# Mexico’s labeling standards (NOMs): which one applies to your product?

> NOM-050, NOM-051 and the other standards customs checks at clearance: which products they cover, how you prove compliance, and where to do the labeling.

Source: https://www.freightspot.com/en/resources/help/noms-etiquetado-importacion · Updated: 2026-07-26 · Category: Permits & regulations · Publisher: FreightSpot

Mexico’s mandatory product standards — the **Normas Oficiales Mexicanas (NOMs)** — are the number-one reason cargo gets held at customs for something that has **nothing** to do with taxes. The importer paid everything correctly… and the freight sits there because the labels don’t comply. The worst part: it’s 100% avoidable if you deal with it before the cargo ships.

## The two you’ll run into most

| Standard | What it covers | What it requires (in short) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **NOM-050-SCFI** | General consumer products **that are not food** | Commercial information in Spanish: product name, importer details, country of origin, contents, characteristics |
| **NOM-051-SCFI/SSA1** | **Prepackaged food and non-alcoholic beverages** | Commercial and health information, the nutrition panel and the **front-of-pack warning labels** (the black seals) |

Both apply equally to domestic and imported product. And both get checked at clearance.

## But there are plenty more

Depending on your product, there are NOMs for **electrical safety**, **energy efficiency**, **telecom equipment**, **toys**, **textiles**, **tires**… Which ones apply **isn’t a judgment call — it’s decided by your tariff code**. [Look yours up in the calculator](https://www.freightspot.com/en/tariff-calculator) and check the regulatory file: that’s where the NOMs and permits tied to your code show up.

## How compliance is proven

- **NOM certificate** — issued by an accredited certification body. This is what product standards (safety, efficiency) demand.
- **Statement of conformity** — issued by an accredited **verification unit**. The usual route for commercial-information and labeling standards.
- **Non-applicability letter** — for when your product sits in a tariff code subject to a NOM but, by its characteristics, the standard doesn’t apply. You document it; you don’t assume it.

## The three ways to label (pick one before production)

- **At origin**: your supplier prints the packaging with the Mexican label. Cheapest and cleanest — but it takes planning and a supplier willing to cooperate.
- **Adhesive sticker before shipping**: applied over the original packaging at the factory. A solid middle ground.
- **In a bonded warehouse (depósito fiscal) or facility in Mexico**: you import, label here, then withdraw the goods. The most expensive and slowest option — but it’s the lifeline when the cargo already arrived mislabeled.

> **The conversation to have with your supplier:** send the Mexican label artwork **with the purchase order**, not once the container is loaded. A packaging fix at the factory costs days; relabeling in a bonded warehouse costs weeks and thousands of pesos.

## Mistakes we see all the time

- Translating the label from English but **leaving off the importer’s details** (the Mexican tax ID (RFC) and address are mandatory).
- Printing the country of origin in unreadable type, or only on the outer carton.
- Food with a correct nutrition panel but **missing the warning seals** it’s supposed to carry.
- Assuming “it’s a sample, so none of this applies” — samples have rules too.
- Leaving verification for the day of clearance — verification units book up.

**Not sure which NOM your product falls under?** [Write to us](https://www.freightspot.com/en/contact) with your tariff code or a description of the item and we’ll tell you what you need — before you ship, which is when knowing it actually helps.

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