How it works: sources and methodology

Terravis crosses the location of a lot (a point or the drawn lot) with 28 public data sources on the environment, ecological zoning, the federal beach zone and land tenure, and tells you which authorizations you will probably need and what to check before buying or building.

It is a preliminary guidance check. It is not a legal opinion: it does not replace the environmental impact statement (MIA), the municipal permit or a title review before a notary, and it does not guarantee that a permit will be approved or denied. It covers dry land in Quintana Roo (beaches, islands and lagoons included) in Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Tulum and the corridor between them, Isla Mujeres, Costa Mujeres, Isla Blanca and Cozumel; it does not check points at sea or outside the state.

Step by step

1. Locate your lot

   Address, Google Maps link, coordinates or UTM. You can also draw the land corner by corner.

2. We cross it with official sources

   CONABIO, CONANP, SEMARNAT, the National Agrarian Registry (RAN), INEGI and each municipality’s urban development plan.

3. Get the traffic light and next steps

   A color with its reason, the three gates (environmental, zoning and purchase), concrete next steps and a printable report.

The three gates

A lot goes through three independent reviews: getting one does not guarantee the others. The result shows how each one looks.

• MIA · federal

  Environmental

  SEMARNAT and the state authority. Triggered by the location (mangrove, jungle, protected area, coast, body of water, ecological zoning) or by the type of work.

• municipal · zoning plan (PDU)

  Land use

  The municipal Urban Development Program (PDU) says which uses are allowed there. It is the municipal permit, separate from the environmental one.

• tenure · title

  Purchase

  Who can sell the land: ejido origin per the National Agrarian Registry (RAN), the federal beach zone (ZOFEMAT) or concessions. Confirmed with the registered title.

What the check also explains

• Estimated federal zone. Where SEMARNAT does not publish the federal-zone map (for example Puerto Morelos and Costa Mujeres), we estimate it from the coastline: at 75 m or less it shows as "estimated federal zone" and up to 150 m as a warning. The official survey is what counts.
• Lagoon shores. Lagoons connected to the sea (Nichupté, Chacmuchuch) also have a 20 m federal zone; within 80 m of the shore a warning appears.
• What the ecological zoning allows. For each zoning unit (UGA), the clearing percentage, the density and its unit as the decree states it (hotel rooms, ecotourism cabins or homes per hectare; in the Cancún-Tulum Corridor, net density over the area that can be cleared).
• When two plans disagree. If the zoning plan marks a use the ecological zoning does not allow, or an urban use over mangrove or inside a protected area, the check says so and asks you to confirm with the authority which one applies.
• Context that does not change the color. Nearby projects with a federal environmental impact assessment (Gaceta Ecológica), turtle nesting beaches (NOM-162), nearby cenotes and archaeological sites, soil type and distance to services and roads.
• Coverage. Cancún, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Carmen, Cozumel, Tulum and the corridor, Isla Mujeres, Costa Mujeres and Isla Blanca. It does not cover Holbox, Chiquilá or the south of the state yet.

