steve5555
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Registered: 7-9-2008
Location: Jamul, CA
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FMM for month long trip to east cape
Hey everyone, I see in other posts that sometimes it is hard to get the FMM at the border. Mostly due to lack of interest on their part. I plan to
cross at Tecate ~0800-0900 on a week day. If the office is closed or the admin gone should I stick around and get the FMM vs just blowing it off?
Im very willing but how much effort do I need to put into getting the document? If I end up not getting the FMM will be a problem for me down the
road? Pun intended.
We have a truck camper and will be beach camping while wing foiling.
Thoughts??
steve
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advrider
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I've gotten it several time and gone without many more times. It's the law in Mexico, so probably a good idea. Some say it's required for Mexican
insurance but that's not true for many companies.
In Tecate we often park and walk across to get our FMM if we are in a car. If on motos we turn up the first one-way street on the right (going
the wrong way) and ride 25 feet and park (area of cones) and walk in and get our FMM. It's never taken more then 30 minutes in the past.
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Maderita
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Hola Steve,
Definitely get your FMM when going south of the immediate border region. Bring your US Passport. The Tecate office will be open during those daytime
hours.
Go up the steps and inside to have the officer fill out the form. You will then go outdoors to the banking window (banjercito), at the northern corner
of the same building. Pay there in pesos (only). If you don't have pesos, there is a (private company) money exchange to the south, across the street.
687 pesos currently = about $42 USD at the current exchange rate. Then go back in the office to have your FMM stamped.
The officer may have you pay him directly in dollars at the desk. Somehow, I suspect that those dollars never make it to the government coffers 
On a weekday morning in Tecate, with pesos in hand, the process should take <15 minutes.
The list of potential problems, sans FMM, may be lengthy, including:
Getting turned back at a checkpoint.
Penalized by military at a checkpoint for a "fine" (mordida).
Increased vulnerability to a shakedown for mordida by police.
Stuck down south with an urgent need to fly home, yet unable to board an aircraft.
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PaulW
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Don't worry about the few that had an issue.
I have never had an issue at the east crossing.
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David K
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Hi Steve, good to read of your upcoming trip. The advice above is spot on. Tecate will have their INM officer waiting for you, so don't worry. While I
have always paid in cash, I read that plastic works, too.
Do check in to let us know how it went for you. As mentioned your passports or passport card must be valid for the duration of your time in Mexico.
Viva Baja!
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wilderone
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Get some cash exchanged at the little convenience store just up the hill from the border so you'll have pesos for the FMM fee in hand. And don't
forget insurance - you can get it there too if you need to, but online is better. And remember to come to a complete stop at every single stop sign
driving through Tecate - watch closely for stop signs as sometimes they're faded or obstructed.
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Lee
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Not too many reports being asked for FMM at the Ag checkpoint. They use to check all the time. Or, being asked entering La Paz, and maybe being
turned back.
Getting the FMM at Tecate is a no brainer. 8am is a good time. Just do it.
US Marines: providing enemies of America an opportunity to die for their country since 1775.
What I say before any important decision.
F*ck it.
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AKgringo
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I am sure it will happen some day, but so far I have never been asked for one anywhere when I was not flying.
If you are not living on the edge, you are taking up too much space!
"Could do better if he tried!" Report card comments from most of my grade school teachers. Sadly, still true!
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo  | | I am sure it will happen some day, but so far I have never been asked for one anywhere when I was not flying. |
During my eight Baja Bound research/ mapping trips (2016-2018) adding about 15,000 odometer miles, and always with a valid FMM (three of them), I was
never once asked to show it. So, yes, it is a bit disppointing to do the right thing and not get a thanks or smile from an immigration officer on the
peninsula! LOL
There was a time, at the booth you drive past, just south of the state border/ Eagle Monument, you were asked to show it.
I think the last time the officer looked at mine was in 2012.
In 2015, there was an officer sitting in it and as we drove up, he waved us on, not interested in looking at them.
