Commercial companies in Mexico are regulated through the General Act of Commercial Companies (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles) or by the Civil Code, depending on the nature of the organization. The General Act of Commercial Companies (hereinafter the Corporations Act) regulates the manner in which mercantile companies are to be structured, their minimum requirements and their internal regulations. The Civil Code regulates these same areas with respect to associations and civil societies.

The Corporations Act expressly enunciates the six different commercial entities recognized under Mexican law. These are: 1) the Collective name company (Sociedad de nombre colective); 2) the Limited partnership company (Sociedad en comandita simple); 3) the Limited liability company (Sociedad de responsabilidad limitada); 4) Anonymous society (Sociedad anónima); 5) the Limited partnership represented by shares (Sociedad en comandita por acciones); and 6) the cooperative corporation (Sociedad cooperativa). All companies advance common rights derived from their contributions, particulary the right to vote and the right to receive dividends, as well as the designation of a supervisory board to look after the interest of the partners/shareholders.

Civil organizations, ruled by the Civil Code, are not mercantile corporations. However, even though their establishment or existence is governed by civil laws, they are not exempt from the obligations imposed upon mercantile or commercial entities. There are two types of civil organizations: 1) Associations, which are recognized by the Civil Code as a commercial entity; and 2) Civil Societies, which consist of mostly professional organizations with the partners held personally liable for any professional activities performed.