# Mexico’s electronic value declaration (MVE) 2026: the plain-English guide

> What the MVE is, what changed, a checklist and the step-by-step to file it through Mexico’s trade single window (VUTCE), plus the calendar by regime.

Source: https://www.freightspot.com/en/resources/help/como-hacer-manifestacion-de-valor · Updated: 2026-10-09 · Category: Registrations & filings · Publisher: FreightSpot

> **Where the calendar stands:** the transitional scheme — preparing the value declaration on paper or in a spreadsheet, without transmitting the MVE yet — runs through **October 31, 2026**. From November, electronic filing through the trade single window phases in **by customs regime**, and **definitive imports** — most importers — close out the calendar on **January 15, 2027**. One caveat: the duty to *prepare* a value declaration (article 59, section III of Mexico’s Customs Law) applies at all times; what keeps moving is how and when you transmit it.

## What is it, in plain words?

When you import, you pay taxes on the **customs value** of your goods. The value declaration (manifestación de valor, or MVE) is the document where you explain to the tax authority (SAT), under penalty of perjury, **how you built that value**: what you paid for the goods and which costs get added on top (freight, insurance, and so on).

Think of it as the itemized receipt for your import: if the authority ever asks *“why did you declare this value?”*, this document — with its backup paperwork — is your answer.

![Diagram: international freight, insurance and other dutiable additions are added to the price paid for the goods to arrive at the customs value.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/en/mve-valor-en-aduana.svg)

*How the customs value comes together. The **additions** are the piece everyone forgets — and the one that causes the most trouble in an audit.*

**Important:** this is **the importer’s** obligation, not your customs broker’s. Your broker will help you put it together, but the legal responsibility sits with you.

## What changed? (and why everyone is talking about it)

![Value declaration timeline: the transitional scheme runs through October 31, 2026, and electronic filing becomes mandatory regime by regime, from November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/en/mve-fecha-limite.svg)

*The transitional scheme runs through **October 31, 2026**; after that the regime-by-regime calendar kicks in, closing with **definitive imports on January 15, 2027**.*

| Before | Now (MVE) |
| --- | --- |
| Paper/PDF document | **Electronic**, transmitted through the **trade single window** |
| Totals only | Detail **per invoice (COVE)** |
| Costs lumped together | Every **addition** itemized according to your Incoterm |
| No mandatory attachments | With **backup docs**: proof of payment, invoice, contracts |
| — | Mandatory **by customs regime**, on a phased calendar |

## How the extensions played out

- **December 27, 2025** — RGCE 2026 (published in the federal gazette, DOF), Eleventh Transitory: the transitional scheme runs through **July 31, 2026**.
- **July 31, 2026** — SAT-ANAM joint release 53-2026: the deadline moves to **September 30, 2026**.
- **September 22, 2026** — Second Resolution of Amendments to the RGCE 2026 (DOF): keeps September 30 and adds relief through **December 31, 2026** (certain documents under article 81 of the Customs Law Regulations need not travel inside the MVE, and contracts can be summarized on a single form).
- **September 30, 2026** — Third Resolution of Amendments to the RGCE 2026 and Annex 22, **first advance version** on the SAT portal: it amends the Eleventh Transitory, extends the transitional scheme to **October 31, 2026** and phases the mandate in by regime. It takes effect the day after publication in the **DOF**; as of this update it was still an advance version.
- **October 3, 2026** — SAT-ANAM-ATDT joint release: publicly confirms October 31 and the phased calendar.

| Customs regime | Electronic filing becomes mandatory |
| --- | --- |
| Processing, transformation or repair in a bonded facility | **November 1, 2026** |
| Strategic bonded facility | **November 15, 2026** |
| In-bond transit | **December 1, 2026** |
| Fiscal deposit | **December 15, 2026** |
| Temporary import | **January 1, 2027** |
| Definitive import | **January 15, 2027** |

This calendar has already moved more than once in 2026, so treat any date you read elsewhere as provisional. The timeline above lists every change with its source: check your regime there, and with your customs broker, before you plan the clearance.

## Checklist: what you need on hand

- Commercial invoice(s) and their COVE (the invoice’s electronic filing)
- Price paid or payable, and **how you paid it** (wire transfer or letter of credit)
- The shipment’s Incoterm (it defines which costs are on your side)
- Additions, itemized: international freight, insurance, commissions (except buying commissions), royalties, packaging
- If you buy from a **related party**: disclose it and assess whether it influenced the price
- A valid e.firma (Mexico’s e-signature) and access to the **trade single window** (ventanillaunica.gob.mx) — since May 2026 it operates as **VUTCE**, run by the digital agency (ATDT) instead of the SAT

## Step by step, with the portal’s actual screens

The screenshots in this section come from the **official VUCEM user manual** (“Manifestación de valor portal VUCEM — Registro MV”): these are the exact screens you’ll see. The portal runs in Spanish — each caption tells you what you’re looking at. With the file ready, the full filing takes 20 to 40 minutes.

## 1 · Before you log in: build the file

- **Gather**: invoice(s) and their COVE folios, proof of payment, contract, freight and insurance receipts — scanned as **PDF, grayscale, 300 DPI, 3 MB max** per file (that’s what the portal requires).
- **Sort the costs**: whatever is on your side of the deal and not on the invoice is a dutiable addition (your Incoterm is the tell).
- **Have the COVE folios at hand**: the system asks for them one by one, and the session expires after **30 minutes** of inactivity.

## 2 · Log in to the single window with your e.firma

At [ventanillaunica.gob.mx](https://www.ventanillaunica.gob.mx/vucem/index.html), open the **Ventanilla Única** menu and pick **Ingreso Solicitante** (“applicant login”), then sign in with your e.firma.