Legal framework cited

• LGEEPA (General Law of Ecological Balance), art. 28. An environmental impact statement (MIA) before SEMARNAT is required, among others, for works involving land-use change of forest areas, jungles and arid zones (sect. VII), real-estate developments affecting coastal ecosystems (sect. IX), works in wetlands, mangroves, lagoons, rivers, lakes and estuaries connected to the sea and on their shores (sect. X) and works in federal natural protected areas (sect. XI).
• Environmental Impact Regulation of the LGEEPA, art. 5 (items O, Q, R and S). Specifies which works under those sections require an MIA. On forest land and jungle (item O), a single-family home or a retail or service unit on lots under 1,000 m², with tree removal under 500 m² and without affecting protected species, does not require an MIA. In coastal ecosystems and mangrove (items Q and R), almost any work requires an MIA; the housing exception is only for communities settled there. Item S covers works in natural protected areas.
• General Wildlife Law (LGVS), art. 60 TER. Prohibits removing, filling, transplanting or pruning mangrove, or carrying out works that affect its integrity.
• General Law of National Assets (LGBN), art. 119. The federal beach zone (ZOFEMAT) is the 20 m strip of dry land next to the beaches, measured from the maximum high tide; on lakes, lagoons and estuaries connected to the sea, the 20 m are counted from the highest annual water level (sect. III). It is not private property: it is used under a concession.
• General Law of Sustainable Forest Development (LGDFS), arts. 93 and 97. Removing forest vegetation requires a land-use change authorization; it cannot be authorized where vegetation was lost to fire, logging or clearing until 20 years have passed and its regeneration is proven.
• Quintana Roo Ecological Balance Law, art. 24. The state environmental impact assessment: subdivisions and real-estate developments outside coastal ecosystems, hotels over 1,200 m², retail and services over 1,000 m², land divisions of 5,500 m² or more, land-use change in secondary vegetation (acahual) and urban projects over 2,500 m² of land or 1,500 m² of construction.
• Agrarian Law, arts. 64, 74, 80 to 84. Which ejido land can be sold and how: the house-lot area and common-use land cannot; a parcel only with full ownership (dominio pleno) or between ejido members.
• All of the above is guidance, not legal advice: the authority decides each case with the specific project. Every article cited on the site is checked against the text in force published by the Chamber of Deputies (in Spanish).

The traffic light

The color summarizes the result for the point or lot, taking the three gates into account. It always comes with a word and a reason; the color never stands alone.

No alerts

None of the sources checked marks a restriction here, there is no tenure flag and the zoning plan does not restrict the land use. It is not a guarantee: if data is missing in the area, the result comes with a partial-coverage note saying what is missing, and if the zoning plan marks a use the municipality has to confirm (reserve or public facilities), the note says: "the land use here must be confirmed with the municipality".

Caution

There is at least one alert that is usually handled with permits: for example standing vegetation or jungle (MIA or forest land-use change), recent clearing, a conservation ecological zoning or land of ejido origin that needs checking. It is not guaranteed.

High risk

There is a strong restriction: for example a protection or preservation ecological zoning, a protected park, ejido common-use land, or a zoning plan that marks green area, conservation or preservation. It may be possible, but with difficult permits or advice before paying.

Very high risk

The most serious restrictions: for example a federal natural protected area, mangrove, a body of water or a known closure precedent. Do not sign without a specialist reviewing it.

No data

We cannot rate it: the point is at sea, outside Quintana Roo or outside the area we cover (the shaded area on the map), or on a stretch of coast without an official federal-zone survey. In each gate, "No data" means no source covers that topic at that point (for example, no zoning plan loaded).

Confidence of each source

• alta: Official data with good coverage (CONABIO, CONANP, RAN). A 'clean' result is reliable.
• media: Proxy, coarse scale or partial coverage (federal zone, 1:250k jungle, POET, soils, clearing). Confirm on site.
• baja: Partial inventory (OSM: cenotes, INAH) or a proxy with a large error (coast). 'No restrictions' is not a guarantee.

Accuracy and limits

Official maps are not accurate to the meter. The error ranges from a few meters (federal-zone surveys, RAN certification, protected-area decrees) to hundreds of meters (the INEGI vegetation map at 1:250,000 scale). Urban development plans usually come from digitized maps, with errors of tens of meters.

That is why the check warns when a lot is 100 m or less from mangrove, a protected area or the federal zone, and when it is closer to a land-use, ejido or ecological-zoning boundary than the measured error of that layer ("Your lot is 8 m from the boundary of…"). Each alert shows the confidence of its source. If your lot sits right on a boundary, confirm it with the official map, with the authority or with a site visit before paying.

