If you’re buying near the water in Cabo San Lucas or elsewhere in Los Cabos, a boat may be part of the plan. Bringing one from the United States or Canada, keeping it in a marina and fishing from it each involve a different Mexican authority: customs for the boat, the navy’s port captain for arrivals and departures, the fisheries agency for licenses, and the protected-areas agency for the waters off the Cape.
This guide walks through each one using the laws and the agencies’ own pages. One rule changed this year: the import permit term for a foreign boat is now five years, down from ten, for permits issued from 1 April 2026. Fees below are 2026 figures, in the currency each rule states.
Key Takeaways
- A foreign recreational boat over 4.5 meters can be temporarily imported for five years under the Customs Law; permits issued before 1 April 2026 keep their original ten-year term.
- Banjercito issues the permit: the peso equivalent of USD 45 plus VAT online, applied for 10 to 60 days before arrival, or of USD 51 plus VAT at a port-of-entry module.
- Each person who sport-fishes from a boat needs an individual permit; the 2026 federal fee runs from MXN 203.62 a day to MXN 1,021.26 a year.
- The daily limit is ten fish per angler, no more than five of a species, and one billfish.
- Marina Cabo San Lucas lists 380 slips and Marina Puerto Los Cabos lists 230.
How do you bring a foreign boat into Mexico?
With a temporary import permit. Article 106 of the Ley Aduanera lets recreational and sport boats longer than 4.5 meters, with their trailers, be temporarily imported for up to five years, with multiple entries and exits during that time. Customs can extend the term for up to an equal period when there’s a duly justified cause. The five-year term took effect on 1 April 2026; boats imported before then keep the term that applied when they came in, which was ten years.
The permit comes from Banjercito, the army bank, under rule 4.2.5 of the 2026 General Foreign Trade Rules. Foreigners and Mexicans, whether living in Mexico or abroad, can apply.
| Route | Fee (2026) | When to apply |
|---|---|---|
| Online at gob.mx/banjercito or the Banjercito app | Peso equivalent of USD 45 plus VAT, by international card | 10 to 60 days before the boat enters Mexico |
| Banjercito module at a port of entry | Peso equivalent of USD 51 plus VAT, cash or international card | On arrival |
You prove ownership with a document showing the boat’s name, make, year-model, type and serial number, along with official ID. The same rule lets you request a new five-year permit for the same boat ahead of the current one’s expiry, within a 45-day window, without presenting the boat; confirm the exact timing with Banjercito. Personal watercraft and tenders can be registered as accessories of the boat.
Three limits are worth knowing before you plan around a temporary import:
- A temporarily imported boat can be used commercially, such as for charters, only if it’s registered with a tourist marina.
- Mexico’s customs agency, ANAM, says a temporarily imported boat can’t be sold or transferred; it has to be changed to a definitive import, or regularized if its permit has expired, before a sale.
- If neither the owner nor a person in charge is aboard, the tourist marina holds the documents proving the boat’s legal entry.
What do you need to arrive and leave by sea?
Under Article 50 of the Ley de Navegacion y Comercio Maritimos, a foreign private recreational boat registers its arrival only with the port captain of the first Mexican port it reaches. Recreational boats need a clearance (despacho) only for international voyages, and every entry and exit at an authorized marina goes in the marina’s log. An international departure clearance is issued by the port captain’s office.
For arrivals from abroad, the navy’s procedure sheet SEMAR-05-017-E asks you to request arrival authorization from the port captain within the 24 hours before you arrive. Boats coming from the United States can replace the departure clearance from their port of departure with a written statement in Spanish, signed under oath by the skipper. An authorization covers one arrival, and arriving more than three hours after the scheduled time requires a new one.
The 2026 federal fee for each arrival, departure clearance or anchoring maneuver for a boat of over 3 and up to 20 gross tonnage units is MXN 416.16 in ordinary hours, under the Ley Federal de Derechos. Cabo San Lucas has its own port captain’s office. When a temporarily imported boat leaves Mexico for good by sea, the stamped international departure clearance is one of the documents used to register its return with Banjercito.
