Copyright 2002
National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade
InterAmÔ Database
January 11, 1972
Diario Oficial de la Federación (México)
Federal Law on Firearms and Explosives – amended through June, 2002
Translated by Lynn W. Barnes and Francisco A. Laguna, J.D.
Edited by Marsha McFadden Quick, Editor, InterAmÔ Database
Reproduced with permission
TITLE I
General Fundamentals
ARTICLE lst: The provisions of this law are of public interest.
ARTICLE 2nd: The application of this Law devolves upon:
I. The President of the Republic;
II. The Department of the Interior;
III. The Department of National Defense; and
IV. The other federal authorities in their various fields.
ARTICLE 3rd: The authorities of the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities, in their jurisdictions, shall have those supervisory powers set forth in this Law and its Regulations.
ARTICLE 4th: The control of all weapons in the nation devolves upon the Chief Executive of the Union, through the Departments of the Interior and of National Defense, within the jurisdiction conferred upon them by this Law; for this purpose a Federal Weapons Register is maintained.
ARTICLE 5th: The Federal Chief Executive, the State Governments, and the Governments of the Federal District and the Municipalities shall carry out permanent educational campaigns to motivate a reduction in the possession, carrying and use of any kind of weapons.
For the sake of the public well-being, publicity about sports weapons shall only be authorized for hunting and sports shooting according to the terms of the Regulations of this Law.
ARTICLE 6th: Federal laws or regulations which deal with related matters are supplementary to this Law.
TITLE II
Possession and Carrying
CHAPTER I
Preliminary Provisions
ARTICLE 7th: The possession of any firearm shall be declared to the Department of National Defense, so that it may be registered in the Federal Weapons Register.
ARTICLE 8th: Possession or carrying of weapons prohibited by the Law or reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, or Air Force shall be prohibited, except in cases set forth in this Law.
ARTICLE 9th: According to the terms and limitations set by this Law, the following weapons may be possessed or carried:
l. Semi-automatic pistols of greater than .380" (9 mm.) caliber, with the exception of .38" Super and .38" Commando pistols, as well as similar models of other brands, of the same caliber.
2. Revolvers of caliber not greater than the .38" Special, with the exception of the .357" Magnum.
Government cooperative (ejido), commune landowners and field dayworkers, outside of urban areas may possess and carry, simply by declaring them one of the aforementioned weapons, or a .22" rifle, or a shotgun of any caliber, except those having a barrel less than 635 mm. (25 inches) in length or those of greater than 12 gauge (.729" or 18.5 mm.).
3. Those mentioned in Article 10 of this Law.
4. Those which make up collections of weapons, according to the terms nf articles 21 and 22.
ARTICLE 10: The weapons which may be authorized for sportsmen engaged in marksmanship or hunting, to be owned by them, kept in their homes, and carried with a license, are the following:
I. Pistols, revolvers and .22" caliber rifles with circular fire.
II. .38" caliber pistols used for olympic or competition shooting.
III. Shotguns of all models and calibers except those with a barrel length shorter than 635 mm. (25") and of a caliber greater than 12 [gauge] (.729" or 18.5 mm.)
IV. Triple barrel shotguns of the calibers approved in the previous subsection, having a barrel for metal cartridges of a special caliber.
V. High-power repeating or semi-automatic rifles not convertible to automatics, with the exception of .30" BB rifles, muskets, and .223" caliber, 7 and 7.62 mm. carbines and Garand .30" caliber rifles.
VI. High-power rifles of higher caliber than those listed in the preceding clause, with a special permit to use them abroad in specimen hunting of big game not found among the national fauna.
VII. All other sporting weapons, according to the legal criteria of hunting applicable by the governing State Departments or Offices and the national and international regulations for competition shooting.
Persons who practice the sport of horsemanship may be allowed revolvers of caliber larger than those listed in the Ninth Article of this Law, solely as part of their cowboy (charro) attire, and must carry them unloaded.
ARTICLE 10 Bis. The possession of cartridges for arms that may be possessed or carried shall be limited to the cartridges established by article 50 of this Law, for each type of arm listed in the Federal Arm Registry.
