Mexico: why confirm a former employee's job?
Every Mexican employer must give a worker who asks for it, or who leaves, a written record of their services within three days. Confirming the same facts takes a minute and helps the person into their next job. certo asks on their behalf, with their explicit consent.
Law as of 26 October 2026 · Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares (DOF 20 March 2025, last amended DOF 14 November 2025) and Ley Federal del Trabajo (last amended DOF 14 May 2026), texts on the Chamber of Deputies' portal
In short
- The facts are already on paper. The Federal Labour Act obliges every employer to give a worker who asks for it, or who leaves, a written record of their services within three days (art. 132, fr. VIII). The dates and the job are what we ask about.
- It helps the person who worked for you. A record confirmed by a former employer is what the next employer trusts. Answering takes about a minute and needs no account.
- certo asks on their behalf, with their explicit consent. The federal data protection law makes every processing of personal data subject to the consent of the person concerned (art. 7), and that consent may be given by electronic means. The person started this check themselves, for these facts and no others.
- You do not have to answer. No Mexican law obliges an employer to answer certo. Declining is fine.
The Federal Labour Act
Ley Federal del Trabajo, quoted from the current text published by the Chamber of Deputies (Leyes Federales Vigentes).
Art. 132, fr. VIII: the record of services
Son obligaciones de las personas empleadoras: … Expedir al trabajador que lo solicite o se separe de la empresa, dentro del término de tres días, una constancia escrita relativa a sus servicios;
In English: employers must give a worker who asks for it, or who leaves the company, a written record of their services within three days. The article does not list what the record contains; when the person worked for you and in what job is what we ask you to confirm, so your records already hold it.
Art. 133, fr. IX: no blacklisting
Queda prohibido a las personas empleadoras o a sus representantes: … Emplear el sistema de poner en el índice a los trabajadores que se separen o sean separados del trabajo para que no se les vuelva a dar ocupación;
In English: employers may not put workers who leave or are dismissed on a list so that they are not hired again. certo asks only whether facts the person claimed match your records: no opinion, no performance, no reason for leaving.
Art. 133, fr. I and XIV: what is never asked
An employer may not refuse workers because of ethnic or national origin, gender, age, disability, social condition, health, religion, opinions, sexual preferences or marital status, nor require a certificate of non-pregnancy to hire them. certo never asks you about any of these, nor about a criminal record.
Personal data
The Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares, published on 20 March 2025, governs personal data held by private parties. It replaced the law of 5 July 2010, which the same decree abrogated.
Art. 7: consent
Todo tratamiento de datos personales estará sujeto al consentimiento de la persona titular, salvo las excepciones previstas por la presente Ley.
Se deberá entender que el consentimiento es expreso cuando la voluntad de la persona titular se manifieste verbalmente, por escrito, por medios electrónicos, ópticos, signos inequívocos o por cualquier otra tecnología.
In English: all processing of personal data is subject to the consent of the data subject, save the exceptions in the law; consent is express when the data subject's will is shown orally, in writing, by electronic or optical means, by unequivocal signs or by any other technology. The person gave express consent from their own signed-in certo account. certo records which account asked, when, and for which facts. Write to support@certo.bio and we send you the record for your request.
Art. 35: the receiving party takes on the same duties
el tercero receptor, asumirá las mismas obligaciones que correspondan al responsable que transfirió los datos.
In English: a third party that receives personal data takes on the same obligations as the controller that transferred them. certo receives your answer on those terms.
Art. 12: only what is needed
Processing must be what is necessary, adequate and relevant to its purpose. You confirm or leave unticked only the facts listed. Add nothing else: anything beyond them is not covered by the person's consent.
What this means for your answer
- Tick only what your HR, payroll or personnel records show.
- Not sure it is the same person? Press "We can't find a matching record". Never confirm a record you are not sure is theirs.
- Your policy is not to answer? Press "We do not answer these requests". The record shows your organisation declined, and nobody else there is asked.
Sources
- Ley Federal de Protección de Datos Personales en Posesión de los Particulares, current text (Cámara de Diputados, Leyes Federales Vigentes)
- Ley Federal del Trabajo, current text (Cámara de Diputados, Leyes Federales Vigentes)
This page is not legal advice. It reflects the law as it stood on 26 October 2026.