Sometimes U.S. banks and businesses that lend or advance money to Mexican borrowers, for practical or business reasons, seek to have the Mexican borrower sign a Mexican promissory note (pagaré) with an effective date that is either before  or after the actual date of signature of the pagaré. 

For example, an effective date on a pagaré that is before the actual date of signature might be used to enable the lender to evidence a debt of the Mexican borrower that arose because of money advanced before the actual signature date of the pagaré.  Similarly, an effective date on a pagaré that is after the actual date of signature may be used to enable the lender to evidence a future debt of the borrower that will arise if some event does not incur in the future (e.g., the Mexican borrower does not pay the lender’s invoices).

Article 170 of Mexico’s General Law of Negotiable Instruments (Ley General de Títulos y Operaciones de Crédito), which lists the elements required to create a valid pagaré, provides that, among other elements, a pagaré must include the date on and place at which the pagaré was signed by the borrower.

Accordingly, to avoid any possible argument by the Mexican borrower in a collection lawsuit on the pagaré by the lender that the pagaré is defective because it is not dated the actual date of signature or that the lender altered the pagaré post-signature, the most prudent course of action for the lender is to have the debtor sign the pagaré on the actual date that appears on the pagaré, whether the date is (a) pre-printed on the pagaré by the lender or (b) handwritten on the pagaré by the borrower or the lender.

If the lender must date the pagaré before or after the actual date of signature, one alternative for the lender would be to pre-print the date the lender wishes to include on the pagaré, whether such date is before or after the actual date of signature, BEFORE the pagaré is signed by the borrower.  However, it is conceivable that this alternative could give rise to an argument by the borrower in a collection lawsuit by the lender that the pagaré is defective because it is not dated the actual date of signature contrary to Article 170.  In other words, there is some risk to the lender associated with this alternative.

A much less favorable alternative if the lender must date the pagaré before or after the actual date of signature is to leave the date of the pagaré blank and fill-in the desired date, whether such date is before or after the actual date of signature, AFTER the pagaré is signed by the borrower.  This alternative, which is not recommended, is far more likely than the previous alternative to give rise to an argument by the borrower in a collection lawsuit by the lender that the pagaré is defective because it is not dated the actual date of signature or because the lender altered the on the pagaré post-signature violation of Article 170.