AML 101 for art buyers: why a gallery asks for your ID, and the thresholds by country

If you buy a work of art from us and the price crosses a line, we will ask for a copy of your identification, your address and, sometimes, the origin of the funds. Collectors who have bought for years in New York find this strange. It is not our policy; it is the law of the country we sell from, and increasingly of the countries we sell to. This guide explains what anti-money-laundering (AML) and “know your customer” (KYC) rules mean for you as a buyer, what the thresholds are in each market, and what nobody has the right to ask.

Why art, and why now

Art is portable, hard to value from the outside and traditionally paid for with discretion, which made it useful to people hiding money. Governments responded by adding art dealers to the list of professions that must identify their clients, keep records and report unusual operations, alongside notaries, jewellers and casinos. Mexico did so in 2012 with the LFPIORPI (the “vulnerable activities” law), the European Union with its 2015–2024 directives and regulation, the United Kingdom in 2020; the United States, so far, has not extended the Bank Secrecy Act to art dealers. The result is the map below.

What KYC means when you buy a work

Identification: a government ID and proof of address, kept on file. For a company, its registration and the people who own it.

Origin of funds, in higher brackets: a plain statement of where the money comes from (salary, a sale, an inheritance). Not bank statements, not tax returns, unless something does not add up.

Screening: the seller checks the buyer’s name against public sanctions lists. It takes a minute and you are not told unless there is a match.

Payment by traceable means: bank transfer or card. Cash is capped or forbidden for art in most of these countries.

Mexico, in detail

Selling works of art is a “vulnerable activity”. The gallery must identify the buyer from 2,410 UMA (about MXN 283,000 in 2026), file a notice (aviso) with the SAT from 4,815 UMA (about MXN 565,000), also when several purchases within six months add up to it, and may not accept cash from 3,210 UMA (about MXN 377,000). Since the 2025 reform the records must be kept ten years and the gallery must have a written compliance programme. None of this is reported to anyone unless the threshold is crossed; the notice, when filed, is a form, not an accusation.

The EU and the UK

From EUR 10,000, in one transaction or several linked ones, galleries, dealers, auction houses and art storage in free ports must identify the buyer and keep the records. The UK applies the same threshold to “art market participants”. Below it, nothing is required; above it, the paperwork is roughly what a bank asks to open an account.

The United States

American art dealers are not covered by federal AML law. The banks and card processors that move the money are, and any cash payment above USD 10,000 must be reported by the receiver on Form 8300. So a US gallery rarely asks for your ID, and a US collector buying from Mexico or Europe is asked because of where the seller is, not where the buyer is.

What a gallery may never ask

Your full financial situation, your other collections, your reasons for buying, or documents unrelated to the purchase. Identification is proportionate to the amount and stops at the law. If a seller asks for more than a bank would, ask why in writing.

What this means in practice

Expect an ID request from Mexican, European and British galleries above the thresholds, and not from American ones.

Have a scanned ID and a proof of address ready; it saves a week.

Pay by transfer or card. A gallery insisting on cash above the limits is breaking the law, and so would you.

Keep the invoice and the certificate: they are your side of the same record.

Being asked for your ID is the sign of a seller who follows the rules of the market you are buying in. The galleries to worry about are the ones that never ask.

Figures from our KYC/AML and customs catalogue, verified September 2026 against the official sources of each country (Mexico’s LFPIORPI and RGCE 2026, the EU’s AMLR and customs code, the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations, US CBP and FinCEN, and the tax authorities of each country). Rules change; where a figure is marked “not confirmed” we have not yet read the primary source. None of this is legal or tax advice: it is what a gallery needs to know to sell you a work correctly.

How avant.dev helps

Art advisory is what we do every day from Mexico City: we help collectors discover, acquire and build collections of original contemporary art, with the paperwork, the delivery and the certificate handled. If you would like a second opinion before your next acquisition, book a free 30-minute consultation or browse the works available now.