal logics. NOMs (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas) are mandatory standards of general application, managed by the Secretaría de Economía (SE) through the Dirección General de Normas (DGN), covering safety, EMC, commercial information and energy efficiency across all products on the market, electronic or not. IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) is the autonomous constitutional body in charge of spectrum, telecommunications and broadcasting, created by the 2013 constitutional reform and the Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión of 2014. A typical consumer electronic product passes through both streams: NOM for safety and labelling, IFT homologation for the radio function.

Which NOMs typically apply to an electronic product?

The most common are NOM-001-SCFI (safety of household electronic equipment), NOM-019-SCFI (safety of information technology equipment), NOM-024-SCFI (commercial information, instructions and warranties in Spanish), NOM-208-SCFI (commercial information requirements for radio equipment) and, where relevant, an energy-efficiency NOM from the NOM-ENER family. The exact list depends on the product and must be checked against the current DGN catalogue, since some NOMs are mandatory while others are voluntary.

Can a CE or FCC test report be reused in Mexico?

Partially. Many NOMs reference IEC standards, so a test report run to the corresponding IEC series by an accredited lab can serve as a technical input for the Mexican lab and certification body, through the IECEE CB Scheme framework. For the IFT side, Mexico belongs to ITU Region 2, which brings its frequency plan close to the FCC plan. The NOM certificate is still issued by an accredited Mexican body, and the IFT homologation remains a distinct administrative act. The logic mirrors that of [parallel EU and US certification](/en/guides/eu-us-dual-certification/).

Why is Spanish labelling such a sensitive point?

NOM-024-SCFI requires commercial information in Spanish for products placed on the Mexican market: product name, identification of the manufacturer and the importer, country of origin, instructions for use, warnings and warranty terms. A product labelled only in English, even if otherwise technically compliant, is rejected at customs or under market surveillance. Spanish must be at least as visible as any other language. It is one of the most frequent grounds for import blocking.

What is IFT homologation and who needs it?

IFT homologation (Certificado de Homologación) is the spectrum use authorisation issued by IFT for any product model that transmits or receives radio-frequency, or that connects to the public telecommunications network. It relies on the Disposiciones Técnicas IFT (for example IFT-008 for some ISM families, IFT-011 and IFT-012 for specific bands). The IFT number must appear on the product label. Without IFT homologation, a radio product cannot be imported or legally placed on the market, irrespective of NOM compliance.

What role do ANCE, NYCE or ONNCCE play in the NOM chain?

These are Organismos de Certificación accredited by the Entidad Mexicana de Acreditación (EMA) and recognised by the SE to issue certificates of conformity against applicable NOMs. ANCE (Asociación de Normalización y Certificación) is historically electrotechnical, NYCE is very active in electronics and telecommunications, ONNCCE is centred on construction but can operate outside electronics. The manufacturer picks a body within its accreditation scope, runs testing in an accredited lab, then the body issues the NOM certificate.

Is a Mexican legal representative needed to file the dossier?

Yes. A foreign manufacturer cannot directly hold a NOM certificate or IFT homologation. The holder must be an importer or a representante legal resident in Mexico, registered with the certification body and, for the radio side, with IFT. The representante legal carries administrative responsibility for the dossier, keeps the test reports and responds to market surveillance actions. Without a designated representative, neither NOM nor IFT files are admissible.

How long does the combined NOM plus IFT process take?

Qualitatively, several weeks to several months, depending on the certification body workload, the radio complexity and the completeness of the dossier. The typical sequence is: lab testing, review by the OEC, issuance of the NOM certificate, then IFT filing and issuance of the Certificado de Homologación. For cross-jurisdictional orders of magnitude, see the [certification timeline](/en/guides/certification-timeline/).

NOM and IFT: certification in Mexico

Author Hugues Orgitello Last updated 27 May 2026 ~11 min read

Guide · NOM / IFT, Mexico

Mexico organises the placement of electronic products on its market through two parallel streams. On one side, NOMs (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas), managed by the Secretaría de Economía via its Dirección General de Normas, cover safety, electromagnetic compatibility, energy efficiency and commercial information in Spanish. On the other side, IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones), an autonomous constitutional body created by the 2013 reform, oversees spectrum use and issues homologation for radio and terminal equipment. Almost every consumer electronic product crosses both regimes: a NOM certificate issued by an accredited Organismo de Certificación (ANCE, NYCE, for instance), then an IFT Certificado de Homologación for the radio function. This guide lays out the institutional map, the recurring NOMs for electronics, the Disposiciones Técnicas IFT, Spanish labelling, the role of the representante legal and the typical pitfalls when a Mexico programme follows a completed CE and FCC programme.

