No plates! SICT formalizes provisional permits; transporters warn of regulatory gap

The measure, which sought to provide certainty to the sector, ended up confirming the opposite. With the publication of the notice in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on Tuesday, October 7, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) officially authorized federal transportation vehicles , auxiliary services, and private transportation to operate without license plates or stickers, carrying a Provisional Permit to Circulate Without License Plates or Stickers , valid for up to 180 days.

The document, signed by Luis Ruiz Hernández , head of the Federal Motor Transport Directorate (DGAF) , establishes that the permit must be placed in a visible and legible place, include the vehicle identification number and a QR code with information from the Federal Motor Transport Institutional System (SIAF).

During its validity, it will have the same effects as a metal plate , and may be supplemented with beaconing elements as an additional identification measure, the document states.

However, the announcement confirms what T21 anticipated since September : the federal license plate crisis would reach October without a single metal license plate available, forcing the sector to rely on printed documents to maintain its operations.

What began as a temporary alternative has now become the sole means of vehicle identification for federal motor transport.

But far from resolving the underlying problem, the notice announced last September revived criticism on the Cofemer website . Transporters warned that the SICT continues to lag in processing procedures and that the measure repeats errors from the 2001 reorganization program, when a lack of oversight led to discretion and impacts on operational safety.

The lack of clear guidelines on physical and mechanical inspections was also questioned . In Cofemer’s comments, users noted that, despite the modifications published in June, the DGAF is not currently enforcing this requirement, which—they warned—excludes vehicles operating on federal roads and bridges from the regulations.

Although the notice argues that the measure seeks to ensure service continuity while the metal plates are delivered, it does not define when or how the delivery will occur.

For the union, this lack of definition prolongs legal uncertainty and reveals a lack of institutional coordination between the departments responsible for vehicle control.

Thus, the formalization of the “provisional permit” confirms the validity of temporary solutions: mechanisms that ensure circulation, but not certainty, in a scenario where bureaucracy advances faster than regulation .

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