SAT appointment: when you need one, how to get it and what to do if there are none

We are a private service. The appointment is free at citas.sat.gob.mx and you can do the procedure yourself. If you prefer our support, we charge for our service.

In short

• An appointment at the SAT, Mexico’s tax authority, is free at citas.sat.gob.mx. The SAT does not charge for the e.firma, the RFC, the SAT password (Contraseña) or the tax status certificate (constancia de situación fiscal): its procedure sheets say “Gratuito” (free) (Anexo 2 of the RMF 2026).
• An appointment is required for an individual’s e.firma, first-time or expired more than one year ago, and for RFC registration. The Contraseña and the tax status certificate do not require one.
• CitaSAT allows up to 3 active appointments, one per service. If you miss one, you may be left unable to schedule for 30 calendar days (citas.sat.gob.mx, version of September 18, 2026).
• In the week of August 3 to 7, 2026, 74% of the offices gave an appointment in 1 to 10 business days. In March it was 94% (Infobae, August 3, 2026).

Which procedures need an appointment

The e.firma and RFC registration are the in-person procedures that individuals request the most (SAT, press release 056/2026, September 17, 2026). Before you look for a time slot, check whether your procedure really needs an appointment. The procedure sheets (fichas) are those of Anexo 2 of the Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal (RMF) 2026 (DOF of December 29, 2025) and its first amendment (DOF of July 17, 2026).

• The Oficina Móvil serves people without an appointment, but it is aimed at the people of the communities it visits. The details are in If there are no appointments.
• If you are Mexican, have neither a valid e.firma nor a valid voter ID (INE card), and are not in the groups that sheet 12/CFF serves at an office, for the Contraseña you first need the e.firma. That one does require an appointment.

How to get the appointment yourself

The appointment is requested in CitaSAT, the SAT appointment system: citas.sat.gob.mx. You do not need to log in.

1. Choose your case: “Contribuyente que cuente con RFC” (taxpayer who has an RFC), or the registration of individuals or of legal entities.
2. Enter your details: 13-character RFC or 18-character CURP, full name and an email address you have access to. For a legal entity, the RFC of the legal representative and the legal name of the entity (razón social).
3. Solve the captcha. If you regenerate it more than four times, the application goes back to the start.
4. Choose the state, the office (módulo) and the service. CitaSAT shows you the requirements of the procedure and the calendar.
5. Choose a time slot. If another person takes it first, you will see “El horario que seleccionaste ya ha sido asignado” (the time slot you selected has already been assigned).
6. Enter the security code that arrives at the registered email address. You have 300 seconds, that is, 5 minutes, to generate the appointment.
7. Save the acknowledgment (acuse), which arrives by email. To look up or cancel the appointment later, CitaSAT asks for the same RFC or CURP and the same email address: write them down.

The CitaSAT rules

These are the messages of the version of September 18, 2026. The SAT can change them.

• Three active appointments at most, and only one per service.
• If you miss it, the system answers: “Para generar una nueva cita debes esperar 30 días naturales después de la fecha de tu última inasistencia” (to generate a new appointment you must wait 30 calendar days after the date of your last absence). If you are not going to be able to go, cancel it beforehand under «Consultar/Gestionar cita» (look up or manage an appointment). CitaSAT has no option to reschedule: to change the date, you cancel and book again.
• One email address, one taxpayer. CitaSAT rejects an email address that is already associated with another taxpayer.
• A code and 5 minutes. Without the code that arrives by email, the appointment is not generated.
• Appointments are not transferred. Every screen reminds you: “Recuerda que las citas son intransferibles” (remember that appointments are non-transferable).

If there are no appointments

• Check other offices in your state. Availability changes a lot between offices, as the case of Jalisco below shows.
• Join the Fila Virtual (virtual queue). It is the CitaSAT option for asking the SAT to assign you an appointment. You can only have one active turn (terms of the Fila Virtual and the Oficina Virtual, July 3, 2026).
• Check whether your procedure is done at the Oficina Virtual. It is by video call, also with an appointment, and it is “dirigida a personas físicas mayores de edad, sin representante legal” (aimed at individuals of legal age, without a legal representative). There you can register in the RFC if you are a salaried employee, have no tax obligations or are a Mexican abroad (sheet 3/CFF).
• Look for the Oficina Móvil. Its units do the RFC, the e.firma and the tax status certificate “sin previa cita” (without a prior appointment). In the week of September 21 to 25, 2026 there were 69 units in 48 municipalities of 25 states, and some locations do not do the e.firma (SAT, September 21, 2026). According to its minisite, the service “está dirigida a las personas físicas que forman parte de dichas comunidades” (is aimed at the individuals who are part of those communities) and access depends on each location.
• Use SAT ID if you can. It cannot be used to schedule, but it avoids the appointment for the Contraseña, the tax status certificate and the renewal of an e.firma that expired one year ago or less. It is for Mexicans of legal age with a valid voter ID (INE card), issued in Mexico or abroad. It accounted for 26.1 million services between January 2025 and July 2026 (SAT, September 17, 2026).

How hard it is to get an appointment

Every week the SAT publishes a traffic-light report on the availability of its offices. “Alta” (high) means an appointment in 1 to 10 business days; “media” (medium), in 11 to 20; “baja” (low), in more time. These are the figures that the press reproduced:

• “High” can be up to two weeks of waiting.
• In Jalisco, in the week of August 3 to 7, 2026, Lagos de Moreno, Ocotlán and Tepatitlán had low availability. The offices of Guadalajara, Guadalajara Sur and Zapopan had medium availability (El Informador, August 3, 2026).

What usually goes wrong

The appointment is not the procedure. At the service window, the SAT reviews your details and your documents.

