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Two minutes · free · before your first showing
How to verify a real estate agent in Quintana Roo, Mexico, before you buy
In Quintana Roo, anyone who sells, markets or advises on real estate must be registered and accredited by the state. Many people doing this work in Playa del Carmen, Tulum and Cancún are not. In Mexico the legal name for a real estate agent is asesor inmobiliario, real estate advisor, and that is the word this guide uses from here on.
What Quintana Roo law requires
of a real estate agent
An unregistered advisor answers to no one, has no verified training and has no license to lose.
For a foreign buyer, that gap matters. If something goes wrong with your deposit, your title review or your closing, the person who advised you should be someone a state authority can call to account. The good news is that checking takes two minutes, it is free, and you can do it before your first showing.
Quintana Roo’s Real Estate Services Law (Ley de Prestación de Servicios Inmobiliarios del Estado de Quintana Roo), Decree 229, published in the state’s Official Gazette on 6 September 2024 to replace the first law of 2014 and last amended by Decree 186 on 16 December 2025, requires every real estate advisor, individual or company, to hold two things issued by the state’s urban development ministry, SEDETUS. Companies that offer real estate services must work through advisors who are themselves registered and accredited.
Matrícula
Registration in the official state roster of real estate advisors. The state publishes the roster online so the public can check it, and it records sanctions there too.
Acreditación
The credential that confirms the advisor met the state’s requirements, including training that must be kept current to renew.
Operating without registration can lead to
The one that matters most to a buyer: holding on to a client’s money or documents, or using a deposit for anything other than what was agreed, is punished with the permanent cancellation of the matrícula (article 30). Presenting yourself as an advisor without a license carries a fine of 500 to 1,000 times the annual UMA (article 28).
Of training to earn a first matrícula, and 30 more for every renewal (article 16).
A matrícula expires. The law gives 30 days after expiry to renew it, and not one more (article 11).
Each matrícula must carry a QR code that opens the state roster, so you can check it on the spot (article 10).
Colour ID photo, 2.5 by 3 cm, no glasses, no cap, a dark shirt with sleeves and discreet earrings. The state leaves nothing to chance (article 8).
How to check an agent’s license
on the SEDETUS roster
Ask the advisor for their full legal name and state registration number. A registered professional will give it to you without hesitation.
Go to the SEDETUS roster at asesores.sedetus.gob.mx. The site is in Spanish; your browser’s translate button works fine.
Search by the person’s name or by the company’s legal name (razón social), not just the brand on their business card.
Open the result and read the classification and the validity (Vigencia).
Review the state’s list of people flagged for presenting themselves as advisors without registration at asesores.sedetus.gob.mx/consultaOstentados.
If you cannot find the person at all, ask them why before you share documents, sign anything or send a deposit.
What each SEDETUS status
means for a buyer
| What you see | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| ClearRegistered and accredited, with a current validity date | The advisor is authorized by the state and up to date on required training. |
| Not accreditedAsesor Inmobiliario / Administrador No Acreditado | The person or company does not hold state accreditation. |
| FlaggedOstentado sin Matrícula | The state has flagged this person or company for presenting themselves as a real estate advisor without being registered. |
Being famous is not being licensed. Someone can be all over Instagram, have thousands of followers or a brand everyone knows, and still not be registered. A license does not come from fame or a logo: the state gives it to each person, by name. So do not check the brand, check the person who is actually helping you. Their name has to be on the roster.
Why a licensed agent matters in
Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Tulum
Buying here involves title review, restricted-zone rules and closing steps that differ from the US and Canada.
Accountability
A registered advisor can be reported to SEDETUS and sanctioned. An unregistered one has nothing on the line.
Verified knowledge
Accreditation requires proven experience and ongoing training, the kind a Mexican closing actually demands.
Your money
Deposits, reservation fees and closing funds should only move on the advice of someone the state can hold responsible.
A clean transaction
Registered advisors work under a legal framework that includes anti-money-laundering obligations, which protects buyers as well as sellers.
Five questions to ask
any real estate agent in Mexico
- What is your SEDETUS registration number, and may I verify it?The number is what you type into the roster. Hesitation here is an answer.