Where can you keep a boat in Los Cabos?
Two marinas publish their specifications. Neither lists slip prices, so ask for current rates and availability before you count on a berth.
| Marina Cabo San Lucas | Marina Puerto Los Cabos | |
|---|---|---|
| Slips | 380, including 33 megayacht slips | 230, with plans to expand to 400 and add a yacht club |
| Largest vessels | Up to 375 feet long, 29 feet draft, 63 feet beam | Slips of 30, 40, 50 and 70 feet, with options for 100 feet and up |
| Power and services | 30/50 amp and 100 amp shore power; 24-hour gated security | 30, 50 and 100 amp power; metered water; pump-out |
Marina Cabo San Lucas strongly recommends reservations, says slips aren’t guaranteed without one, and asks arriving boats to call its office on VHF channel 88A. Marina Puerto Los Cabos, a few minutes from San Jose del Cabo’s center, lists a water depth of up to 4.5 meters at mean low water. If you’re weighing a home near the water, our pages on the Marina neighborhood and Medano Beach cover the areas around the Cabo San Lucas harbor, and our comparison of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo sets the two towns side by side.
Do you need a fishing license in Cabo San Lucas?
From a boat, yes. Under Article 67 of the Ley General de Pesca y Acuacultura Sustentables, sport-fishing permits are issued to Mexican or foreign individuals, are individual and non-transferable, and are needed by the person fishing and by service providers who take others fishing. Fishing from shore needs no permit (Article 69), though gear rules, sizes and limits still apply. The sport-fishing standard, NOM-017-PESC-1994, confirms that fishing from a boat requires a permit and that spearfishing needs its own individual permit.
The 2026 fees, set in the Ley Federal de Derechos, are per individual permit:
| Permit length | 2026 federal fee |
|---|---|
| One day | MXN 203.62 |
| One week | MXN 510.44 |
| One month | MXN 765.74 |
| One year | MXN 1,021.26 |
CONAPESCA, the fisheries agency, issues permits through its e5cinco online system as well as its offices; the fee table on that page is older than the 2026 federal fees above. Carry your permit while fishing and show it when asked.
What are the sport-fishing catch limits in Mexico?
The daily limit in marine waters is ten fish per angler, with no more than five of any one species, under NOM-017-PESC-1994. Some species count for more:
- Billfish, shark and giant sea bass: one per angler per day, counting as five toward the ten.
- Tarpon, dorado, roosterfish and Gulf grouper: two per angler per day, each pair counting as five.
On trips longer than three days, an angler’s cumulative catch is capped at three days’ worth. The limits govern what you keep; you can catch more if the excess is released alive. Marlin, sailfish, swordfish, tarpon, roosterfish and dorado are reserved for sport fishing within 50 nautical miles of the coastal baseline (Article 68 of the fisheries law).
The standard also sets conduct rules. Sport fishing isn’t allowed within 250 meters of commercial fishing boats or their gear, or within 250 meters of beaches used by swimmers. Fish kept under a sport permit can’t be sold. Filleted fish can’t be landed, and filleting aboard is allowed only to eat during the trip, never for billfish.
What about the protected area off Cabo San Lucas?
The waters off the Cape are a federal protected area, the Area de Proteccion de Flora y Fauna Cabo San Lucas, managed by CONANP. It was decreed on 29 November 1973, and 3,787.99 of its 3,996.04 hectares are sea. Its management program hasn’t been published in the Diario Oficial.
Its fishing rules are unsettled. The 1973 decree says fishing of all species is strictly prohibited there, while CONANP’s own 2023 study says that doesn’t match the activity actually carried out in the area and proposes updating the decree. Before fishing inside the protected area, check the current position with CONANP.
