> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://settlemexico.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The constancia de situación fiscal: the SAT document everyone asks for - URL: https://settlemexico.com/constancia-situacion-fiscal/ - Published: 2026-10-18T19:18:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-18T19:18:45.000Z - Description: Landlords, banks, employers and notaries in Mexico ask for your constancia de situación fiscal. What it is, how to download it free from SAT, and why nobody can refuse you an invoice without it. - Author: Roger Scott - Tags: Guides **The short answer:** the constancia de situación fiscal is a free PDF from SAT, Mexico's tax authority, that proves your tax registration. You download it from SAT's website with your RFC and password. It shows your RFC (tax ID), your name exactly as SAT has it, your fiscal postal code and your tax regime. Landlords, banks, employers and notaries ask for it. You need an RFC to have one, so tourists don't. And since November 2025, no business may refuse you an invoice because you won't hand it over. Sooner or later, someone in Mexico will ask for your *constancia*. A landlord who issues rent invoices, a bank opening an investment account, a new employer setting up payroll, the notary on a property purchase. For someone new to the system, it's confusing: it isn't your RFC, it isn't a tax return, and nobody explains where to get it. This guide covers what's on it, how to download it, what to do if you can't, and the one situation where you shouldn't have to show it at all. ## What's on it The constancia de situación fiscal is SAT's statement of your current tax registration. The PDF shows: - **Your RFC** (*Registro Federal de Contribuyentes*), your Mexican tax ID, and your CURP. - **Your name** exactly as SAT has registered it. This matters more than you'd think (see invoices, below). - **Your fiscal address** (*domicilio fiscal*), including its postal code. - **Your tax regime** (*régimen fiscal*) and the obligations attached to it, such as monthly or annual returns. - **Your status:** whether your registration is active. - A **QR code** that lets anyone check the document against SAT's records. SAT also offers a shorter document, the *cédula de datos fiscales*, with your RFC, name and regime but not every detail. In July 2025 SAT [denied reports](https://www.unotv.com/negocios/constancia-de-situacion-fiscal-sigue-vigente-aclara-sat/?ref=settlemexico.com) that it was replacing the constancia. Both exist, and both are free. ## First, you need an RFC The constancia only exists once you're registered with SAT. Tourists aren't, and most new residents aren't either until something requires it: a Mexican job, Mexican clients, a property purchase, or a bank that insists. Getting the RFC means an in-person appointment at a SAT office, and appointments can take weeks to get. ResidencyMexico's [CURP and RFC guide](https://residencymexico.com/blog/curp-rfc-mexico-new-residents-2026?utm%5Fsource=settlemexico&utm%5Fmedium=web&utm%5Fcampaign=constancia-situacion-fiscal) covers what to bring. At that appointment, ask for your **contraseña** (SAT password) and consider getting your **e.firma** (electronic signature) at the same time. Either one lets you download the constancia from home, any time, for the rest of your life in Mexico. ## How to download it 1. Go to [Genera tu Constancia de Situación Fiscal](https://www.sat.gob.mx/aplicacion/53027/genera-tu-constancia-de-situacion-fiscal?ref=settlemexico.com) on sat.gob.mx. On the SAT home page, it's under *Otros trámites y servicios*. 2. Log in with your **RFC and contraseña**, or with your **e.firma** (the .cer and .key files and their password). 3. Click to generate it. The PDF opens; save it and print it if someone wants paper. It's free and takes a couple of minutes. The site is in Spanish only. **No contraseña, or forgotten it?** You can create or renew it online with your e.firma, or through **SAT ID** ([satid.sat.gob.mx](https://satid.sat.gob.mx/?ref=settlemexico.com) or the app), which checks your identity with a photo ID and a short video and replies by email, usually [within a few working days](https://www.xataka.com.mx/basics/como-sacar-constancia-situacion-fiscal-sat-contrasena?ref=settlemexico.com). Otherwise, SAT's offices handle it in person, by appointment. Only enter your RFC and password on **sat.gob.mx** or **satid.sat.gob.mx**. Sites and social media accounts offering to "get your constancia for you" are a common way to steal SAT credentials. ## Invoices: what you actually have to give This is where most people meet the constancia. In Mexico, a *factura* (formally a CFDI) is an electronic invoice registered with SAT, and businesses used to insist on a copy of your constancia before issuing one. They can't any more. Article 29-A of the [Código Fiscal de la Federación](https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CFF.pdf?ref=settlemexico.com) lists what an invoice needs from you: your **RFC**, your **name**, the **postal code** of your fiscal address, and the **use** you'll give the invoice (*uso del CFDI*). Since a November 2025 amendment, Article 83 makes it an infraction to make issuing the invoice conditional on seeing your constancia, and Article 84 sets a fine of 21,420 to 122,440 pesos for a first offence. SAT repeated this in [January 2026](https://www.unotv.com/negocios/sat-aclara-constancia-de-situacion-fiscal-no-es-obligatoria-para-facturar/?ref=settlemexico.com), including for employers running payroll. In practice: - **Give the data exactly as it appears on your constancia.