- Is your company registered under its legal name in Quintana Roo?The brand on the card and the razón social on the roster are often different.
- Do you represent me, the seller or the developer?Someone paid by the developer is working for the developer.
- How are you paid, and by whom?Knowing who pays tells you whose interest comes first.
- Which local associations do you belong to, such as AMPI?Membership adds a code of ethics on top of the state registration.
A professional will welcome every one of these questions.
Our licensed agents on the
SEDETUS roster
Every advisor on our team is on the state roster. This is what the check looks like.
Among the first registered and accredited advisors in Quintana Roo
When the state began registering real estate advisors, Karina was part of the first generation to earn both the matrícula and the accreditation. AMPI recognised it in Cancún on 21 October 2015, before the state urban development ministry and under the Real Estate Services Law and its regulations.
It is the same registration you can check on the roster today, renewed at every term since, with the training the law requires for each renewal.
Reconocimiento signed by the presidents of AMPI Cancún and AMPI Nacional.
Every advisor on our team answers to Playa Realtors, and Playa Realtors is itself registered with the state as a real estate agency under its legal name, agency license #1917120B0FBGMR008000735. The law makes an agency directly responsible for the work of its advisors and requires it to notify the state of every hire and every departure within 30 business days (articles 8 and 13). Anyone who joins the team works under that same registration. So you can check two things, not one: the person in front of you, and the agency that answers for them.
Copy any of these numbers and search it yourself at asesores.sedetus.gob.mx. Screens captured from the state site on 27 September 2026.
A registration is valid across Quintana Roo, from Holbox to Mahahual
Registration is statewide, not municipal. The same roster checks whoever is helping you in Cancún, Cozumel or Bacalar. We cover the state from three offices.
- Digital officeCancúnCancún, Puerto Morelos, Costa Mujeres, Holbox
- Walk-in officePlaya del CarmenPlaya del Carmen, Puerto Aventuras, Akumal, Corasol, Playacar, Mayakoba
- Walk-in officeTulumTulum, Bacalar, Mahahual, Tankah Bay, Tulum Country Club, Soliman Bay
Real estate agent licensing in Mexico:
frequently asked questions
Do real estate agents need a license in Mexico?
There is no national license. Licensing is set by each state that has its own law, and Quintana Roo, home of Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, is one of them. Here, nobody may sell, market or advise on real estate without a current SEDETUS registration (article 5).
Is my US realtor license valid in Mexico?
No. A US state license or NAR membership does not carry over. To work in Quintana Roo an agent needs a SEDETUS registration and a Mexican immigration permit that allows paid work (articles 5 and 8).
What is SEDETUS?
The Quintana Roo state department for urban and territorial development. It applies the real estate services law, issues registrations and publishes the official roster at asesores.sedetus.gob.mx.
Is the SEDETUS roster in English?
No, it is in Spanish only. Type the name in the search box, open the result and look for two words: Clasificación, the type of registration, and Vigencia, the expiry date. If Vigencia is past, the registration has lapsed.
What if my agent is not on the roster?
Ask for their full legal name and also search the legal name of their company. If they still do not appear, do not sign anything or wire any money. You can file a complaint with SEDETUS (article 33).
How long does a registration last?
Two or four years. After expiry the agent has 30 days to renew and must show 30 hours of continuing education. That is why you read the expiry date, not just the name.
What happens to someone who sells without a registration?
Posing as an advisor without a license is fined 500 to 1,000 times the UMA, Mexico’s official reference unit. Holding on to a client’s money or documents, or misusing a deposit, means permanent cancellation of the registration.
Does it cost anything to check?
No. The roster is public, online and needs no account. It takes two minutes from your phone.
Work with a licensed agent
from the first conversation
Playa Realtors has served international buyers across the Riviera Maya for 20 years. We represent buyers, never developers, and we are happy to share our credentials before your first conversation.
[email protected] · +1 954-799-4141 calls and text · WhatsApp +52 984 186 5453
Karina D. Sayed, CPA · CEO, Broker and Owner · Playa Realtors
I was part of the first generation of registered and accredited advisors in Quintana Roo, recognised by AMPI in 2015. Every figure and link on this page points to the state’s own roster, because the check should not depend on trusting us either.