ARTICLE 11: The weapons, ammunition and materials for the sole use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are the following:
a) .357 caliber Magnum revolvers and revolvers larger than .38" Special.
b) 9 mm. Parabellum, Luger and similar pistols, .38" Super and Commando pistols and those of larger caliber than these.
c) BB guns, muskets, rifles and shotguns of .223", 7 mm., 7.62 mm. caliber and .30 caliber rifles of all models.
d) Pistols, rifles and guns with a mechanism for firing bursts; submachine guns, tommy guns and machine guns of all calibers.
e) Shotguns with barrel length shorter than 635 mm. (25"), shotguns of greater than 12-gauge and gas guns, except those for industrial use.
f) Ammunition for the aforementioned weapons and cartridges having special features such as tracers, incendiaries, piercing, fumigant, exploding, gas cartridges, and shotgun shells with pellets larger than "00" (.84 cm. in diameter).
g) Cannons, artillery pieces, mortars and tanks with their attachments, accessories, projectiles and munitions.
h) Rocket-missiles, torpedoes, grenades, bombs, mines, depth charges, flame throwers, and similar weapons, and their firing apparatuses, mechanics and devices.
i) Bayonets, swords, and spears.
j) Ships, submarines, boats, and seaplanes for naval warfare and their armaments.
k) Airships for warfare and their armaments.
l) War devices, gases and chemical substances for exclusively military uses and the various apparatuses for their use by the Armed Forces.
In general, all weapons, munitions snd material intended exclusively for warfare.
Those intended for this use, justified by necessity, may be authorized by the Department of National Defense, singly or in larger quantities, to those who fill posts or offices for the Federal, the Federal District, State or Municipal governments.
ARTICLE 12: For the purposes of this Law, weapons which have been listed for the Criminal Code of Mexico City and Mexico (Código Penal para el Distrito Federal en Materia de Fuero Común y para toda la República en Materia de Fuero Federal) are prohibited weapons.
ARTICLE 13: Utensils, tools, or instruments for field work or for any art, profession, or sport, which are generally recognized as such, shall not be considered prohibited weapons; but their use shall be limited to the place where the work is done or the sport engaged in.
When those utensils, tools, or instruments are carried, for purposes of the work or of a sport, that need in each case must be shown.
ARTICLE 14: The loss, theft, destruction, locking up, or confiscation of a weapon which is permitted to be possessed or carried must be made known to the Department of National Defense, in the terms and by the means established in the Regulations of this Law.
CHAPTER II
Possession of Weapons in the Home
ARTICLE 15: Weapons may be kept in the home for the rightful safeguarding and defense of the inhabitants. Possession of weapons requires that they be declared and registered with the Department of National Defense.
An affidavit of registry shall be issued for each weapon.
ARTICLE 16: For purposes of control of the possession of weapons, actual persons must declare one permanent residence address for self and family members.
ARTICLE 17: Every person who acquires one or more weapons is required to reveal that acquisition to the Department of National Defense within thirty days. The declaration shall be in writing, showing brand, caliber, model and registration if there is one.
ARTICLE 18: Public servants and officers of the Federal, Federal District, State and Municipal police forces are required to make the declaration referred to in the foregoing article.
ARTICLE 19: The Department of National Defense shall be authorized to determine, in every case, what hunting or sports shooting weapons from the list in Article 10, according to their features, may be owned and how much supply of ammunition may be kept for each. In regard to hunting weapons, the prior approval of the governing State Departments or Offices shall be required.
Applications for authorization shall be made directly through the club or association.
ARTICLE 20: Sports shooting or hunting clubs or associations shall be registered with the Departments of the Interior and of National Defense and shall meet the requisites set forth in the Regulations to qualify for that registration.
ARTICLE 21: Individuals or corporations public or private may possess collections or museums of antique or modern weapons, or both, upon receiving a permit for same from the Department of National Defense.
They may also, with the same requirements, possess weapons prohibited by this Law when said weapons have cultural, scientific, artistic, or historical value or importance.
When weapons reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are part of a collection or museum not assigned to one of the national armed forces, written authorization by the respective body shall also be required.
ARTICLE 22: Individuals having weapons collections shall apply for authorization for the acquisition and possession of new weapons to add to the collection or museum, and shall register them.
ARTICLE 23: Weapons which belong to a collection may be removed from it as such or individually under the terms of the provisions of this Law, upon receipt of written permission from the Department of National Defense and other authorities having iurisdiction.
CHAPTER III
Cases, Conditions, Requirements and Places for the Carrying of Weapons
ARTICLE 24: A license is required to carry a weapon.
Members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and State and Municipal police forces are exempt from this provision, being under particular laws and regulations of those bodies.
ARTICLE 25: Licenses to carry weapons shall be of two kinds:
I. Individual, which shall be renewed every two years; and
II. Official, which remain valid while the licensee is engaged in the work or holds the position which gave rise to the license.