** Invoices are validated against SAT's records, and a name that differs by a space or a missing middle name [won't go through](https://www.elcontribuyente.mx/2022/02/datos-del-receptor-en-la-factura-4-0-deben-coincidir-con-rfc-sat/?ref=settlemexico.com). Tell them your tax regime too; invoicing systems ask for it. - **Keep the PDF on your phone.** Showing it is often the quickest way to give someone those details correctly. You just can't be required to. - **No RFC?** You can still get an invoice, but not in your name: the business issues it to SAT's generic RFC for the general public, as Article 29-A allows. It records the sale, but it can't be used for Mexican tax purposes. If SAT registered you with no tax obligations (common for retirees with no Mexican income), your regime on the constancia will show as **616, Sin obligaciones fiscales**. Invoices to that regime normally use the code [S01, Sin efectos fiscales](https://siemprealdia.co/mexico/fiscal/expedicion-de-cfdi-a-extranjeros/?ref=settlemexico.com). ## Keeping it current - **It doesn't expire,** but it reflects your registration on the day you print it. Some banks and employers ask for a recent one. Since it's free, download a fresh copy whenever someone asks. - **If you move,** update your fiscal address with SAT. Otherwise invoices will carry the old postal code, and anything that checks it against SAT will fail. - **If you start earning in Mexico,** your regime and obligations change. Updating them is a job for a *contador* (accountant), and it's worth having one by then. See [taxes for Americans living in Mexico](https://settlemexico.com/taxes-americans-in-mexico/) for when Mexico counts you as a tax resident. ## Common questions ### Is the constancia the same as the RFC? No. The RFC is your tax ID number. The constancia is a document SAT issues showing that RFC along with the rest of your registration. ### Can I get one as a tourist? No. You need an RFC, and that means registering with SAT, which in practice comes after residency. ### Does it cost anything? No. Downloading it is free, and so is the in-person service at SAT offices. There's no reason to pay anyone to get it for you. ### My landlord says they need it for the lease. Do I have to give it? For an invoice, no: your RFC, name, postal code and regime are enough. For other purposes, such as a rental application or a póliza jurídica, it's the landlord's or the company's requirement, and you can choose whether to share it. See [renting in Mexico](https://settlemexico.com/renting-in-mexico/) and the [póliza jurídica](https://settlemexico.com/poliza-juridica/) guide. ## Sources - Código Fiscal de la Federación, as amended to April 9, 2026 ([Cámara de Diputados](https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/CFF.pdf?ref=settlemexico.com)): Article 29-A, section IV (what an invoice needs, and the generic RFC); Article 83, section IX, as amended November 7, 2025 (refusing an invoice without the constancia); Article 84, section VI (the fine). - SAT, [Genera tu Constancia de Situación Fiscal](https://www.sat.gob.mx/aplicacion/53027/genera-tu-constancia-de-situacion-fiscal?ref=settlemexico.com). - SAT statements as reported by Uno TV: [July 22, 2025](https://www.unotv.com/negocios/constancia-de-situacion-fiscal-sigue-vigente-aclara-sat/?ref=settlemexico.com) (the constancia isn't being replaced; ways to get it) and [January 20, 2026](https://www.unotv.com/negocios/sat-aclara-constancia-de-situacion-fiscal-no-es-obligatoria-para-facturar/?ref=settlemexico.com) (not required for invoices). - SAT ID process: [Xataka México](https://www.xataka.com.mx/basics/como-sacar-constancia-situacion-fiscal-sat-contrasena?ref=settlemexico.com). - Invoice data must match SAT's records: [El Contribuyente](https://www.elcontribuyente.mx/2022/02/datos-del-receptor-en-la-factura-4-0-deben-coincidir-con-rfc-sat/?ref=settlemexico.com). Regime 616 and use S01: [Siempre al Día](https://siemprealdia.co/mexico/fiscal/expedicion-de-cfdi-a-extranjeros/?ref=settlemexico.com). **No RFC yet because you're still on tourist stays?** Registering with SAT comes after residency. ResidencyMexico's free calculator checks whether your income or savings meet your consulate's requirements. [Open the calculator →](https://residencymexico.com/calculator?utm%5Fsource=settlemexico&utm%5Fmedium=web&utm%5Fcampaign=constancia-situacion-fiscal) I run ResidencyMexico as well as this site. Last checked October 18, 2026\. SAT changes its website and procedures often; if a step here no longer matches what you see, please [tell me](mailto:hello@settlemexico.com). This is general information, not tax advice. ![Roger Scott](https://settlemexico.com/content/images/2026/10/roger-scott.jpeg) Written by Roger Scott I went through Mexican residency myself, and I write these guides from primary sources: the law, the government agency, the official page. I also run [ResidencyMexico](https://residencymexico.com/?utm%5Fsource=settlemexico&utm%5Fmedium=web&utm%5Fcampaign=author-box), which helps people through the residency paperwork. [More about me, and how facts are checked](https://settlemexico.com/about/).