Shipping to Mexico

The ShipStation process for shipping internationally to Mexico is much the same as shipping any international package. However, as of January of 2023, the Mexican Tax Authority adopted the Carta Porte requirements, which mandate that all shipments to and within Mexico include a Package Description field that accurately describes the contents of the shipment. This description is in addition to the customs forms item descriptions and applies no matter which carrier you are shipping with.

Important Dates

  • March 20th, 2023: UPS will require the Package Description field for all shipments to Mexico. If the Package Description field is not filled in when shipping with UPS to Mexico, you will receive an error and will not be able to create the label.

  • August 1st, 2023: The Mexican Tax Authority will begin enforcing the Carta Porte requirements. Shipments that do not comply with these requirements will be subject to delays as well as penalties from the Mexican Government.

To ensure your shipments to Mexico meet these requirements, ShipStation has added a Package Description field that will be present only for shipments destined for Mexico.

Adding a Package Description

When you configure an international shipment to Mexico, you'll see a new Package Description field in your shipping sidebar:

ORD_ShippingSB_PackageDesc-MX_MRK.png

Add a summary of the package contents, keeping the following in mind:

  • The description can be a maximum of 35 characters.

  • The description should be a summary of all the contents of the parcel (if the shipment contains only one item, you can use the same description used for the item in the customs declaration).

  • If you create a multi-package shipment, the Package Description will be required for each parcel and should describe the actual contents of each package.

    The Package Set pop-up will include the Package Description field for each parcel in the multi-package shipment.