🇲🇽 Mexico: SEP Cédula Profesional Registry Wizard

1. The Six-Gate Lock

The Cédula Profesional Electrónica is not a graded exam — it is a binary chain of administrative gates managed by the Dirección General de Profesiones (DGP). Missing any one gate forces a paper-track fallback at the Mexico City DGP offices or pauses the workflow:

• Active CURP registered with RENAPO.
• Active e.firma (.key + .cer + password) issued by SAT.
• Title issued in electronic format (paper titles cannot enter the online pipeline).
• Title issued in 2018 or later — earlier titles must be lodged in person; 2018 titles predating the 1 October reform should be confirmed with the DGP.
• Card payment available for the DPA derechos.
• If foreign-trained: a valid Revalidación / Reconocimiento de Estudios from SEP.

2. The 2018 Cutoff Trap

The DGP's online portal only accepts titles digitised after the SEP's 1 October 2018 reform. Graduates with pre-2018 titles — even if scanned to PDF later — must travel to Mexico City to present originals at the DGP, because the title was never minted as a cryptographically signed electronic record in the SIRESOE database. This wizard tests the year of issuance: titles from 2018 onward may qualify, but a 2018 title issued before 1 October should be verified with the DGP since it may predate the electronic-title reform.

Many applicants confuse "a PDF of my title" with "an electronic title". The latter must be issued and signed by the awarding institution through SEP's official platform.

3. The Foreign-Studies Detour

If your degree was earned abroad, you cannot ask the DGP for a cédula directly. You must first secure a Revalidación de Estudios (full equivalence) or a Reconocimiento (partial recognition) through SEP. Since 2024, the apostille/legalisation requirement has been simplified — a sworn Spanish translation often suffices — but the resolution must be in hand before the cédula request.

4. Fees & Timing (2025 DPA Schedule)

Fees are set by the LFD (Ley Federal de Derechos) and revised annually. Indicative 2025 amounts: Técnico ≈ $488, Licenciatura / TSU ≈ $1,772.93, Maestría / Doctorado ≈ $1,626, Especialidad ≈ $2,790 MXN. When all gates clear, the digital cédula (PDF + XML) is downloadable the same day, replacing the historic 3–6 month wait.