A federal fee applies to recreational use of marine protected areas, such as boat tours and navigation. For 2026 it’s MXN 125.32 per person per day in the category that includes Cabo San Lucas, and CONANP lists it as MXN 125. Paying the fee doesn’t settle whether fishing is allowed there.
Before you bring the boat
- Apply for the Banjercito permit 10 to 60 days ahead if you’re going online.
- Book a marina slip before you sail.
- Arriving from abroad, request arrival authorization from the port captain in the 24 hours before you arrive.
- Buy a sport-fishing permit for each person who’ll fish.
- Check the protected-area rules with CONANP before fishing off the Cape.
If you’re looking for a home with the marina close by, contact our team and we’ll walk you through the neighborhoods near the water. For the purchase itself, see our guide to buying property in Mexico as a foreigner.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to bring my boat to Cabo San Lucas?
For a foreign recreational boat over 4.5 meters, the route is a temporary import permit, issued by Banjercito under Mexico’s foreign trade rules. Since 1 April 2026 it runs for five years with multiple entries and exits. Applying online costs the peso equivalent of USD 45 plus VAT and can be done 10 to 60 days before arrival.
How long can a foreign boat stay in Mexico?
Under the Customs Law, a temporarily imported recreational boat can stay up to five years, and customs can extend that for up to an equal period for a duly justified cause. Boats imported before 1 April 2026 keep the ten-year term that applied then. An owner can also request a new five-year permit ahead of the current one’s expiry, within the window the 2026 rules set.
Does everyone on the boat need a fishing license in Mexico?
The fisheries law requires an individual permit for each person who sport-fishes from a boat, and for service providers who take others fishing. The sport-fishing standard sets the catch limits per angler. If someone aboard won’t be fishing, confirm with CONAPESCA or your operator what they require before you leave the dock.
Can I sell my boat in Mexico?
Not while it’s temporarily imported. Mexico’s customs agency says a temporarily imported boat can’t be sold or transferred, because the Customs Law bars transferring goods under temporary import. Before a sale, the boat has to be changed to a definitive import, or regularized with customs if its permit has expired.
Sources
- Camara de Diputados, Ley Aduanera, consolidated text, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LAdua.pdf
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, Reglas Generales de Comercio Exterior para 2026, rule 4.2.5, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5777199&fecha=27/12/2025
- Agencia Nacional de Aduanas de Mexico, vessel FAQ, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.anam.gob.mx/preguntas-frecuentes-embarcaciones/
- Camara de Diputados, Ley de Navegacion y Comercio Maritimos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LNCM.pdf
- Secretaria de Marina, procedure SEMAR-05-017-E, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/909140/SEMAR-05-017-E.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Ley Federal de Derechos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LFD.pdf
- Camara de Diputados, Ley General de Pesca y Acuacultura Sustentables, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/LGPAS.pdf
- Diario Oficial de la Federacion, NOM-017-PESC-1994 modification, 25 November 2013, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5323155&fecha=25/11/2013
- CONAPESCA, sport-fishing permit procedure CONAPESCA-01-016, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.gob.mx/conapesca/documentos/conapesca-01-016-pesca-deportivo-recreativa
- Secretaria de Marina, directory of Baja California Sur port captaincies, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/609122/bcs.pdf
- CONANP, Descubre ANP page for Cabo San Lucas, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://descubreanp.conanp.gob.mx/es/conanp/ANP?suri=19
- CONANP, SIMEC fact sheet for the APFF Cabo San Lucas, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://simec.conanp.gob.mx/ficha_pdf.php?anp=113®=1
- CONANP, study for modifying the APFF Cabo San Lucas decree, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.conanp.gob.mx/pdf/separata/EPJModificacionAPFFCaboSanLucas8feb2023.pdf
- IGY Marinas, Marina Cabo San Lucas, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://www.igymarinas.com/marinas/marina-cabo-san-lucas-mexico/
- Puerto Los Cabos, Marina Puerto Los Cabos, retrieved 2026-10-08, https://puertoloscabos.com/marina
