The Employment Agency Regulations (RACT) of 2006, as amended in 2014, regulates private recruiters in Mexico.

Before private recruiters may legally operate, they are required to obtain a licence. Licensed recruiters may charge fees to employers for their services, but they are prohibited from charging fees to workers and may not make agreements with employers to have their recruitment fees deducted from workers’ wages. In addition to setting out the conditions for private employment agencies that wish to provide recruitment services within Mexico, there are additional requirements if they seek to place Mexican workers in employment abroad. Specifically, the legislation requires recruiters to: verify the seriousness and reliability of the employer to safeguard the worker; ensure the working conditions match those offered to the applicants on housing, social security, and repatriation; verify the workers’ right to seek consular protection; and, guarantee to cover the repatriation costs of workers where there has been a breach of the contract terms.

The new amendments to the RACT also require the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, to inform the Ministry of the Interior every six months of all authorizations and registrations issued for private employment agencies that place Mexican workers abroad. In addition to regulations set out in the RACT for private recruiters, the Government of Mexico is also taking several steps to improve the labour mobility of Mexican migrant workers and reduce the impact of temporary migrant work on Mexican families through programmes providing free recruitment services and/or related social assistance