If you have found the love of your life, and you want to say “I do” in Mexico, we have to tell you that gay marriage in Mexico is possible in many states and in some isolated municipalities, but in others it is still not possible.
Although in most of the country civil codes still discriminate against LGTBI couples, there are also state and municipal governments that urge Civil Registry judges to interpret the law equally and to admit marriage applications from same-sex couples without hindrance.
How can this be? We don’t understand it either, but in this article we will tell you which states do and don’t allow same-sex marriage so that you have a clear idea of where to celebrate your wedding with your partner without prejudice.
And if you already know what a wedding in Mexico is like, or how long Mexican weddings last, surely your dream is to celebrate a purely Mexican wedding – don’t miss out!
Keep reading and choose your favourite state to say “I do” to your partner!
States and municipalities that DO allow gay marriage in Mexico:
Mexico City
Mexico City was the first state to legalise and recognise gay marriage and allow same-sex adoption. The Legislative Assembly was a pioneer in the country when in 2009 it approved amendments to the Civil Code and the Code of Civil Procedures that made history in the struggle of the LGBT movement in Mexico and throughout Latin America.
With the reform, references to “man” and “woman” were eliminated in favour of “contracting parties” and the concept of marriage was redefined: “Marriage is the free union of two people to realise the community of life, where both seek respect, equality and mutual help”.
Since then, about 10,000 LGBTI couples have been married and about 20 adoptions have taken place.
Chiapas
The SCJN forced the state of Chiapas to admit equal marriage and allow same-sex couples to marry without the need for protection.
The Chiapas Civil Code still describes marriage as an exclusive contract between a man and a woman. However, the invalidated articles are preceded by an annotation to the court’s ruling that clears up any doubts about how the law should be interpreted.
Chihuahua
Although several weddings had already been celebrated since 2013 following district court rulings, the local legislatures that have followed one another since then have decided to not put the reform of the Civil Code on the agenda. Therefore, it was the Executive that acted and instructed the Civil Registry officials not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Oaxaca
In November 2018, the first LGBTI marriage in Oaxaca was celebrated in which the bride and groom did not have to ask a federal court to protect their civil rights. The jurisprudence was long overdue.
On 28 August 2019, the local Congress of Oaxaca approved reforms to the state Civil Code to allow equal marriage. Although the jurisprudence already allowed it without the need to file an amparo, same-sex marriages can now be formalised without legal obstacles or interpretation by the officialdom.
Puebla
In line with many other state codes, Puebla’s code limited the right to marry to male-female unions aimed at perpetuating the species, an article that the Supreme Court found to be “in violation of the principles of equality and non-discrimination”.
After several setbacks in district courts and various protections having to escalate to the SCJN, a new chapter in the recognition of rights for the LGBTI community in the state begins.
Aguascalientes
The Civil Code still states that a marriage is “the legal union of a single man and a single woman”, but the federal court ruling obliges local authorities to interpret that law in a non-discriminatory manner.
So, although the Aguascalientes Civil Code has not been amended to integrate equal marriage, in practice, same-sex couples can marry and without the need to file for protection.
Guanajuato
In 2014, the first of several dozen same-sex marriages took place in Guanajuato. The two women were able to formalise their relationship only after a district court ruled in their favour, finding that the Civil Registry’s refusal had been discriminatory and violated their human rights.
Querétaro
The state congress approved, with 21 votes against and four in favour, the same-sex union. As a result, the Civil Code of Querétaro is reformed, so that those who wish to marry will no longer have to resort to protection at the Civil Registry.
Quintana Roo
In Quintana Roo there has never been a legal impediment to same-sex marriage. As the Civil Code has no locks or exclusivist definitions for heterosexual couples, it was never necessary to amend local laws or file constitutional injunctions.
Despite some initial objections, the first same-gender marriages were registered in 2011 and are now accepted in almost all of the state.