This check crosses the same official sources a specialist would review from their desk. What a map cannot confirm (title, boundaries, permits in force and what is actually on the lot) is verified on site and in registries. That is what we do.

Sources (28)

This table comes from the same catalog the tool uses to cite each alert and the report annex. The date is the date of the data, not of the query. Official names are kept in Spanish.

Laws and documents cited in the guides (35)

Every legal statement in the guides cites the article of the law in force; these are the official texts used (in Spanish). Federal laws are consulted at the Chamber of Deputies (text in force with its latest amendment).

• Agrarian Attorney's Office (Procuraduría Agraria)Cited in: Bought Ejido Land in Mexico? The Real Risks · Can You Get Title to Ejido Land in Mexico?
• Agrarian CourtsCited in: Bought Ejido Land in Mexico? The Real Risks
• Agrarian Law, current text (last amended Nov 14, 2025)Cited in: Bought Ejido Land in Mexico? The Real Risks · Can You Get Title to Ejido Land in Mexico? · Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land? · How to Check if Land in Mexico Is Ejido
• Benito Juárez local ecological zoning plan decree (Feb 27, 2014)Cited in: Cancún Zoning: What Can You Build on a Lot?
• Chacmuchuch Peninsula Partial Urban Development Plan (Dec 17, 2007; erratum Jan 30, 2008)Cited in: Buying Land in Costa Mujeres: What to Check · Cancún Zoning: What Can You Build on a Lot?
• CONABIO: mangroves of MexicoCited in: Land Around Cancún, Playa and Tulum: Data
• DOF April 1, 2026: SEMARNAT agreement simplifying environmental impact proceduresCited in: Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo
• Environmental Impact Assessment Regulation (arts. 57-58)Cited in: PROFEPA Closed Your Construction? What to Do · Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico?
• Federal Criminal Code (arts. 418 and 420 Bis)Cited in: Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo · PROFEPA Closed Your Construction? What to Do · Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico?
• Federal Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA)Cited in: Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico?
• Foreign Investment Law, arts. 10 and 11Cited in: Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• Gaceta Ecológica and projects under public consultationCited in: Does My Lot Need an MIA? Quintana Roo
• General Law of National Assets, art. 119 (federal maritime zone)Cited in: Buying Land in Costa Mujeres: What to Check · Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• General Sustainable Forest Development Law (arts. 93 and 97)Cited in: Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo · Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo · Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico? · Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• General Wildlife Law, art. 60 TER (mangroves)Cited in: Buying Land in Costa Mujeres: What to Check · Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• Grupo Animal: irregular land sale scams multiply in Cancún (2026)Cited in: Bought Ejido Land in Mexico? The Real Risks
• INEGI: land use and vegetation, and 2024 geostatistical frameworkCited in: Land Around Cancún, Playa and Tulum: Data
• Isla Mujeres local ecological zoning plan decreeCited in: Buying Land in Costa Mujeres: What to Check
• LGEEPA, current text, art. 28, section VIICited in: Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo · PROFEPA Closed Your Construction? What to Do · Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico? · Does My Lot Need an MIA? Quintana Roo · Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• Los Noticieristas: PROFEPA orders demolition of an unauthorized wall in Mazatlán (Sep 2026)Cited in: Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico?
• MIA "Azul-Azul Mahahual" (SEMARNAT, 2024): operation of an existing building ordered by PROFEPACited in: Built Without an Environmental Permit (MIA) in Mexico?
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: permit for a trust in the restricted zoneCited in: Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land? · How to Check if Land in Mexico Is Ejido
• National Agrarian Registry (RAN)Cited in: Bought Ejido Land in Mexico? The Real Risks · Land Around Cancún, Playa and Tulum: Data · Can You Get Title to Ejido Land in Mexico? · How to Check if Land in Mexico Is Ejido
• National Agrarian Registry: social property lookup (PHINA)Cited in: Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• Por Esto!: PROFEPA closes three developments in Puerto Morelos (Jun 5, 2025)Cited in: PROFEPA Closed Your Construction? What to Do
• PROFEPA: closure of five developments in Tulum for harming mangroves, wetlands and vegetation (2018)Cited in: Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo
• PROFEPA: what the federal maritime land zone isCited in: Tulum Real Estate: Is It Safe to Buy Land?
• Quintana Roo Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection Law (last amended Aug 20, 2025), art. 24Cited in: Does My Lot Need an MIA? Quintana Roo
• Quintana Roo Urban Actions LawCited in: Cancún Zoning: What Can You Build on a Lot?
• Ruptura 360: PROFEPA closes 7 coastal developments in Puerto Morelos (2025)Cited in: PROFEPA Closed Your Construction? What to Do
• SEDATU-04-051 procedure: RAN certificates (registration, current rights)Cited in: Can You Get Title to Ejido Land in Mexico? · How to Check if Land in Mexico Is Ejido
• SEMARNAT procedure and project lookup (by project key)Cited in: Does My Lot Need an MIA? Quintana Roo
• SEMARNAT-02-001 procedure: land-use change on forest landCited in: Forest Land-Use Change in Quintana Roo
• SEMARNAT-04-002 procedure (formerly 04-002-A): environmental impact study, particular modalityCited in: Does My Lot Need an MIA? Quintana Roo
• SEMARNAT: ecological zoning plans (SIGEIA)Cited in: Land Around Cancún, Playa and Tulum: Data · Does My Lot Need an MIA? Quintana Roo

