The RFC is Mexico's federal taxpayer ID, issued by the SAT to every person and company. In freight it anchors Mexican carrier identity: vetting, invoicing, permits, and customs registrations all key to the RFC, making it the Mexican analog of matching by DOT number.
The RFC, Registro Federal de Contribuyentes, is the taxpayer identity every Mexican person and company holds, issued by the SAT: twelve characters for companies (personas morales), thirteen for individuals (personas físicas). It is far more than a tax formality; it is the primary key of Mexican commercial identity. A carrier's operating permits tie to its RFC, its CFDI invoices carry it, its Constancia de Situación Fiscal describes it, and customs registrations reference it.
Where U.S. systems match carriers by DOT number, Mexican-side records match by RFC, and cross-border operations need to hold both keys straight. Practical disciplines follow. In vetting, collect the RFC first and verify everything else against it: permits, insurance, and invoices that carry a different RFC than the entity you think you hired are a red flag worth stopping for. In systems, store the RFC as a first-class carrier field alongside DOT and CAAT, since it is the join key for everything Mexican. And in dual-entity structures, expect two RFCs (or an RFC plus a U.S. EIN) under one commercial brand; map which entity, and therefore which RFC, performs which role, bills which leg, and holds which permits. Identity precision at the RFC level is what keeps payments, claims, and compliance pointed at the right legal entity when something eventually goes sideways.
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