ARTICLE 26: Individual licenses shall be issued to persons meeting the following requirements:
I. They have an honest mode of life;
II. Those subject to national military service have served;
III. They have no physical or mental impairment to the use of weapons;
IV. They have not been convicted of a crime involving the use of weapons; and
V. Their need to carry weapons is justified, in the opinion of the Department of National Defense, by the nature of their work, special circumstances of the place where they live, or other pertinent reasons.
Licenses may also be issued for one or more weapons for sports shooting or hunting activities, only if the applicants are members of some registered club or association and meet the requirements set forth in the first sections of this article.
ARTICLE 27: Foreigners shall only be authorized to carry weapons when, in addition to meeting the requirements set forth in the foregoing article, they certify their status as immigrants, except in the case of tourists applying for temporary permits for sports purposes.
ARTICLE 28: Repealed as of 31 December, 1981.
ARTICLE 29: Official licenses shall be issued to persons in posts or work of the Federal and Federal District and Federative Entities governments who, in the opinion of those authorities, need to carry weapons in order to carry out their duties. These licenses may be Collective or Individual.
Collective Licenses shall be issued to Police Departments for the exact number of persons listed on their respective payrolls. In this case, the ID cards are each equivalent to an Individual License, and these shall be given out by the authorities of each department. The police chiefs shall, as part of their responsibilities, remit to the Department of National Defense, in the form set forth in the Regulations, a list of the weapons in their charge or that of their subalterns.
The Department of National Defense shall periodically inspect the armaments of these bodies, solely for purposes of control, having no authority whatever over the personnel.
The same Department shall coordinate with the State Governments the measures taken to obtain, promptly and exactly, the reports needed for the best control of the weapons supplied to state and municipal police.
ARTICLE 30: Except for the cases set forth in Article 32 of this Law, the Department of National Defense is in charge of the issuance, suspension, and cancellation of licenses to carry weapons and for the registration, ongoing vigilance, and control of weapons.
The Department shall inform the Department of the Interior promptly of any authorization, suspension, or cancellation of licenses.
ARTICLE 31: Licenses to carry weapons may be cancelled, without prejudice to applying any pertinent penalties, in the following cases:
I. When the licensees make improper use of the weapons or of the license;
II. When the licensees alter the licenses;
III. When the weapons are used outside of the places authorized for their use;
IV. When a different weapon is carried than the weapon authorized on the license;
V. When the features of the licensed weapon are modified;
VI. When the license was issued based on false statements or when, in the judgment of the Department of National Defense, the reasons for issuing the license no longer exist, or when for some reason some other necessary requisite is no longer being met;
VII. By resolution of the authority in charge;
VIII. When the licensees change their addresses without notifying the Department of National Defense; and
IX. For noncompliance by the licensee with the provisions of this Law, its Regulations, or any dictates of the Department of National Defense based thereon.
Licenses to carry weapons shall be suspended only when, in the judgment of the Department of National Defense, their suspension is necessary to preserve or restore the peace of communities or regions.
ARTICLE 32: The Department of the Interior is authorized to issue, suspend, or cancel Individual Official Licenses to carry weapons to federal employees, and shall notify the Department of National Defense of such issuance, suspension or cancellation so that the weapons may be correctly recorded in the Federal Weapons Register.
ARTICLE 33: Documents confirming the appointment of honorary police, secret police, or other similar officials do not authorize these persons to carry weapons without the corresponding license.
ARTICLE 34: Licenses to carry weapons shall certify the geographical boundaries within which the license is valid. If they are for watchmen of precincts or determined zones, the areas of validity shall be specified on the license.
ARTICLE 35: The licenses authorize the carrying of only the weapon described therein, by the licensee named thereon.
ARTICLE 36: Individuals are prohibited from going armed to public demonstrations and celebrations, deliberative conferences, meetings in which controversial interests are to be debated, any meeting the purpose of which makes probable the arising of opposition, and, in general, any act the results of which may be obtained by threat or use of weapons. Parades and sports gatherings for horsemanship, shooting, or hunting are exceptions.
TITLE III
Manufacture, Trade, Import, Export and Related Activities
CHAPTER I
Preliminary Provisions
ARTICLE 37: The President of the Republic has exclusive authority to authorize establishment of weapons factories and trade. The Department of National Defense shall oversee and control industrial and commercial operations having to do with arms, munitions, explosives, and chemicals.
The permits required for these activities shall be issued by the Department of National Defense with notification to the Department of the Interior and without prejudice to the jurisdictional powers of other authorities.