Institutional map: NOM, IFT, accredited bodies

The Mexican frame relies on three distinct legal layers, which are often conflated on a first reading.

Secretaría de Economía and DGN

The Secretaría de Economía (SE) is the federal ministry in charge of industrial and trade policy. Within it, the Dirección General de Normas (DGN) administers the national standardisation system and maintains the catalogue of NOMs in force. The applicable legal base is now the Ley de Infraestructura de la Calidad of 2020, which replaced the Ley Federal sobre Metrología y Normalización and reorganised the national quality system, without changing the mandatory nature of NOMs.

A NOM is a mandatory standard of general application: safety, commercial labelling, energy efficiency, food safety, and so on. Not all NOMs concern electronics. For a consumer electronic product, the useful perimeter focuses on a few families, detailed below. Alongside NOMs sit the NMX (Normas Mexicanas), which are voluntary and do not condition placement on the market.

IFT, autonomous constitutional body

The Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones was created by the 2013 constitutional reform and structured by the Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión (LFTR) of 2014. It has constitutional autonomy, distinct from the executive, with a mandate covering spectrum allocation, operator concessions, tariff regulation and equipment homologation. At Mexican scale, it is the functional equivalent of ANATEL in Brazil or the FCC in the US, with strong legal separation from the economy ministry.

IFT publishes Disposiciones Técnicas IFT (DT-IFT), numbered (IFT-008, IFT-011, IFT-012, and so on), which set the technical requirements applicable to radio equipment by family: ISM bands, short range, 5 GHz Wi-Fi, cellular equipment. These disposiciones are the functional equivalent of EN harmonised standards under the EU RED, or of FCC Part 15 subparts in the US, with power limits and sub-bands proper to Region 2 and the Mexican plan.

Accredited Organismos de Certificación

Mexico distinguishes two actors in the conformity assessment chain:

laboratorios de prueba, accredited to run the tests,
Organismos de Certificación (OEC), accredited to review reports and issue certificates.

Accreditation is managed by EMA (Entidad Mexicana de Acreditación), a private body of public utility recognised by the SE. For electronics, the most visible OECs are ANCE (Asociación de Normalización y Certificación, historically electrotechnical), NYCE (Normalización y Certificación, very active in electronics and telecom) and ONNCCE (oriented towards construction and materials, rarely used outside building equipment). The choice of OEC depends on its accreditation scope, its lab network and its experience with the product family.

Scope	NOM	IFT
Authority	Secretaría de Economía, DGN	IFT, autonomous constitutional body
Legal basis	Ley de Infraestructura de la Calidad	Ley Federal de Telecomunicaciones y Radiodifusión
Object	Safety, EMC, labelling, energy efficiency	Spectrum use, homologation of radio and terminal equipment
Act issued	NOM conformity certificate by an accredited OEC	Certificado de Homologación issued by IFT
Product scope	All products on the market (electronics and beyond)	Radio products and telecommunications terminals
Product identifier	NOM certificate number	IFT homologation number, to be carried on the label

Recurring NOMs for electronics

The following table targets the NOMs typically encountered by a manufacturer of consumer or industrial electronics. It is not exhaustive and must be compared against the current DGN catalogue for each product.

NOM	Object	International equivalent
NOM-001-SCFI	Electrical safety of household electronic equipment	IEC 60065 family historically, transition to IEC 62368-1
NOM-019-SCFI	Safety of information technology equipment	IEC 60950-1 historically, transition to IEC 62368-1
NOM-024-SCFI	Commercial information in Spanish, instructions, warranties	No direct equivalent, national language requirement
NOM-208-SCFI	Commercial information requirements for radio equipment	Aligned with international radio labelling obligations
NOM-016-ENER	Energy efficiency of selected equipment (scope evolves over time)	Partly aligned with ENERGY STAR / EU ecodesign practice
NOM-032-ENER	Standby and off-mode power consumption of selected equipment	Logic close to the EU ecodesign directive
NOM-001-SEDE	Electrical installation of buildings, indirectly applicable to some products	Aligned with the US NEC (NFPA 70)

Several practical principles stand out.

