A couple of additional steps are required if you want to cross borders south of the United States in a vehicle owned by a Montana Limited Liability Company (LLC).
Mexico, Central American countries, and most South American countries require documentation when a vehicle is driven across a border by someone other than the registered owner.
Because your Montana LLC will own your vehicle, not you individually, you will probably require this documentation.
If you plan to cross borders south of the United States, it’s best practice to name your LLC identical to the name on your passport, e.g., Matthew Copenhaver LLC.
Often, the border guard will see that the name on your passport and the name on your vehicle’s registration are nearly identical, and let you pass without further questions.
You should always travel with a border crossing authorization letter (”poder”) that extends authorization from you, the president of your LLC, to you, the individual to cross borders with this vehicle. While there is no specific format for a border crossing authorization letter, a template border crossing authorization letter is available to visitor.us customers upon request (please allow approximately one business day for a response).
While your signature on the border crossing authorization letter should be sufficient to cross most borders, a notary’s stamp (preferably a US notary) adds additional credibility to the letter.
Some countries, notably Peru, may ask for an apostille of the notarized document. (An apostille is a stamp from the government agency that authorized the notary, verifying that the notarization is authentic.)
Always travel with printed copies of your LLC’s Articles of Organization and Certification Letter, which demonstrate the LLC’s existence and your ownership of it.