Where we work · Latin America
ISO and GRC consulting in Latin America, for Mexico and Brazil, served from New York
Sterling supports organisations in Mexico and Brazil with ISO certification, data protection programmes under Mexico's LFPDPPP and Brazil's LGPD, and the security and quality standards their customers ask for, served from our global headquarters in New York. Expert and experienced consultants take you from gap analysis to a successful audit; an accredited certification body makes the certification decision.
- Served from our global headquarters in New York, on site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise
- Certification standards and data protection law in one programme: ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO/IEC 27001, the LFPDPPP and the LGPD
- The Sterling Promise: 100% on-time completion, 100% success, 8,100+ client engagements. Sterling does not certify; an accredited body audits and decides
- Pass the audit first timeA system your people run, with evidence ready before the certification body arrives.
- Answer customer questionnairesSecurity, quality and privacy questions answered from one set of evidence.
- Meet Mexican and Brazilian rulesLFPDPPP, LGPD and sector rules mapped to the controls you already have.
- One programme, every siteMexican, Brazilian and overseas sites under one engagement team and one workspace.
Countries
Each country page sets out the regulators, the accreditation route and every standard Sterling delivers there.
- Antigua and Barbuda0 standards and frameworks
- Argentina0 standards and frameworks
- Bahamas0 standards and frameworks
- Barbados0 standards and frameworks
- Belize0 standards and frameworks
- Bolivia0 standards and frameworks
- Brazil21 standards and frameworks
- Chile0 standards and frameworks
- Colombia0 standards and frameworks
- Costa Rica0 standards and frameworks
- Dominica0 standards and frameworks
- Dominican Republic0 standards and frameworks
- Ecuador0 standards and frameworks
- El Salvador0 standards and frameworks
- Grenada0 standards and frameworks
- Guatemala0 standards and frameworks
- Guyana0 standards and frameworks
- Haiti0 standards and frameworks
- Honduras0 standards and frameworks
- Jamaica0 standards and frameworks
- Mexico21 standards and frameworks
- Nicaragua0 standards and frameworks
- Panama0 standards and frameworks
- Paraguay0 standards and frameworks
- Peru0 standards and frameworks
- Saint Kitts and Nevis0 standards and frameworks
- Saint Lucia0 standards and frameworks
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines0 standards and frameworks
- Suriname0 standards and frameworks
- Trinidad and Tobago0 standards and frameworks
- Uruguay0 standards and frameworks
- Venezuela0 standards and frameworks
How we serve you
Sterling in Latin America: served from New York, one engagement team.
Sterling has no office in Latin America. Clients in Mexico and Brazil are served from our global headquarters in New York, on site where the work needs it and remotely otherwise. Your engagement team brings in consultants from other Sterling offices when your sites or suppliers sit elsewhere.
Every Sterling location is on the All offices page. Enquiries from Mexico and Brazil reach the New York office first, and a consultant replies within one working day.
Standards in demand
What customers, regulators and auditors in Mexico and Brazil ask for.
In Mexico the request usually comes from automotive, aerospace, medical device, electronics and food supply chains, many shipping under the T-MEC, and from banks, fintechs and BPO and software firms serving overseas clients. In Brazil it comes from banks and payment institutions under the Banco Central's cybersecurity rules, software and BPO firms, manufacturers and exporters, food and health-product makers and suppliers to public bodies. Data protection runs through both: the LFPDPPP in Mexico and the LGPD in Brazil.
- ISO 9001Quality management
- IATF 16949Automotive quality
- ISO/IEC 27001Information security
- LFPDPPP (Mexico)Private-sector data protection
- LGPD (Brazil)General data protection law
- ISO 14001Environmental management
- ISO 45001Occupational health and safety
- ISO 13485Medical devices
- All standards & frameworksThe full catalogue, with sector schemes
Bodies and regulators
Who accredits, who certifies and who regulates in Mexico and Brazil.
Certification in Mexico and Brazil runs through accredited certification bodies, but many of the requirements buyers face come from regulators that do not issue management system certificates at all. The table separates the two, so you know who assesses you and who can inspect you.
| Country | Accreditation body and recognition | Regulators and schemes that ask for certification |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico: management systems, laboratories and inspection | The Entidad Mexicana de Acreditación (EMA), working under the Ley de Infraestructura de la Calidad, accredits certification bodies, laboratories and inspection units and publishes catalogues of the bodies it accredits. Global ACI lists EMA as a full member and MRA signatory; check any body's current scope with EMA | Customers, exporters under the T-MEC and group companies drive most requests for ISO 9001, IATF 16949, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO/IEC 27001. COFEPRIS treats an accredited ISO 13485 certificate as equivalent to part of its medical device norm, NOM-241-SSA1-2021; the norm sets the extent |
| Mexico: data, finance and voluntary programmes | No accreditation route for the law. The LFPDPPP creates no certificate; binding self-regulation schemes such as trust seals are possible if the parties agree and notify one | The Secretaría Anticorrupción y Buen Gobierno supervises the LFPDPPP. The CNBV may inspect service providers to credit institutions. PROFEPA and STPS run voluntary environmental and occupational safety programmes |
| Brazil: management systems, laboratories and inspection | The Coordenação-Geral de Acreditação (Cgcre) of Inmetro accredits certification bodies and laboratories. Global ACI lists it as a full member and MRA signatory. Inmetro advises confirming a scope in its databases, because scopes can be cancelled at any time | Customers, exporters and public buyers drive requests for ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, IATF 16949 and ISO 22000. Anvisa issues its own good practice certificates, which a management system certificate does not replace, and an ISO 14001 certificate does not replace an environmental licence |
| Brazil: data, finance and integrity | No accreditation route for the law. The LGPD creates no certificate | The Agência Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD) enforces the LGPD. Resolutions of the Conselho Monetário Nacional and the Banco Central on cybersecurity and cloud contracting apply to authorised institutions and name neither ISO/IEC 27001 nor PCI DSS. The Anti-Corruption Law and its regulating decree define the integrity programme of a company dealing with government |
Global ACI replaced the IAF MLA and ILAC MRA on 1 January 2026; confirm any certification body's accreditation and scope on its accreditation body's register before you sign. Sterling does not certify, accredit or assess for any of the bodies or programmes above.