The official dependencies and the federal public bodies which carry out these activities shall be subject to the legal ordinances which regulate them.
ARTICLE 38: The permits referred to in the foregoing article do not exempt the holders thereof from the requirements set forth in other legal ordinances, depending on the nature of the activities.
ARTICLE 39: In the cases referred to in Article 37 and 38 of this Law, local and municipal authorities of the place shall be required to conform to those provisions with respect to safety and the location of those establishments.
ARTICLE 40: Industrial and commercial activities related to arms, munitions, explosives and all other items for exclusive use by the Army and Air Force shall be subject to the ordinances issued by the Department of National Defense. When the material is for exclusive use by the Navy of Mexico, those activities shall be subject to the ordinance issued by the Navy Department (Secretaría de Marina).
The Department of Military Industry (Departamento de Industria Militar) is regulated by its own legal standards.
ARTICLE 41: The provisions of this Section apply to all activities related to all the following arms, objects, and materials herewith mentioned:
I. ARMS:
a) All permitted firearms included in Articles 9 and 10 of this Law;
b) Gas weapons;
c) Industrial guns;
d) Constituent parts of the aforementioned arms.
II. MUNITIONS:
a) Munitions and their constituent parts intended for the arms listed under the foregoing heading;
b) The cartridges used in tools for securing anchors in the construction industry and that function by the use of gunpowder.
III. GUNPOWDERS AND EXPLOSIVES:
a) Gunpowder of any composition;
b) Picric acid;
c) Dinitrotoluene (T.N.T.);
d) Nitropaste; nitrogel;
e) Nitroglycerine;
f) Nitrocellulose: Fibrous type: soaked in alcohol with a maximum concentration of 12.2% and with at least 30% solvent. Cubic (dense paste) type: with a maximum nitrogen concentration of 12.2% and a minimum of up to 25% solvent;
g) Nitroguanidine;
h) Tetril;
i) Pentrite (P.E.N.T.)or Penteritratetranitrate;
j) T.N.T. (Trinitrotoluene);
k) Fulminate of mercury;
l) Lead, silver, and copper nitrites;
m) Dynamites and amatoles;
n) Lead (e)stifinate;
o) Nitrocarbonitrates (ammonium nitrate explosives);
p) Cyclonite (R.D.X.); and
q) In general, any substance, mixture or compound having explosive properties.
IV. DEVICES:
a) Incendiaries;
b) Detonators;
c) Safety fuses;
d) Fuses;
e) Fireworks;
f) Any instrument, machine, or device usable with or for use with explosives.
V. CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES RELATED TO EXPLOSIVES
a) Chlorates;
b) Perchlorates;
c) Metallic Sodium;
d) Powdered Magnesium;
e) Phosphorous;
f) All those which, alone or combined, may be be utiized as explosives.
ARTICULO 42: Specific licenses referred to in Article 37 of this Law, may be:
I.
General, which are given to negotiations or people who practice these activities on a permanent basis.II. Ordinary, issued in each case in order to carry out business operations amongst themselves or with business associates from other countries, to the negotiations with general current permission, and
III. Special, issued to those who in some way might have need to exercise some of the operations referred to in this Section.
ARTICULO 43: The Department of National Defense shall have the power to nullify, suspend or cancel at its discretion the licenses referred to in the previous article when the licensed activities may involve danger to the safety/security of the people or installations, or could upset the public peace.
ARTICLE 44: Permits are not transferable.
General Permits shall be in force during the year of their issue and may be renewed at the discretion of the Department of National Defense.
Ordinary and special permits shall be in effect for the period shown, in each particular case, on the permit.
ARTICLE 45: Factories, industrial plants, workshops, trade and all other establishments devoted to the activities regulated in this Section shall meet the requisite conditions of security, technological operations, location and production established in the Regulations.
ARTICLE 46: Repealed as of 27 December, 1993
ARTICLE 47: Repealed as of 27 December, 1993
CHAPTER TWO
Concerning Industrial and Trade Activities and Operations
ARTICLE 48: General Permits for manufacture, assembling, repair and related activities with respect to arms, objects, and materials listed in this Section include authorization for purchase of the parts or elements that may be needed.
ARTICLE 49: To sell more than one weapon to an individual, dealers shall first obtain the respective special permit.
