Mexican Official Standards for textiles and uniforms in 2026
In Mexico, the production, import and commercialization of textiles and garments is regulated by a set of Mexican Official Standards (NOM) that SE and PROFECO verify in surveillance operations. The standards apply to plant uniforms as well as logo t-shirts, gift kits and corporate backpacks. This guide summarizes the NOMs that apply to textile merch in Mexico in 2026, what information must appear on the label, what exceptions exist and what to do when the product is imported.
The NOMs that apply to textile merch
The most relevant standards for textile merch in Mexico are four. NOM-004-SCFI-2006 regulates the commercial information textile products must carry. NOM-050-SCFI-2004 regulates size labeling. NOM-024-SCFI-2013 regulates the information electrical and electronic products must carry (applies when merch includes USBs, power banks or speakers). NMX-A-183-INNTEX-2008 — although it is NMX and not NOM — establishes test methods for size determination.
In addition, there are specific NOMs for products with special properties: NOM-083-SCFI-2014 for textiles with UV protection properties, NOM-141-SSA1-2012 for labeling of textiles in contact with food (applies to aprons), and NOM-089-SSA1-2013 for surgical clothing. For a typical corporate merch program, the first two are the most common.
NOM-004: what the label must carry
NOM-004-SCFI-2006 establishes that every textile garment sold in Mexico must carry, in a label sewn or permanently attached, the following information: name or legal name and RFC of the manufacturer or importer, tax address, country of origin, fiber composition by percentage (highest to lowest), size per NMX-A-183, care instructions in Spanish or with recognized symbols, and production lot or identification number.
The information must be truthful, verifiable and in Spanish. Sizes can be expressed with international systems (XS, S, M, L, XL) or with numerical systems (28, 30, 32) as long as they correspond to NMX-A-183. Care instructions must cover at least: washing, bleaching, drying, ironing and professional cleaning, and must be expressed with words or with the standard ISO 3758 symbols.
Special cases: import, manufacturing and maquila
When the uniform is imported finished, the label must identify the importer with RFC and Mexican tax address, and the country of origin must appear as Made in [country]. If the importer resells the product to another corporate, the label does not need to change — the manufacturer and the importer are responsible for the information.
When the uniform is manufactured in Mexico with imported fabric, the label must say Made in Mexico and the Mexican workshop appears as manufacturer. Imported fabric is identified in the temporary or definitive import pedimento, but does not appear on the finished product label. When the uniform is manufactured under maquila (Mexican workshop for foreign brand), Mexican labeling applies anyway, unless the garment leaves the country without being commercialized in Mexico.
Products that do not require full NOM-004
There are products that, although textile, have a simplified labeling regime. Customized products with more than 50% of value added (such as a t-shirt with extensive corporate embroidery) can carry a simplified label with the essential information — composition, country of origin and manufacturer — as long as the garment keeps its own identity. Used textile products have different rules. Textile products for specialized industrial use (such as ESD smocks for clean rooms) can carry the technical label instead of the commercial one.
Textile products for medical use and for personal protection are regulated by specific NOMs and not by NOM-004. When corporate merch falls under those regimes (for example, uniforms for hospitals or for the chemical industry), the corresponding NOM must be applied and NOM-004 is no longer the main one.
Surveillance operations and sanctions
PROFECO carries out periodic surveillance operations in department stores, boutiques and uniform retailers. When it detects an unlabeled product or one with incomplete label, it can sanction the manufacturer or the importer with a fine ranging from three hundred to three thousand five hundred days of current minimum wage, in addition to the removal of the product from the market. Fines are cumulative when there are multiple unlabeled products.
When a large corporate (the end client) delivers uniforms to its employees without NOM-004 label because the supplier did not include it, PROFECO can sanction both the supplier and the delivering corporate. The practical recommendation is: before accepting a uniform delivery, verify that the label meets all fields. If any is missing, require the supplier to correct it before payment.
Practical cases we see in the workshop
Three typical cases. The first is a corporate importing t-shirts from Bangladesh for store uniforms. The importer (the corporate or its supplier) must appear on the label with Mexican RFC, and country of origin Made in Bangladesh. When the importer's RFC is missing, the product cannot be commercialized in Mexico.
The second is a Mexican brand that imports fabric from China and sends it to be printed at a workshop in CDMX. The finished product carries the label Made in Mexico and the workshop as manufacturer. The imported fabric is documented in the pedimento and kardex, but does not appear on the product label. The third is a company that gives away tote bags at a fair and imports them without a label — PROFECO can sanction both the importer and the fair organizer.
How Corp-Merch.MX can help
Corp-Merch.MX delivers all its textile products with a label compliant with NOM-004-SCFI-2006. When the product is manufactured in our workshop, we carry the RFC, address and country of origin correctly. When the product is manufactured by our allied workshops, we audit the label before delivery. When the product is imported by the client, we support the documentation so the importer complies with labeling.
If you need to label a series of uniforms per NOM-004, share your case. We help you define the mandatory information, design the label, produce it and sew it on the garment. We handle runs from 50 pieces and deliver across Mexico.
Quote your textile NOM compliance?
If you need to label a series of t-shirts, uniforms or textile kits per NOM-004, share your case. We need product type, quantity and delivery date. We deliver the product with a sewn, audited and compliant label.
Corp-Merch.MX is a Mexican workshop that produces merch. Information about textile NOMs is informational and reflects provisions in force at the time of publication. Standards may be updated and we recommend validating with SE, PROFECO and your compliance area. Corp-Merch.MX is not a certifying body or standardization organization.