First, NOM-024-SCFI does not concern the technical side of the product but the language and content of its commercial information. It applies across the board, even to a product otherwise outside the scope of a specific safety NOM.

Second, many NOMs reference IEC standards or their Mexican NMX transposition. A product already tested to the corresponding IEC series by an accredited lab, ideally under the IECEE CB Scheme, has a report directly reusable by the Mexican lab and OEC, subject to any Mexican National Differences.

Third, the scope of energy-efficiency NOMs evolves regularly. DGN publishes the annual Programa Nacional de Infraestructura de la Calidad which announces NOM projects and their entry into force. A manufacturer committed to an energy-intensive product (power supplies, connected appliances, industrial equipment) should consult that programme to anticipate the entry into force of an upcoming NOM-ENER.

IFT homologation for the radio side

Any product that transmits radio-frequency, receives in attributed bands, or connects to the Mexican public telecommunications network must obtain a Certificado de Homologación issued by IFT. The homologation relies on the Disposiciones Técnicas IFT applicable to the product family.

Disposiciones Técnicas IFT, structure

DT-IFT cover the main equipment families:

IFT-008 covers short-range equipment and some ISM families,
IFT-011 covers specific radio bands and their equipment,
IFT-012 covers other families, including some cellular bands and associated services,
other DT-IFT cover special cases (professional radio, maritime equipment, and so on).

The numbering and exact scope of each DT-IFT evolve. The IFT portal publishes the consolidated current list of Disposiciones Técnicas and their applicable versions. A manufacturer must identify the relevant DT-IFT upstream, since they set the bands, maximum powers and robustness requirements specific to the Mexican plan.

Frequency plan and ITU Region 2

Mexico belongs to ITU Region 2 (Americas). Several ISM bands (902-928 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz Wi-Fi) are close to the FCC plan, but power limits, usable sub-bands and DFS requirements are still set by IFT. For cellular, actual deployment in Mexico (notably Telcel, AT&T Mexico, Movistar Mexico) imposes specific 3GPP bands, with operator logic on the North American side covered in PTCRB. A band declaration copied from an ETSI dossier rarely passes as is: the European 868 MHz LPWAN band is not open on this perimeter in Mexico, and the module must shift to 902-928 MHz.

IFT number on the label

At the end of the procedure, IFT assigns a homologation number that must appear on the product label, near the other markings, in a format legible without disassembly. The absence of the IFT number, or its illegibility, is a ground for blocking under market surveillance and at customs.

Spanish labelling and commercial information

NOM-024-SCFI is the point most frequently underestimated by foreign manufacturers. For products placed on the Mexican market, it requires:

product and model identification in Spanish,
identification of the manufacturer, country of origin and Mexican importador,
instructions for use and safety warnings in Spanish,
warranty terms in Spanish, compliant with PROFECO (Procuraduría Federal del Consumidor) where applicable.

Spanish must be at least as visible as any other language present. A product labelled only in English, or with a manual exclusively in English, is non-compliant with NOM-024-SCFI even if every other NOM is met. The safe practice is to produce a Spanish-English label and manual from the design stage, with visual parity between the two languages.

NOM-208-SCFI then specifies, for radio equipment, commercial information elements tied to the radio nature of the product. It cumulates with NOM-024-SCFI and with the apposition of the IFT number.

Agreement framework and MRA

Mexico maintains several international frameworks that structure the recognition of testing.

The USMCA (Tratado entre México, Estados Unidos y Canadá, 2020), successor to NAFTA, contains a telecommunications chapter that sets good regulatory practice principles and helps the circulation of dossiers, without however removing the Mexican certification obligation. For electrical safety and EMC, Mexico is a member of the IECEE CB Scheme, which allows a CB report to be accepted by an accredited Mexican OEC, subject to National Differences. For the radio side, historical bilateral arrangements with the United States and Canada exist, but the IFT Certificado de Homologación is still issued by IFT and the NOM certificate is still issued by a Mexican OEC.

In practice, a manufacturer already fluent in CE and FCC can reuse foreign test reports as technical inputs, but must still go through a Mexican OEC for the NOM certificate and through IFT for the radio homologation.

Step-by-step process

The typical sequence for a foreign manufacturer approaching the Mexican market for the first time looks as follows.