ARTICLE 50: Dealers may only sell the following to individuals:
a) Up to 500 .22 caliber cartridges;
b) Up to 1,000 shells for shotguns or other munitions-loading weapons, whether old or recharged, even though they may be of different calibers;
c) Up to 5 kilograms of sports gunpowder, in cans or kegs, and 1,000 pieces of each of shotgun shell cases, or 100 bullets or cartridge cases for the other permitted weapons;
d) Up to a maximum of 200 cartridges for the other permitted weapons.
The Regulations of this Law shall set time intervals for making additional sales to the same person.
ARTICLE 51: The buying and selling of arms and cartridges for exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force shall be carried out by the official Institution appointed by the President of the Republic.
ARTICLE 52: The buying and selling of the arms and cartridges referred to in the preceding article shall be carried out according to the terms and conditions set forth in the ordinances issued by the Department of National Defense or by the Navy Department, if such is the case.
ARTICLE 53: The buying, selling, donation or exchange of weapons, ammunition, and explosives among private persons shall require a Special Permit.
ARTICLE 54: Those who lack the permits set forth in Article 42 of this Law, who need to acquire more than 5 kilograms of gunpowder in cans or kegs, 1,000 percussion caps, or any quantity of explosives and devices, shall obtain authorization according to the terms of this Law.
CHAPTER THREE
Concerning Import and Export
ARTICLE 55: The arms, objects, and materials referred to in this Law which are imported under the authorization of ordinary or special permits shall be put to the exact use indicated on said permits. Any attempted modification, change, or conversion of the indicated use requires a new permit.
ARTICLE 56: In order to apply for a permit to export the arms, objects, or materials mentioned, the applicants shall certify to the Department of National Defense that they already have an import permit from the government of the country to which they are being exported.
ARTICLE 57: When the arms, objects, and materials of import/export trade are subject to the respective customs office, the interested parties shall notify the Department of National Defense, so that a designated representative of that department can participate in the corresponding customs clearance; without this, their release from fiscal control or exit from the country cannot be permitted.
ARTICLE 58: Private parties who acquire arms or munitions abroad shall apply for a special permit in order to have them released from fiscal control.
ARTICLE 59: Temporary importation and exportation of weapons and ammunition by tourist hunters and sports shooters shall be authorized by the corresponding special permit, on which shall be indicated the conditions which must be met according to the regulations of this Law.
CHAPTER FOUR
Concerning Shipping/Transport
ARTICLE 60: General permits for any of the activities regulated in this Section include permission for the transportation within the national territory, of the arms, objects, and materials which they authorize; but the bearer thereof shall be subject to the pertinent Laws, regulations, and ordinances.
ARTICLE 61: Transportation as a consequence of the permits granted by the Department of National Defense to persons or businesses to carry out some activity or activities set forth in this Section shall conform to the security measures specified in the permit.
ARTICLE 62: The persons or businesses having a general permit for the specialized transportation of the arms, objects, and materials in this Section shall require from the sender an authorized copy of the permit they have been issued.
ARTICLE 63: Persons who go into the interior, crossing the country, may not carry with them nor acquire the arms, objects, and materials mentioned in this Section without the corresponding license or permit.
ARTICLE 64: When the Mexican Postal Service accepts mailings of arms, objects, and materials listed in this Section, it shall require the corresponding permit.
CHAPTER FIVE
Concerning Storage
ARTICLE 65: The storage of the arms, objects, and materials mentioned in this Section may be authorized as a complementary activity of the general permit issued, or as a specific list of persons or businesses.
ARTICLE 66: The arms, objects, and materials covered by the permits may only be stored in the quantities and locations authorized.
ARTICLE 67: The storage of the arms, objects, and materials referred to in this Section shall be subject to the requirements, compatibility tables and distance/quantity tables set forth by the Department of National Defense.
CHAPTER SIX
Concerning Control and Oversight
ARTICLE 68: Those having a general permit shall, within the first five days of each month, submit to the Department of National Defense a detailed report of their activities, in which they specify the business activity that took place during the preceding month.
ARTICLE 69: Businesses dedicated to the activities regulated in this Law are required to give necessary access to the Department of National Defense to make its inspection visits.
ARTICLE 70: In case of any disturbance of the public peace, the authorities responsible for applying this Law shall, within the limits of their jurisdiction, institute the necessary measures to assure strict compliance with the provisions for suspension or cancellation of the permits.
ARTICLE 71: In case of war or disturbance of public order, the factories, industrial plants, warehouses, and trading establishments that manufacture, produce, assemble, repair, store, or sell any of the arms, objects, and materials referred to in this Law shall, upon the decision of the President of the Republic, be placed under the control of the Department of National Defense according to the legal ordinances which may be issued.