Campeche
The Congress of the State of Campeche reformed the Civil Code in May 2016. Since then, LGBTI couples have no longer had to deal with the administration or file protection lawsuits, which is the route taken by the first same-sex marriages that began to be registered in 2014.
Michoacán
In the state, same-sex couples have been able to marry without obstacles since May 2016, when the local Congress approved reforms to the Family Code of Michoacán. Several egalitarian weddings had already taken place since 2014 with constitutional protections granted by the federal justice system.
Morelos
On 28 June 2016, coinciding with International LGBT Pride Day, the local Congress and most of the municipalities of Morelos approved reforms to the Political Constitution, the Family Code and the Family Procedural Code. Thus, they equalised the right to marriage of same-sex couples to that of all other couples in love.
Baja California
Same-sex unions have been celebrated in Baja California since November 2017, when the State Executive issued instructions for Civil Registry judges not to hinder same-sex couples based on their orientation.
In June 2021, the Baja California Congress approved a constitutional reform to recognise same-sex marriages in the state.
San Luis Potosí
With reforms to the Family Code for the State of San Luis Potosí passed in May 2019, the local Congress of San Luis Potosí was one of the last to legislate in favour of same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption. Having to appeal to federal courts is a thing of the past in San Luis Potosí.
Tlaxcala
The first gay wedding ceremony in Tlaxcala was between two women in early 2016. It took more than four years before in December 2020 the local Congress approved (and by a large majority of 16 votes in favour and three against) the reforms to the Civil Code that will allow equal marriage without the need to go to court.
Yucatan
In April 2019, in an unusual secret ballot, the local Congress of Yucatan rejected reforms that would have allowed equal marriage in the state. Public opinion criticised the fact that the vote in the plenary took place in such an opaque manner, so it is unknown who were the deputies who voted for and against. However, on 25 August 2021 the issue was debated again, resulting in 20 votes in favour to 5 against. The modification of article 94 of the State Constitution will recognise that marriage is not only between a man and a woman, but also the union of two people of the same sex.
Sinaloa
Homosexual couples who want to get married in Sinaloa will now be able to do so without any inconvenience, since the State Congress reformed articles 40 and 165 of the Family Code, extending the figures of equal marriages and cohabitation between people of the same sex.
Sonora
The Congress of Sonora, with 26 votes in favour and seven against, approves the reform of the law on equal marriage in the state, modifying the articles of the Family Code, thus making same-sex unions possible.
Colima
In May 2016, the Congress of the State of Colima unanimously took a step forward in recognising the right of same-sex couples to marry.
The reform was not a genuine congressional initiative, but a response to the SCJN’s declaration of unconstitutionality. Since 2013, the Court has granted protection to several couples who had been denied marriage registration by local authorities.
Nayarit
Following several protections granted by district courts to same-sex couples, in December 2015, the local Congress of Nayarit approved reforms to the Civil Code. These modified the definition of “marriage” so that it would no longer be considered in the law as a contract between “one man and one woman”.
Just a few weeks later, two women in Tepic formalised the first egalitarian marriage in the state without having to go to court.
Nuevo León
In February 2019 the SCJN added Nuevo León to its “blacklist”. The Supreme Court invalidated several articles of its Civil Code on the grounds that they violated the right to equality. A few days later, two women married in San Nicolás de los Garza and became the first egalitarian marriage in the state that did not have to appeal to the unconstitutionality of the regulatory framework to assert their rights.
The Civil Code has not yet been harmonised and its wording is still segregative. However, the Civil Registry offices in the municipalities of Nuevo León already process same-sex marriage applications without bureaucratic hurdles or the need for protection.
Baja California Sur
27 June 2019, the eve of International LGBT Pride Day, will go down in the history of Baja California Sur. It was when the State Congress approved reforms to the local Civil Code that will allow same-sex marriage without the need for protective proceedings.
Coahuila
Coahuila became the second state in the Republic to legally recognise the same civil rights to all its citizens, without discrimination based on sexual definition, including the extension of social security coverage to the couple.