Map the applicable NOMs for the product (safety, EMC, NOM-024-SCFI, energy, NOM-208-SCFI where relevant) from the DGN catalogue.
Identify the applicable Disposiciones Técnicas IFT if the product has a radio function or is a telecommunications terminal.
Designate a representante legal (importer or homologation agent) resident in Mexico, by written contract, and pre-register them with the OEC and, where applicable, with IFT.
Pick the NOM OEC (ANCE, NYCE, other, depending on its accreditation scope) and the EMA-accredited testing lab.
Mobilise existing CB / CE / FCC reports as technical inputs, identify National Differences (any additional tests, specific NOM requirements).
Run the required NOM testing at the accredited lab, receive the test report.
Obtain the NOM certificate issued by the OEC once the dossier is complete and compliant.
Prepare the IFT homologation dossier for the radio side: technical description, antenna plans, band declaration, compliance with the applicable DT-IFT.
File the IFT homologation request through the representante legal, follow the review and respond to any complementary requests.
Receive the IFT Certificado de Homologación and its associated number.
Finalise the labelling (NOM and IFT numbers, identification of the importador, Spanish language, warranties), validate physical apposition on series production.
Engage customs clearance of the first batch with the certificates as supporting documents, and trigger market launch.
Maintain compliance: management of hardware or firmware changes, retention of dossiers by the representante legal, updates if a NOM or DT-IFT is revised.

NOM / IFT compared with FCC and CE

Criterion	CE (EU)	FCC (US)	NOM + IFT (Mexico)
Electrical safety	LVD, EN harmonised standards	NRTL (UL, CSA) outside the FCC remit	NOM-001-SCFI, NOM-019-SCFI, via an accredited OEC
EMC	EMC Directive, EN harmonised	FCC Part 15 Subpart B	Family-specific EMC NOMs
Radio	RED and EN 300 / 301	FCC Part 15 Subpart C and related, FCC ID	IFT homologation, Disposiciones Técnicas IFT, IFT number
Labelling	CE marking plus directive information	FCC ID plus Part 15 information	IFT number, NOM certificate, Spanish-language label (NOM-024-SCFI)
Local representative	EU authorised representative if manufacturer outside the EU	FCC agent for the grant holder	Representante legal resident in Mexico
Frequency plan	ITU Region 1 (Europe / Africa)	ITU Region 2 (Americas)	ITU Region 2, close to the FCC plan but proper to IFT
Reuse of foreign testing	EU / non-EU MRAs per agreement	TCB and partial MRAs	CB Scheme for safety, USMCA for principles, but Mexican certificates remain mandatory

The table sums up the most frequent mistake: assuming that CE plus FCC is enough, or that one of the two Mexican regimes (NOM or IFT) can be skipped. For the broader perspective, see CE vs FCC and the logic of parallel EU and US certification.

Qualitative timeline

No official deadline is guaranteed. Observed orders of magnitude are as follows:

representante legal designation, contracting and registration: a few weeks,
testing in the accredited lab: depending on scope, several weeks, more if radio testing covers multiple modes,
OEC review of the NOM dossier and certificate issuance: variable with dossier quality and OEC workload,
IFT homologation review: several weeks to several months depending on radio complexity,
labelling and Spanish manual iterations: often underestimated, to anticipate in parallel with testing.

For cross-jurisdictional comparison, see the certification timeline. For the link to cellular operator homologation, see PTCRB, which describes the operator logic on the North American side.

Frequent pitfalls

Pitfall	Consequence
Labelling in English only, ignoring NOM-024-SCFI	Customs blocking or surveillance action, commercial withdrawal
Skipping IFT homologation for a radio product certified to NOM	Product not marketable, NOM certificate alone is insufficient
Confusing a voluntary NOM with a mandatory NOM	Missing a mandatory NOM, non-compliance at placement on the market
Failing to designate a representante legal in Mexico	NOM and IFT dossiers both inadmissible
Keeping an 868 MHz LPWAN module for the Mexican market	Outside the Region 2 frequency plan, hardware redesign needed
Relying solely on a CE report for safety	Acceptable as an input via the CB Scheme, but a Mexican OEC is still required
Not tracking changes to the DGN catalogue and DT-IFT	Risk of non-compliance against a newly applicable standard
IFT number missing or illegible on the label	Ground for market withdrawal under surveillance
Modifying radio firmware after homologation without refiling	Certificado de Homologación invalidated, recall risk
Underestimating the applicable energy-efficiency NOM	Import blocking, product redesign