ARTICLE 72: The Department of National Defense, when it deems it necessary, shall inspect the security/safety conditions in the factories, industrial plants, workshops, warehouses, powder magazines, and vehicles used for the activities referred to in this Title.
ARTICLE 73: The permit holders referred to in this Title are required to comply with the reporting, control, and security measures established by the Department of National Defense under this Law.
ARTICLE 74: Auction sales of the arms, objects, and materials mentioned in this Law are prohibited. Administrative and court-ordered auctions are allowed, in which case, the respective authorities shall notify the Department of National Defense, who may appoint a representative to attend the auction. Only persons or businesses having a permit from the Department of National Defense may be bidders.
ARTICLE 75: In cases of judicial or governmental award of arms, objects, or materials referred to in this Law, the receiver of the award shall, within the next 15 days, apply for the permit needed to dispose of them, stating the use to which he intends to put them.
ARTICLE 76: The holders of general permits are required to keep all documentation concerning said permits for a period of five years.
TITLE IV
Sanctions
ONLY CHAPTER
ARTICLE 77. The following shall be sanctioned by a fine of ten to hundred days:
I. Those who possess arms without having declared such arms to the Secretariat of National Defense;
II. Those who possess arms, cartridges or ammunition in an unauthorized place;
III. Those who violate the provisions of article 36 of this Law. In this case, in addition to the fine, the arm shall be confiscated; and
IV. Those who possess cartridges over the quantity referred to in article 50 of this Law.
For purposes of imposing the administrative fines referred to in this article, the matter shall be referred to the local administrative authority competent to punish police violations.
ARTICLE 78: The Department of National Defense and other authorities empowered to do so shall confiscate the weapon(s) upon mandatory issuance of the appropriate receipt, of any person(s) carrying weapons without a license or who do(es) not carry their license with them, or who, having a license, made wrongful use of the weapon(s).
Confiscated weapons shall remain at the location designated by the appropriate Department at the discretion of the authority in charge.
The weapon(s) confiscated because the bearer is not carrying his license shall be returned upon payment of a fine of four days and presentation of the license. The time limit for the licensee to present his license shall be 15 days.
For purposes of paying the aforementioned fine, the infraction shall be turned over, as quickly as possible, to the appropriate federal fiscal authority.
ARTICLE 79: Federal, state or municipal authorities who carry out safety/security functions shall have the same powers and obligations referred to in the previous article, proceeding on the same terms.
In the paying of fines, the infraction shall turn to the corresponding federal fiscal authority.
ARTICLE 80: The permit of any shooting or hunting club or association which fails to meet any of the requirements imposed by the Law or its Regulations shall be cancelled.
The permit to carry weapons for sports shooting or hunting shall be suspended when the permitee no longer belongs to a club or association, until he joins another registered with the Departments of the Interior and of National Defense according to the provisions of Article 20 and the last paragraph of Article 26 of this Law.
The holder's own license shall be cancelled when he infringes upon any requirement of this Law and its Regulations or when he ceases to belong to the club or association of which he was a member.
ARTICLE 81. Those who carry an arm referred to in articles 9 and 10 of this Law without the corresponding license shall be sanctioned by a period of two to seven years imprisonment and a fine of two hundred days.
If the person is carrying two or more arms, the sanction shall be increased by up to two-thirds [of the original sanction].
ARTICLE 82. Those who transfer ownership of an arm without the corresponding permit shall be subject to a period of one to six years imprisonment and a fine of one hundred to five hundred days.
The unauthorized transfer of ownership of two or more arms, or the repeated violation of the preceding paragraph shall be sanctioned in accordance with article 85 Bis of this Law.
ARTICLE 83. Those who carry, without the corresponding permit, an arm exclusively reserved for the use of the Army, Navy or Air Force shall be sanctioned as follows:
I. If the arm falls within Article 11(i) of this Law, by a period of three months to one year imprisonment and a fine of one to ten days;
II. If the arm falls within Article 11(a) or (b) of this Law, by a period of five to ten years imprisonment and a fine of fifty to two hundred days; and
III. For the remaining arms referred to in Article 11of this Law, by a period of ten to fifteen years imprisonment and a fine of one hundred to five hundred days.
If two or more arms are carried, the corresponding sanction shall be increased by up to two-thirds.
If three or more persons, belonging to a group, carry the arms referred to in subsection III of this article, the corresponding sanction for each such person shall be doubled.
