The Mexico-to-USA corridor is the busiest relocation route on earth, yet almost every practical guide skips the parts that actually stall shipments: the Mexican export formalities on the way out, and the specific U.S. Customs paperwork that decides whether your household enters duty-free. This guide walks the whole door-to-door journey — Mexican customs (SAT/ANAM), the land-border and sea options, U.S. import via CBP, pets, cash and visa context — using current official sources for both ends. Rules shift; verify the live pages before you ship.

Key takeaways

• Used personal and household effects leave Mexico without export duty, but a licensed Mexican customs broker (agente aduanal) files the export pedimento for the shipment — see SAT Comercio Exterior.
• The consular "menaje de casa" certificate is for importing into Mexico, not for a Mexico-to-USA move — a common and costly point of confusion (SRE consular menaje).
• Antiques, artwork or objects declared artistic/historic monuments need an INAH or INBAL export permit; archaeological pieces cannot leave Mexico at all (INAH export permit).
• On the U.S. side, unaccompanied goods enter duty-free using CBP Form 3299, and most household effects must have been owned and used abroad for at least one year (CBP Form 3299, CBP household-goods process).
• Dogs crossing from Mexico now need a SENASICA-certified vet’s screwworm certificate (original paper, issued within 5 days), plus a microchip and a CDC Dog Import Form (CBP screwworm notice, CDC dog import).
• Carrying more than USD $10,000 must be declared on both sides — to Mexican customs on exit and to CBP on entry (ANAM cash declaration, USAGov travel money).

1. Leaving Mexico: what customs actually requires

Mexico does not levy an export duty on your used household goods, and there is no "exit exemption" to apply for. What matters is the mechanics of clearing the shipment out. A commercial move is exported under an export pedimento prepared by a Mexican customs broker, supported by a valued, itemised inventory (a lista de menaje) describing each carton’s contents, brands, models and serial numbers for major appliances and electronics. Flyto’s partner broker prepares this so your household is presented to Aduanas as personal effects, not commercial cargo — the SAT foreign-trade portal is the authority for the regime.

Clear up one persistent myth first: the "menaje de casa" certificate issued by Mexican consulates is used when someone enters Mexico — a returning Mexican national or a foreigner taking up residence there — to claim a duty-free import (SRE menaje de casa). It has no role in a Mexico-to-USA move. If a mover tells you to obtain one for shipping to the United States, they have the direction backwards.

2. Restricted exports: culture, arms and vehicles

The one area where Mexican export rules bite is cultural property. Objects classed as archaeological monuments are the property of the nation and may not be exported under any circumstances. Items declared artistic or historic monuments — certain paintings, sculptures and antiquities — require an export permit from INBAL (art) or INAH (historic objects), processed through the Ventanilla Única foreign-trade window and the INAH permit page. If your household includes genuine antiques or collectible art, flag them early; the permit can take weeks.

Firearms and ammunition are tightly controlled by Mexico’s military (SEDENA) and should never be placed in a household shipment. Vehicles are a separate project — a Mexican-market car rarely conforms to U.S. EPA and DOT standards, so plan to sell before you move unless the vehicle is a certified conforming model (see the U.S. side in section 5).

3. The transit leg: land border, sea or air

Because the two countries share a 3,000-km frontier, most Mexico-to-USA household moves cross by road. A bonded truck runs your consolidated shipment to a border gateway — Nuevo Laredo–Laredo, Ciudad Juárez–El Paso, Tijuana–Otay Mesa — where the Mexican export clears and CBP takes over on the U.S. side. Land is the fastest and usually cheapest route for anywhere in central and northern Mexico.

Sea freight suits large households and moves originating near a Mexican port (Veracruz, Manzanillo, Altamira) heading to a coastal U.S. metro; goods move in a full or shared container to a U.S. seaport for CBP clearance. Air freight is for a small, time-critical subset — a few hundred kilos you cannot wait on. Whichever mode, U.S. entry formalities are the same; only the port type changes.

4. Entering the USA: CBP Form 3299 and duty-free entry

At the U.S. end, the decisive document is CBP Form 3299, "Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles." You file it for belongings that arrive separately from you — the normal case for a container or truckload (CBP Form 3299, CBP process article). Anything travelling with you across the border is instead listed on CBP Form 6059B, the standard customs declaration every arriving traveller completes.

To enter free of duty, household effects — furniture, tableware, books, artwork, "and other usual household furnishings" — must generally have been used abroad for at least one year and be for your own use, not for resale, per CBP’s customs-duty guidance. Two exclusions are called out on the form itself: no alcoholic beverages and no cigars qualify for the free-entry declaration. Attach a detailed inventory (your Mexican lista de menaje translated works well) so the CBP officer can match cartons to the declaration.

Your immigration status shapes the exemption. Immigrants and returning U.S. residents claim the personal/household-effects exemption directly; non-immigrants on a temporary visa may bring personal effects for their own use during their stay. Have your visa, I-94 or permanent-resident card ready — CBP links the goods to your right to be in the country. Because entitlements turn on status, confirm your specific case against CBP’s household-goods article before shipping.

5. Vehicles, cash and other special cargo

Vehicles. Importing a car permanently means satisfying EPA (emissions) and DOT/NHTSA (safety) conformity — most vehicles bought in Mexico do not qualify, and CBP will refuse a non-conforming permanent import (CBP vehicle & household-goods article). Treat any car move as its own regulated process, separate from the household shipment.