![Login screen of Mexico’s foreign-trade single window: FIEL authentication selected, with fields for the .cer certificate, .key private key and password.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/vucem-ingreso.png)

*Have your **certificate (.cer)**, your **private key (.key)** and your e.firma password ready. If you file as an individual, the declaration’s RFC must be **the same** as the e.firma you logged in with.*

## 3 · Find the filing

Inside the portal: **Trámites → Solicitudes nuevas** (“Filings → New requests”).

![VUCEM top menu with the Trámites section open and the Solicitudes nuevas option highlighted.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-01-menu-tramites.png)

*The **Trámites → Solicitudes nuevas** menu.*

Choose the **Hacienda** agency (Mexico’s treasury) and, under the **AGA** block, open **Manifestación de valor → Registro** (“Value declaration → Register”).

![VUCEM available-filings screen listing government agencies; Hacienda is the one to select.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-02-dependencia-hacienda.png)

*The MVE lives under the **Hacienda** agency.*

![AGA filing list with Manifestación de valor expanded, showing its Registro option.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-03-tramite-registro.png)

*At the bottom of the AGA list: **Manifestación de valor → Registro**.*

## 4 · Portal step 1: fill out the request

The form is tabbed. **Solicitante** shows your own data, prefilled and read-only. In **Datos manifestación**, type the **importer’s tax ID (RFC)** and click **Aceptar** — the system fills in the company name.

![Datos de la manifestación tab with the importer RFC field and the Aceptar button.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-04-datos-manifestacion.png)

*Type the RFC and hit **Aceptar**. Filing as an individual? It must match your session’s RFC.*

In **Información COVE**, enter each invoice’s COVE folio and pick the **valuation method** — for most operations that’s **transaction value** (“valor de transacción”). Click **Agregar** for every invoice.

![Información del COVE tab: field for the COVE folio and dropdown with the customs valuation methods.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-05-info-cove.png)

*One record **per COVE/invoice**, each with its valuation method.*

Select the COVE and click **Agregar MV** to complete it: that’s where you declare the **Incoterm**, whether you and your supplier are **related parties**, and the money sections:

![Dutiable additions section per article 65: concept, expense date, amount, currency, exchange rate and whether the importer bears it.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-06-incrementables.png)

***Dutiable additions** (art. 65): freight, insurance, commissions, royalties… one by one, with date, amount and currency. If a cost is already inside the invoice price, do NOT duplicate it here.*

![Precio pagado section: date, amount, payment method, currency and exchange rate.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-07-precio-pagado.png)

***Price paid**: how and when you paid (the payment method matters — wire, letter of credit…). Anything outstanding goes under **Precio por pagar** (price payable).*

Close with the **Valor en aduana** tab: the totals (paid + payable + additions − deductions), **declared in Mexican pesos**. That total is the base for your import taxes.

![Valor en aduana tab with the total amounts: price paid, payable, additions, deductions and grand total.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-08-valor-en-aduana.png)

*The end of the capture: **totals in MXN**. Check them against your file before continuing.*

## 5 · Portal steps 2 and 3: requirements and attachments

When you hit **Continuar**, VUCEM validates and lists which documents are required or optional for what you captured (step 2). In step 3 you attach them: **Adjuntar documentos → Examinar** (“Attach → Browse”), and make sure every file shows **OK (Correcto)** status.

![Step 3, attach documents: document-type table with Guardar and Adjuntar documentos buttons.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-09-anexar-documentos.png)

*One PDF per document type. **The proof of payment is the one everyone forgets** — and it’s a required attachment.*

## 6 · Portal step 4: sign and save your folio

![Step 4, sign the request: .cer certificate, .key private key and password fields with the Firmar button.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-10-firmar.png)

*You sign with the **same e.firma** you logged in with.*

On signing, the portal issues **two receipts** (the Acuse and the Detalle of the value declaration) and assigns your **declaration number** (it starts with “MNVA…”). Download both right then.

![VUCEM acknowledgment screen: message with the assigned declaration number and the downloadable receipts list.](https://www.freightspot.com/images/ayuda/oficial/mve-11-acuse.png)

*That **declaration number is your folio**: it goes to your customs broker BEFORE clearance and gets declared on the customs entry.*

## 7 · After transmitting

- **Hand the folio to your customs broker** before clearance — once your regime is on the electronic calendar, no folio means no clearance.
- **File receipts and backup docs** with the shipment’s paperwork: at least 5 years in your records. It’s the first thing an audit asks for.

## The 5 mistakes we see most

- Leaving it for clearance day — once your regime is on the electronic calendar, no transmitted MVE means no clearance. Your shipment stops.
- Leaving out additions you paid separately from the invoice (freight is the classic one).
- Not having the proof of payment on hand: it’s now a required attachment.
- Ignoring the related-party question when you buy from your parent or sister company.
- Assuming “the broker takes care of that”: your broker assists; **the obligation is yours**.

## Quick questions

**Does it apply to my temporary imports (IMMEX)?** It does, on its own date: **temporary imports** start on **January 1, 2027** and **definitive imports** on **January 15, 2027**. If you run mixed regimes, check each one against the table above with your brokerage.

**One MVE per customs entry (pedimento) or per invoice?** The detail is built **per invoice/COVE** — a shipment with several invoices needs each one broken out.

**Did the deadline sneak up on you?** At FreightSpot we prepare and transmit value declarations every day. [Write to us](https://www.freightspot.com/en/contact) and we’ll have you ready before it becomes mandatory — no drama.

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Need to move cargo or sort out a filing? [Contact FreightSpot](https://www.freightspot.com/en/contact) · Tel. +52 55 5351-8362 · hello@freightspot.com