• Going for something that was not needed. In San Luis Potosí, the SAT’s administrator of taxpayer services said that, of some 1,500 people who requested the tax status certificate each day, “aproximadamente 1,400 no realmente la necesitaban” (approximately 1,400 did not really need it) (Astrolabio, January 27, 2026). And since January 1, 2026, making an invoice conditional on your showing the tax status certificate is an infraction (Código Fiscal de la Federación, art. 83, section IX).
• Missing the appointment. You may be left unable to schedule for 30 calendar days.
• Registering an email address that another person already used. CitaSAT does not accept it.
• Details that do not match. The SAT validates your CURP against RENAPO. The current sheet 14/CFF also asks that your address be up to date.
• Inconsistencies in your tax status. If there are any, the SAT issues an “acuse de requerimiento de información adicional” (acknowledgment of a request for additional information) and gives 10 days to clarify (sheets 14/CFF and 20/CFF).
• Sending another person for your e.firma. A representative is only allowed in the cases of sheet 14/CFF, such as minors or declared incapacity.

What to bring on the day of the appointment

For an individual’s e.firma (sheet 14/CFF):

• Valid official ID.
• Proof of address, in original.
• A USB drive.

Check your CURP beforehand, because the SAT validates it against RENAPO. You go in person: your fingerprints, photograph, iris and signature are taken. If you are renewing and your last certificate is less than five years old, at the office your fingerprint is enough to prove identity and address (sheet 15/CFF).

For a legal entity’s e.firma (sheet 16/CFF) the legal representative goes, with their ID, the articles of incorporation (acta constitutiva), the document that proves their powers (poder) and the proof of address. Confirm the complete list in the sheet.

For the RFC (sheet 1/CFF): proof of address and a valid official ID, in original, and having a CURP. In CitaSAT, choose «Inscripción al padrón de contribuyentes Personas Físicas» (RFC registration for individuals), not «Contribuyente que cuente con RFC», which asks for an RFC you do not have yet. If you want the e.firma in the same visit, bring a USB drive. More detail in Spanish: RFC por primera vez.

For the other procedures, CitaSAT shows you the requirements of the sheet when you choose the service. Review them before confirming the appointment.

If you are a foreign national living in Mexico

According to sheet 1/CFF of Anexo 2 of the RMF 2026 (compiled with the amendment of July 17, 2026):

• RFC registration is at a SAT office, with an appointment. You present a valid immigration document: a temporary or permanent resident card, a temporary student resident card, a visitor card with permission to work, a humanitarian visitor card, a border worker card, or the refugee document issued by COMAR.
• You need a CURP. For foreign nationals in Mexico, the SAT may use «la CURP indicada en las tarjetas de residencia» (the CURP shown on the resident card). CitaSAT asks for an 18-character CURP to book the registration appointment.
• If you are not allowed to work but need the RFC for something else, you present a signed statement (escrito libre) explaining, under oath, what you need it for.
• Your foreign tax ID, if your country requires you to have one.
• The e.firma can be done in the same visit, with a USB drive, your valid ID (your immigration document or your passport), your proof of address and your CURP. You go in person: fingerprints, photograph, iris and signature are taken.
• The Contraseña (SAT password) is issued to foreign nationals at an office (sheet 12/CFF). SAT ID, the online alternative, is only for Mexican citizens.
• When you go from temporary to permanent resident, you must update your status with the SAT.

CitaSAT lets you choose any state and office: in Mexico City, choose «Ciudad de México» as the state and then the office. The office hours in the procedure sheets are Monday to Thursday from 09:00 to 16:00 and Friday from 08:30 to 15:00, except non-working days. If the SAT asks you to clarify something about your e.firma, you have to return to the office where you started.

How we work on SAT procedures

Tramity charges for supporting you with your procedure. This is how we work:

• The appointment is free and you can get it yourself with the steps in this guide.
• We arrange each appointment for a specific person, with their real details, exactly as they appear on their documents. One person per appointment.
• We do not resell or transfer appointments.
• We never ask you for your Contraseña or your e.firma.
• You do the procedure and the SAT decides it.

If you prefer our support

If you are an accountant or have an agency, also read Tramity for agencies.

What it includes

• Guidance: whether your procedure needs an appointment or is done online, and which SAT procedure sheet applies to it.
• A review of your documents before the appointment: ID, proof of address, CURP and whatever the sheet for your procedure asks for.
• Your appointment, for the correct service and with your details exactly as they appear on your documents.
• Preparation: what to bring and what the service at the office is like. For the e.firma you go in person, because your fingerprints, photograph, iris and signature are taken.
• Follow-up: if the SAT cancels your appointment, we look for a new one at no additional cost. If you are not going to be able to go, let us know beforehand: anyone who misses an appointment may be left unable to schedule for 30 days.

What we need

• Your details exactly as they appear on your documents: full name and RFC with homoclave, or CURP if you are going to register in the RFC.
• The procedure and the state where you want the appointment.
• For a legal entity, the legal name of the entity (razón social) and the RFC of the legal representative.

We do not ask you for your Contraseña or your e.firma: they are not needed to schedule.

How much it costs

1. The appointment: free at citas.sat.gob.mx.
2. The government fees: there are none. The SAT does not charge for these procedures; the procedure sheets of Anexo 2 of the RMF 2026 say “Gratuito” (free).
3. Our service: our fees vary by procedure and case. Write to us and we will give you the cost of yours before we start.

What does not depend on us

• The date. The SAT publishes the time slots. No service can promise a date or a time frame.
• That the appointment is kept. The SAT can cancel or change appointments. If it cancels it, we look for a new one at no additional cost.
• The outcome. At the service window, the SAT reviews your documents and your tax status, and it may ask you for additional information.