Cash and monetary instruments. Carrying more than USD $10,000 (or the equivalent) across the border must be reported. On the Mexican side you declare it to ANAM on exit; failing to do so draws fines and, above USD $30,000 undeclared, criminal exposure (ANAM cash rules). On the U.S. side you file the equivalent report with CBP — carrying the money is legal; not declaring it is what triggers seizure (USAGov: travelling with money).

Restricted and prohibited goods. Certain foods, plants, seeds and agricultural products are barred or need USDA clearance; medicines, weapons and wildlife products have their own rules. When in doubt, declare — non-declaration, not the item itself, is usually what causes trouble.

6. Bringing pets: the screwworm rules changed

Pet dogs from Mexico now face heightened requirements because of the New World screwworm outbreak. A dog crossing the border must be accompanied by a screwworm-freedom certificate signed by a SENASICA-certified veterinarian, attesting the animal was inspected within five days before entry and found free of (or treated for) screwworm. In practice USDA APHIS accepts a certificate signed by a SENASICA-certified (authorized) veterinarian acting on behalf of the region’s full-time salaried official government veterinarian — but the eligible signers are a short, official list, so line one up early. This must be the original paper document with the vet’s ink signature — digital copies and phone photos are refused at the border (CBP screwworm reminder, USDA APHIS: dogs to the U.S., USDA APHIS screwworm import alert (PDF)).

Layered on top are the standing CDC rules: every dog must be microchipped, appear healthy (free of open wounds or lesions), be at least six months old, and arrive with a completed CDC Dog Import Form receipt (CDC dog import instructions). Because both the CDC and USDA requirements have moved recently, verify the current versions on both agencies’ pages a week before you travel.

7. Visa and status context

Your household move is downstream of your U.S. immigration status, and CBP will want to see it. Green-card holders and new immigrants enter under the immigrant exemptions above; people on employment, study or family visas enter under the terms of that visa. This guide does not cover visa eligibility itself — check U.S. Department of State visa guidance and USCIS for your category, and make sure your entry document is valid before the shipment sails, because the goods clear against the person.

How Flyto handles this move

Flyto runs the Mexico-to-USA corridor as a single door-to-door Platinum service — for intercontinental and cross-border overseas moves, Platinum is the only tier we offer, because these journeys need one accountable operator end to end. From your address in Mexico we pack and inventory to CBP standard, appoint the Mexican agente aduanal to file the export pedimento, choose the right leg (bonded truck across the land border, or sea/air where it fits), and clear U.S. Customs with your Form 3299 and matched inventory, delivering and unpacking at your U.S. home. One project manager owns the whole chain, so nothing falls into the gap between two countries’ brokers. See our USA moves hub and the [main relocation pillar guide]https://flytorelocation.com/moving-to-and-from-the-usa-2026-complete-relocation-guide/ for how the corridor fits our wider network.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a "menaje de casa" certificate to move to the USA?
No. That consular certificate is for importing goods into Mexico. For a Mexico-to-USA move you use a Mexican export pedimento on the way out and CBP Form 3299 on the way in (CBP).

Will I pay U.S. duty on my furniture?
Generally not, if the items were owned and used abroad for at least a year and are for your own use — that is the core condition for duty-free household effects (CBP customs-duty info). Alcohol and cigars are excluded from the free-entry declaration.

Can I ship my car from Mexico?
Only if it meets U.S. EPA and DOT standards, which most Mexican-market vehicles do not. Treat the vehicle as a separate regulated import and confirm with CBP first.

What do I need to bring my dog across the border?
A microchip, a healthy animal at least six months old, a CDC Dog Import Form, and — critically for Mexico — an original paper screwworm certificate signed by a SENASICA-certified veterinarian, dated within five days of entry (CBP, USDA APHIS, CDC).

How much cash can I take without reporting it?
Up to USD $10,000. Above that you must declare on both sides — to Mexican customs on exit and CBP on entry (ANAM, USAGov).

Is land freight really cheaper than sea?
For most of central and northern Mexico, yes — a bonded truck to a border gateway is usually faster and cheaper than routing through a seaport. Sea makes sense for large households near a Mexican port heading to a U.S. coast.

Can I take antiques and artwork?
Ordinary decor, yes. Pieces declared artistic or historic monuments need an INBAL/INAH export permit, and archaeological artefacts cannot leave Mexico (INAH).

Freshness note: customs, biosecurity and visa rules on this corridor change often — the CDC/USDA pet rules in particular have moved in 2025–2026. Verify every figure and form against the linked official pages before you ship.

Sources

• CBP — How to move used household goods and personal effects into the U.S.
• CBP Form 3299 — Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles (PDF)
• CBP — Returning with a vehicle and household goods
• CBP — Customs Duty Information
• CBP — Reminder for travelers with dogs crossing the U.S.–Mexico border (screwworm)
• CDC — Dog Import Form and instructions
• USDA APHIS — Bring a pet dog into the United States
• USDA APHIS — New World screwworm import alert, Mexico (PDF)
• USAGov — Traveling into or out of the U.S. with money
• SAT — Comercio Exterior (foreign trade portal)
• SRE — Menaje de casa (consular certificate, import to Mexico)
• ANAM — Declaración de dinero (cash declaration)
• INAH — Permiso de exportación de monumentos o bienes históricos
• Ventanilla Única de Comercio Exterior (VUCEM)
• U.S. Department of State — Visas
• USCIS