The shortage of license plates for federal motor carriers , along with delays and other issues, dates back several years. However, in October 2025, this problem intensified, and the sector began reporting a lack of metal license plates for new vehicles and replacement applications. Carriers say the complications persist, although the problem now centers on the delivery and tracking of documents .

Several operators reported delays in the issuance of federal license plates, forcing the authority to maintain provisional schemes to avoid major disruptions to operations.

However, according to Eucario Reyes, president of the National Association of Representation in Motor Transport (ANRA) , there are currently cases in which carriers request their license plates and receive the response that they have already been delivered, even though they claim not to have received them.

“You request it and they tell you: I already delivered it. Where? To whom? At what time?” the sector representative pointed out.

The situation has generated discontent among some concessionaires , who claim that they must restart administrative processes to obtain replacements or clarify the status of their procedures.

According to Reyes, when a temporary permit expires and the carrier must restart the process to recover a license plate they haven’t received, the process can take between five and 15 days . During that period, a vehicle may stop generating income.

“A 15-day delay can represent losses of close to 30,000 pesos, not considering the additional costs associated with replacements and administrative procedures.

The leader indicated that the problem mainly affects companies dedicated to general cargo transport , a segment that concentrates an important part of the mobility of goods in the country.

Given this scenario, representatives of the sector held meetings with officials from the General Directorate of Federal Motor Transport (DGAF) to present various cases and request a review of the procedures related to the delivery of license plates and other procedures.

As a result of these meetings, the authorities suggested that complaints be submitted to the appropriate oversight bodies to follow up on each case.

The discontent reached such a level that members of the sector considered holding a protest to demand answers regarding the issuance of license plates and other procedures. However, prior to the mobilization, representatives of the trucking industry held a meeting with officials from the General Directorate of Federal Motor Transport, which resulted in a working agreement and a commitment to forward the complaints to various review bodies.

Although the demonstration was suspended, Reyes asserted that the problems denounced by the sector remain unresolved .

Although license plate production began this year following the allocation of federal resources and the participation of Talleres Gráficos de México, according to Reyes, there are still operational challenges to ensure that the documents effectively reach the concessionaires and that pending procedures can be resolved without further delays.

The license plate crisis in data

• More than eight months of complaints about federal license plates.
• 130 million pesos were authorized for the purchase of license plates, but in many cases they still haven’t arrived, according to ANRA.
• According to ANRA, a replacement can take up to 15 days.
• Up to 30,000 pesos in damages per vehicle.

Thus, the problem that originally focused on the lack of available license plates has evolved into questions about the delivery processes, administrative tracking and handling of incidents within the federal motor transport system.

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El cargo Eight months in, the license plate crisis continues to generate costs for the trucking industry. apareció primero en T21.