ARTICLE 83BIS: Anyone who, without the appropriate permit, combines arms, shall be sanctioned as follows:
I. With 2 to 9 years’ imprisonment and 10 to 300 days’ fine if the arms are listed in Article 11, clauses (a) or (b) of this Law. In the case of clause (i) of the same article, sentence of 1 to 3 years’ imprisonment and 5 to 15 days’ fine shall be imposed; and
II. With 5 to 30 years’ imprisonment and l00 to 500 days’ fine if it is a case of any of the other arms included in Article 11 of this Law.
Combining should be understood to mean the possession of more than five weapons of those permitted to be used exclusively by the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
In imposing sanctions for the offenses of the carrying or combination of arms, the Judge shall take into account the activity in which the offender is engaged, his record, and the circumstances in which he was arrested.
ARTICLE 83TER. Those who carry, without the corresponding permit, an arm exclusively reserved for the use of the Army, Navy or Air Force shall be sanctioned as follows:
I. If the arm falls within Article 11(i) of this Law, by a period of three months to one year imprisonment and a fine of one to ten days;
II. If the arm falls within Article 11(a) or (b) of this Law, by a period of two to seven years imprisonment and a fine of twenty to one hundred days; and
III. For the remaining arms referred to in Article 11of this Law, by a period of four to twelve years imprisonment and a fine of fifty to two hundred days.
ARTICLE 83QUAT. Those who possess cartridges in quantities greater than permitted shall be sanctioned as follows:
I. If the cartridges are for the arms referred to in articles 9, 10 and 11(a), (b) of this Law, by one to four years imprisonment and a fine of ten to fifty days; and
II. If the cartridges are for the arms referred to in the remaining subsections of article 11 of this Law, by a two to six years imprisonment and a fine of twenty-five to one hundred days.
ARTICLE 84. The following shall be subject to a period of five to thirty years imprisonment and a fine of twenty to five hundred days:
I. Those who participate in the clandestine importation into the national territory of firearms, ammunitions, cartridges, explosives and materials reserved for the exclusive use of the Army, Navy or Air Force or subject to control in accordance with this Law;
II. Public servants who are obligated by their official duties to prohibit such importation and do not do so. In addition, such servants shall be relieved of their employment or office and shall be prohibited from holding any public office or commission; and
III. Those who acquire the objects referred to in subsection I for commercial purposes.
ARTICLE 84BIS. Anyone who imports clandestinely into the national territory firearms that are not reserved for the use of the Army, Navy and Air Force shall receive three to ten years imprisonment.
A foreign resident who imports, for the first time, one single firearm of the ones referred to in the preceding paragraph shall only receive an administrative sanction in the form of a fine of two hundred days and the arm shall be confiscated and a corresponding receipt [for the arm] shall be issued. When the person from whom the arm is confiscated leaves the country, the arm shall be returned to him after he delivers the corresponding receipt.
ARTICLE 84TER. The sanctions referred to in articles 82, 83, 83 Bis, 83 Ter, 83 Quat, 84, and 84 Bis of this Law shall be increased by half as much if the responsible party is, or has been, a public servant of any police force, a member of any private security service, or a member of the Army, Navy or Air Force, retired, in the reserves or in active duty.
ARTICLE 85. Sellers of arms, ammunition and explosive who cannot verify the legal origin of such goods shall be sanctioned by a period of two to ten years imprisonment and a fine of twenty to five hundred days.
ARTICLE 85 BIS. A period of five to fifteen years imprisonment and a fine of one hundred to five hundred days shall be imposed on the following:
I. Those who manufacture or export arms, ammunition, cartridges and explosives without the corresponding permit;
II. Sellers of arms who transfer ownership of the items referred to in subsection I without authorization; and
III. Those who unduly dispose of arms designated to the federal, state or municipal police corps, or to the Army, Navy or Air Force.
ARTICLE 86: Sentence of 6 months to 6 years’ imprisonment and l0 to 300 days’ fine shall be imposed upon those who, without the respective permit,:
I. Buy explosives; and
II. Transport, assemble, repair, transform or store the items referred to in this Law.
The prison sentence(s) provided in this article shall be doubled when the transport referred to in Subsection II is of arms listed in Article 11 (a) and (b) of this Law.
If the transport is of arms included in Article ll of this Law, except for those mentioned in clauses (a), (b), and (i), the penalty shall be 5 to 30 years’ imprisonment and 20 to 500 days’ fine.