How we deliver
One method, delivered where you are.
The same method we use in 60+ countries, set up for the way organisations in Mexico and Brazil procure: a clear scope, a plan and evidence that answers customers as well as auditors and regulators.
- One engagement team accountable across every country you operate in, with local consultants where the work is
- Remote and on site: workshops, document reviews and coaching remotely; site work where observation or in-person work is necessary
- One Effivity workspace for every site, included with the engagement at no additional cost
- One certification body for multi-site programmes where the body agrees, with local requirements handled where they arise
- Design™ or Drive™: your team implements with Sterling's structure and coaching, or Sterling consultants take on the agreed consulting and documentation work
A typical programme in Mexico or Brazil starts with a gap analysis against the standard or law your customer or regulator named, then a plan that maps each requirement to an owner and a date. Where one control set can answer several demands, we build it once: an ISO/IEC 27001 system that also supports LFPDPPP or LGPD evidence, or an ISO 9001 system extended to IATF 16949 for automotive work. Working sessions with multinational teams can run in English. Your engagement team stays with you through internal audit, management review and the certification body's readiness review, and supports you through the certification audit and any findings raised.
Effivity · included with the engagement
Your system runs in software from the first workshop.
Effivity is the ISO and GRC automation platform built by the Sterling group and used in 50+ countries. Your consultant configures it within the agreed scope, so evidence accumulates as people do their work and the certification auditor reviews a live system rather than a binder. Sterling consulting clients get their subscription included with the engagement, at no additional cost.
ISO & GRC softwareSterling Academy · included with the engagement
Your people learn the standard, not just the forms.
E-learning with practice checkpoints, a final exam and a numbered Certificate of Completion for each learner, verifiable online, with progress by department for the certification audit. Sterling consulting clients get preferential course access and special pricing, including complimentary awareness training for their people as part of the engagement.
Contact us about Academy accessWhere we work
Your business
crosses borders.
Your programme can too.
A Sterling lead in your working hours, wherever you operate. Multi-site programmes run with one engagement team, one Effivity workspace and one certification body, with local requirements and customer expectations handled where they arise.
Global headquarters in New York; regional headquarters in Dubai, Navi Mumbai, Manila, London, Enschede and Johannesburg; offices in 21 countries.
All offices and contact detailsClient experience
Client letters on file, available on request.
Signed client letters are available on request, and we can arrange references in your sector before you decide. The client feedback wall lists every letter by standard.
- 60+countries where Sterling has delivered certification
- 21countries with a Sterling office, eight regions, one coordinated team
- 2003the year the group began implementing ISO management systems; the same method, refined, since
- 8,100+client engagements across the group, from single-site SMEs to multinationals
FAQs
Questions clients in Latin America ask before they engage us.
The specific answers for your organisation come from the discovery call. These are the general ones.
Does Sterling have an office in Latin America?
No. Clients in Mexico and Brazil are served from Sterling's global headquarters at 616 Corporate Way, Valley Cottage, New York, on +1 201 263 4443 and usa@sterling-grc.com. Your engagement team delivers workshops and reviews remotely and visits your sites where observation or in-person work is needed.
Does Sterling issue the certificate?
No. Sterling does not certify. An independent certification body, accredited in Mexico by a body such as EMA and in Brazil by a body such as Inmetro's Cgcre, audits your system and decides. We prepare you for that audit and help you choose a body whose accreditation and scope suit your customers, and you can check both with the accreditation body.
Is there a certificate for the LFPDPPP or the LGPD?
No. Neither law creates a certificate of compliance. You show compliance through your own records: privacy notices, consent and request logs, security measures, transfer arrangements and a breach log. ISO/IEC 27701 or ISO/IEC 27001 certification by an accredited body is an optional way to evidence the systems behind those answers. Confirm legal points with your counsel or the authority.
Does an ISO certificate replace Mexican or Brazilian regulatory approvals?
Generally not. In Brazil, Anvisa issues its own good practice certificates and an ISO 14001 certificate does not replace an environmental licence. In Mexico, COFEPRIS treats an accredited ISO 13485 certificate as equivalent to part of its medical device norm, NOM-241-SSA1-2021. Check what each regulator accepts before you plan the certification.
Keep exploring
More places we work
Offices and regions
Talk to a consultant
Plan your certification in Latin America with confidence.
Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
hello@sterling-grc.com+1 201 263 4443 (global headquarters, serving Mexico and Brazil) · usa@sterling-grc.com
What would you like to achieve?
Choose a starting point. The enquiry form takes about a minute.
Book my free discovery callContinue to the enquiry form to share your details. Please do not include passwords, sensitive personal information or confidential files. A Sterling consultant replies within one working day. Privacy notice