A few months earlier, in February 2014, the local Congress had already approved same-sex adoptions.
Hidalgo
In May 2019, the Congress of the State of Hidalgo formally recognised the right to marriage for same-sex couples. The provision came into force one month later and it was two women from Puebla who, in Tulancingo, sealed the first equal marriage without the need for protection.
With this legislative harmonisation, the ruling of the Supreme Court, which in 2016 considered several articles of the Family Law of the State of Hidalgo to be unconstitutional, was complied with, albeit almost three years late.
Jalisco
In Jalisco, LGBT couples can now celebrate their marriage without administrative obstacles or the need to seek legal protection. The trigger for this development was that in 2016 the SCJN invalidated some articles of the local Civil Code as discriminatory.
Despite the fact that the state had stayed away from legislating same-sex unions, in April 2022 the change was accepted. Through a decree, Jalisco accepted the modification of the state’s Civil Code to allow two people to marry regardless of their sex.
Zacatecas
After the discussion in the local Congress to reform the Family Code for the State of Zacatecas remained at an impasse due to the distancing of the positions for and against, in December 2021, equal marriage was approved in the state. This approval was made possible legislatively and legally, through a direct reform to the state’s Family Code, as well as to the state’s political constitution.
In Mexican consulates
Since the beginning of 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Mexican same-sex couples residing abroad who wish to marry under Mexican law will be able to do so at any of its consulates.
The measure was in response to the SCJN ruling in favour of two Mexicans living in New York and against the Mexican Consulate in that US city, which had rejected their marriage request.
States and municipalities that do NOT celebrate equal marriage in Mexico:
Durango
Despite the fact that in 2015 the SCJN already struck down as unconstitutional (but did not invalidate) local legislation preventing same-sex marriage, in February 2017 and in May 2019 the local Congress of Durango rejected initiatives along these lines.
Tabasco
As in Sonora and more states, Tabasco has yet to fulfil parliamentary promises to present a reform initiative that would allow same-sex marriages to take place.
The first gay marriage in Tabasco’s history was that of two men in February 2015. At a civil registry office in Villahermosa, their marriage application was rejected.
Veracruz
Obstacles to equal marriage in Veracruz are a fact of life. Employees of the Civil Registry argue that they cannot marry people of the same sex because they would be breaking the law, which itself discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.
It is now the turn of the Veracruz legislature, but the local Congress has once again postponed the debate to reform the Civil Code. On 27 June 2019, the eve of International LGBT Pride Day, both the LGBTI community and its detractors had hoped that the initiative would be dealt with in a legislative session. It will have to be another time.
Tamaulipas
The local Congress of Tamaulipas is running out of time. In November 2018, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation initiated the declaration of unconstitutionality of an article of the Civil Code of that state for preventing same-sex marriage.
This measure will force the state Legislature to discuss and reform the legal framework that discriminates against the LGBTI population within a maximum period of 180 working days (legislative recess periods are considered non-working days).
Guerrero
In the absence of a legislative agreement to give the green light to equal marriage in the state of Guerrero, part of the deputies propose to incorporate “civil unions between same-sex couples” into the Civil Code.
This would further shield marriage and relegate LGBT couples to other alternative formulas. Colima was another state that resorted to a very similar alternative, which ended up being qualified as discriminatory by the Supreme Court.
State of Mexico
According to the Civil Code of the State of Mexico currently in force, marriage is an exclusive union between a man and a woman. In municipalities such as Naucalpan, they are already considering instructing Civil Registry judges to perform same-sex marriages, but it is not yet a fact.
Now that you know the states which allow the celebration of your egalitarian marriage in Mexico, you only need to find one of the best wedding venues in Mexico, what the procedures to marry a foreigner in Mexico are and how to celebrate a wedding in the Riviera Maya or a wedding on a beach in Mexico.
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