ARTICLE 87: Sentence of l month to 2 years’ imprisonment and 2 to l00 days’ fine shall be imposed on those who:
I. Manage factories, industrial plants, workshops, warehouses, and other establishments dedicated to the activities regulated by this Law without meeting the required security condition;
II. Ship the items that are the subject of this Law, if the transportation is carried out by unauthorized companies;
III. Carry out the type of transport referred to in the previous section, and
IV. Transfer explosives, devices, and chemicals related to explosives, to businesses or persons who do not have the appropriate permit from the Department of National Defense.
ARTICLE 88: The arms which are subject(s) of the offenses set forth in this chapter shall be confiscated to be destroyed. Exceptions are those for exclusive use of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, which shall be sent to those institutions, and those of historic. cultural, scientific or artistic value, which shall be sent to the Department of National Defense Arms Museum. The objects, explosives, and other materials confiscated shall be used for works of social welfare.
ARTICLE 89: For the infraction of any of the standards of this Law, aside from the sanctions established in this chapter, the Department of National Defense may, according to the terms set forth in the Regulations, suspend or cancel the permits it has issued.
ARTICLE 90: Other infractions of this Law or its Regulations not expressly provided for may be sanctioned with a penalty of 1 to 200 days’ fine.
ARTICLE 91: In applying the money penalty in days of fine, the system provided in Article 29 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal para el Distrito Federal en Materia de Fuero Común y para toda la República en Materia de Fuero Federal) shall be used.
TRANSITORY ARTICLES
ARTICLE l: This Law shall become effective 15 days after its publication in the "Official Daily Record" of the Federation.
ARTICLE 2: While the Regulations of this Law are being adopted, the relative provisions of those regulations presently in force, which are not in conflict with them, shall be used.
ARTICLE 3: When the present Law has been in effect for 90 days, all licenses to bear arms which were issued prior to its passage shall become null and void; however, if within this time the licensees meet the requirements of this Law their licenses shall bs renewed.
ARTICLE 4: The associations in existence and operation on the date of this Law shall not be affected constitutionally by the provisions thereof, but if they wish to enter into other businesses or install other industrial entities than those mentioned in Article 46, they shall need the permission of the State Department, which, should that Department decide to grant it, may only be issued provided all the requisites set forth are met by the new associations.
ARTICLE 5: Within 90 days after the date this Law goes into effect, trades and businesses shall conform themselves to the precepts of said Law.
ARTICLE 6: Every person possessing one or more weapons in his domicile is required to declare them to the Department of National Defense within 90 days of the date this Law goes into effect.
ARTICLE 7: The corresponding Regulations shall set forth the form and terms by which individuals shall divest themselves of arms which, having been registered and permitted on the date of publication of this Law, now are reserved to the exclusive use of he Army, Navy, and Air Force.
ARTICLE 8: All ordinances which are contrary to this Law are repealed.
Mexico City, D.F. December 29, 1971 - Victor Manzanilla Schaeffer, S.P. - Juan Moises Callya, D.P. - Juan Sabinez Gutierrez, S.S. - Marco Antonio Espinoza, D.S. (signatures).
In fulfillment of the provisions of Article 89, Subsection I of the Constitution of the United Mexican States and for its due publication and observance, I issue this Decree in the Federal Executive Residence, in the City of Mexico, Federal District, on the thirtieth day of the month of December of nineteen hundred
seventy-one. Luis Echevarria Alvarez (signature) - The Secretary of National Defense, Hermengildo Cuencla Diaz (signature~ - The Secretary of the Interior, Mario Moya Palencia (signature) - The Secretary of State, Emilio 0. Rabasa (signature) - The Secretary of the Navy, Luis M. Bravo Carrerra (signature) -The Secretary of the Treasury and Public Finance, Hugo B. Margain (signature) - The Secretary of the National Resources, Carlos Torres Manzo (signature) - the Secretary of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, Manuel Bernardo Aguirre (signature) - The Secretary of Communications and Transportation, Eugene Mendez Ducorro (signature) - The Secretary of Public Education, Victor Bravo Ahuja (signature) - The Secretary of Health and Welfare, Jorge Jimenez Cantu (signature - The Secretary of Labor and Social Security, Rafael Hernandez Ochoa (signature) - The Secretary of the Presidency, Hugo Cervantes del Rio (signature) -The Head of the Department of Agrarian Matters and Colonization, Agusto Gomez Villanueva (signature) - The Head of the Department of Tourism, Agustin Olachea Borbon (signature) - The Head of the Federal District Department, Octavio Sentiez Gomez (signature).