In 2017, nobody was there the times I went past. One trip, I took the airport road into Guerrero Negro to see how it was, so that bypasses the
checkpoint, but as I said, it was abandoned that year.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
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Just get the fmm. It’s required. It’s cheap (you know how expensive it is to apply for tourist visa to usa? Mexico is a bargain!)
Woke!
“...ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” “My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America
will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
Prefered gender pronoun: the royal we
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steve5555
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Location: Jamul, CA
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Hey great, thanks for the replies. Got some peso's and I want to do the right thing. Still , thanks for the info.
steve
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pappy
Senior Nomad
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Was recently in sur.at the ag checkpoint just one guy asking if you want to get the spray or not for a couple bucks.on way back north he just waved us
through.a little different than last time I went through there.there was one time at that spot we were headed back to states and the checked for our
fmm papers one in our group of 4 didn’t have one.they were going to send us to la Paz to get one.after a lengthy back and forth we paid around 40
dollars maybe 60, and we were allowed to head on our way.
On recent trip I was never asked for the fmm at any checkpoint
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BeachSeeker
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Two questions: I've heard about this spray at the Baja Sur boarder. You make it sound like it isn't mandatory, if it isn't, then why would you get it?
Second, is there any official word if you can get an FMM for the full 6 months and use it for multiple crossings? The lady at the Mexicali crossing
said they are only good for 1 crossing, but I've heard some people say otherwise.
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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| Quote: Originally posted by BeachSeeker | Two questions: I've heard about this spray at the Baja Sur boarder. You make it sound like it isn't mandatory, if it isn't, then why would you get it?
Second, is there any official word if you can get an FMM for the full 6 months and use it for multiple crossings? The lady at the Mexicali crossing
said they are only good for 1 crossing, but I've heard some people say otherwise. |
You're overthinking this. If there is a guy at the state line spray facility, get the spray; if not, don't.
FMMs when driving or walking across can be used multiple times, regardless of what the rules say. I walked into TJ yesterday, and the guy in front of
me had an FMM he had previously purchased. He flashed it to the official, who didn't read it, and away he went. Get one for 6 months and after it
expires, get another if needed.
Over the years, I've been asked for my FMM twice by a Mex immigration officer.
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surfhat
Senior Nomad
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The more relative question should be, why not get the spray if you are asked?
We are visitors to their country for the most part, and even if we live there, why not get the spray?
Respect is deserving of showing a little respect. haha
A couple dollars worth of pesos? Roll up the windows and know you are helping in small degree. I can't confirm whether the spray is really doing
anything to control the spread of bugs, but it costs me nothing to respond positively when I am asked. Why would anyone resist such a small ask?
That they give us the choice to be spray or not be sprayed is curious.
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Don Pisto
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Mood: weary like everyone else
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give em an extra couple pesos and have em hit the windshield and back window....probably just water anyway
there's only two things in life but I forget what they are........
John Hiatt
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thebajarunner
Ultra Nomad
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A highly reliable source assures me that it is cat urine
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
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And how do they collect the cat urine?
I think your source reliably pulls your leg.
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BeachSeeker
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| Quote: Originally posted by surfhat | The more relative question should be, why not get the spray if you are asked?
We are visitors to their country for the most part, and even if we live there, why not get the spray?
Respect is deserving of showing a little respect. haha
A couple dollars worth of pesos? Roll up the windows and know you are helping in small degree. I can't confirm whether the spray is really doing
anything to control the spread of bugs, but it costs me nothing to respond positively when I am asked. Why would anyone resist such a small ask?
That they give us the choice to be spray or not be sprayed is curious.
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I fully understand your sentiment, but it is indeed curious why they give a choice. If it was official, then wouldn't it be mandatory? I've read a lot
about the checkpoint, and it seems only tourists get asked to get the spray, and some even say upon closer inspection, the badge the guy wears is
obviously fake. There is a similar scam like this in La Paz I've seen where a guy with a backpack sprayer tries to charge you to spray your tires. It
all seems very fishy, and I really don't want someone spraying random stuff on my truck.
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