What it does not review

What the check does NOT cover yet. Review it yourself or with a specialist:

• The MIA for your project: it depends on the work and its type.
• Zoning plan updates: Playa del Carmen (in force since 2010) and Tulum (in force since 2008); check whether they were updated.
• Easements and rights of way.
• Flood risk: the official Risk Atlas is not loaded.
• The official federal zone survey where SEMARNAT has not published one (Puerto Morelos, Costa Mujeres): there we estimate it from the shoreline.
• Clearing after 2021-2023: an already cleared lot may still show vegetation.
• Lot-by-lot full ownership of ejido land: it is not in open data; it is checked with the RAN and the Public Registry.
• Holbox, Chiquilá and the south of the state (Bacalar, Chetumal): still outside coverage.

How to read the report

1. Traffic light and reason. The color, its word and a sentence with the main point.
2. Alerts found. All of them, not just the first ones.
3. Land use. What the zoning plan says at that point, with its rules (lot coverage, floor-area ratio, floors, height) when the municipality publishes them.
4. Lot detail. Ecological zoning and what it allows, vegetation, federal zone, ejido and context, one item per topic.
5. Permits you may need and the land tenure.
6. What we checked and what a map cannot see. So you know what is left to confirm on site and in registries.
7. Suggested next step, the date and page numbers, so you can forward it complete to your lawyer or notary. The report comes in English when you use the site in English.

How it is validated

• Automatic regression. Every change is tested against fixed cases (points and lots reviewed by hand) and against a grid of points over the whole area, with rules that must never break: every alert has a name, a high risk never comes out with a good rating and the traffic light always says why.
• Data audit. Each layer is reviewed: valid geometries, complete fields, correctly written accents and unusual distributions.
• Calibration with real cases. Resolved environmental impact statements, closures and annulled sales, compared with what the check says. Some of the cases are held back and only measured at the end, so the engine is not tuned to the answers.
• Accuracy audit. The legal citations on the site, the map and the report are checked against the text in force of each law, and the criteria of each ecological zoning against its decree, item by item.
• Report audit. Hundreds of points and lots are turned into PDFs, in Spanish and in English, to check that the report says the same as the check, complete and uncut.
• Error reports. The "Report an error at this point" button saves the point and what you saw; each reviewed report can become a test case.

We do not publish accuracy figures yet: they will be published when there are enough real cases for the number to mean something.