| Statewide case search | New Mexico Courts Case Lookup |
|---|---|
| Criminal history check | New Mexico DPS Law Enforcement Records Bureau — Criminal History / Background Checks |
| Appellate opinions | NMOneSource.com |
| Federal cases | PACER (1 district) |
| Plain copy fee | $0.35 per page |
| Certified copy fee | $1.50 per document |
| Who keeps trial records | Clerk of the New Mexico Supreme Court; Clerk of the Court of Appeals |
New Mexico runs its trial courts as a single statewide system rather than 33 separate county systems, which makes it unusual among larger states. The district court in each of the state's 13 judicial districts handles felony criminal cases, civil suits, divorce and custody, and contested probate; the magistrate court (or, in Bernalillo County, the Metropolitan Court) handles misdemeanors, DWI, traffic citations, small civil claims, and the first appearance in felony cases. Every one of these courts, plus the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, reports into one statewide case-management system.
Because of that, New Mexico has a single statewide search that actually works across the whole state: the New Mexico Courts Case Lookup, run by the Administrative Office of the Courts, which covers appellate, district, magistrate, metropolitan, and (for DWI and domestic-violence convictions) municipal cases. A second tool, re:Search®NM, gives attorneys and self-represented parties in their own cases access to filed documents, not just the docket. Neither tool substitutes for the county clerk's office in Texas or California, because New Mexico's county clerks do not keep court records at all — that office handles land records, elections, marriage licenses, and vital records instead.
The most common mistake is looking for a "county clerk" court search the way you would in another state. In New Mexico, always go to the district court clerk (for felonies, civil, and family cases) or the magistrate/metropolitan court clerk (for misdemeanors and traffic), and use Case Lookup first before contacting either office.
How New Mexico courts are organized
Which court heard a case decides who keeps the file. Use this table to pick the right clerk before you search, and see the guides to criminal, civil, family, and probate records for what each court's file contains.
| Court | Handles | Who holds the records |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of New Mexico |
| Clerk of the New Mexico Supreme Court Based in Santa Fe. Opinions are published through NMOneSource.com; case status is in Case Lookup. |
| Court of Appeals |
| Clerk of the Court of Appeals Sits in panels of three, with offices in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. |
| District Courts (13 judicial districts) |
| District Court Clerk of the judicial district New Mexico's 33 counties are grouped into 13 judicial districts; some districts cover more than one county and keep separate case files by county. |
| Magistrate Courts and Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court |
| Magistrate Court Clerk (Metropolitan Court Clerk in Bernalillo County) Bernalillo County has no magistrate court; the Metropolitan Court in Albuquerque does that job for the whole county and also handles domestic-violence petitions. |
| Probate Courts |
| County Probate Judge One elected, non-lawyer probate judge per county. A contested estate moves to district court, where the district clerk keeps the file. |
| Municipal Courts |
| Municipal Court Clerk of the city Not covered by district or magistrate court portals; some DWI and domestic-violence convictions from municipal court appear in Case Lookup, nothing else does. |
Search New Mexico court records online
Statewide case search
New Mexico Courts Case Lookup
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Case index information (not documents) from the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, all 13 district courts, magistrate courts, and the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court statewide; municipal-court coverage is limited to DWI and domestic-violence convictions since September 1, 1991
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate, Traffic, Appeals
No registration needed. Personal identifying information is withheld, and juvenile cases and Family Violence Protection Act protective-order cases are excluded from the public search.
Statewide case search
re:Search®NM
- Cost
- Free registration; some document viewing may be tiered by user type
- Coverage
- Odyssey case information and filed documents for appellate, district, magistrate, and metropolitan court cases, with access level based on whether you are an attorney of record or a self-represented party in that case
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate
Replaced Secured Odyssey Public Access (SOPA) in 2023. Self-represented litigants must register and also submit an SRL application to the court service desk before getting document access.
Criminal history (convictions)
New Mexico DPS Law Enforcement Records Bureau — Criminal History / Background Checks
- Cost
- $15.00 per record, payable by money order or cashier's check
- Coverage
- Arrest and criminal history record information held in the New Mexico State Central Repository for felony, misdemeanor, and DWI arrests
- Records
- Criminal
Requires a notarized Authorization for Release of Information form (fingerprint-based for many uses); processed by the Department of Public Safety, not searchable online by name.
Appellate courts
NMOneSource.com
- Cost
- Free for opinions; annotated statutes and some research tools require a subscription
- Coverage
- Official repository of Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions, published by the New Mexico Compilation Commission
- Records
- Appeals
For the status of a pending appeal rather than a published opinion, use Case Lookup instead.
Federal court records in New Mexico
Federal cases (bankruptcy, federal crimes, lawsuits under federal law) are not in state portals. They live in PACER, organized by district. New Mexico has 1 federal judicial district.
| District | Main courthouse | Court website |
|---|---|---|
| District of New Mexico | Albuquerque | www.nmd.uscourts.gov |
Read our PACER guide for registration, the per-page fee, and the quarterly fee waiver.
New Mexico county court records
Trial-court records are kept by the clerk in the county where the case was filed. These are the largest counties in New Mexico; each guide covers the district court clerk and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.
- Bernalillo County court records County seat: Albuquerque Online search Free
- Doña Ana County court records County seat: Las Cruces Online search Free
- Santa Fe County court records County seat: Santa Fe Online search Free
- Sandoval County court records County seat: Bernalillo Online search Free
- San Juan County court records County seat: Aztec Online search Free
- Valencia County court records County seat: Los Lunas Online search Free Verifying
- Lea County court records County seat: Lovington Online search Free Verifying
- Otero County court records County seat: Alamogordo Online search Free Verifying
- McKinley County court records County seat: Gallup Online search Free Verifying
- Chaves County court records County seat: Roswell Online search Free Verifying
Request records in person or by mail
Online first. Search the New Mexico Courts Case Lookup by name to find the case number and which court (district, magistrate, or metropolitan) has the file. Case Lookup shows docket entries but not document images.
In person or by mail. Contact the clerk of the specific court: the district court clerk for felony, civil, family, and contested probate files, or the magistrate/metropolitan court clerk for misdemeanor, DWI, and traffic files. Give the case number if you have it, or the party names and approximate filing year. Copy fees are set by each court, typically around $0.35 per page for a plain copy and $1.50 per document for certification, under the authority of NMSA 1978 §§ 34-6-40 and 34-6-43; confirm the current amount with the clerk since fee schedules are adopted district by district.
Public-records requests. New Mexico's Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) applies to the judiciary, and the courts run a dedicated online request form at ipra.nmcourts.gov for records that Case Lookup and re:Search®NM do not cover.
County clerk. Do not contact the county clerk for a court case. In New Mexico, the county clerk keeps real-property, election, marriage-license, and vital records — not court files.
Federal cases. Filings in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico are on PACER, not on any state portal; the district holds court in Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Roswell, Santa Fe, and Silver City.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $0.35 per page |
| Certified copy | $1.50 per document |
Confirmed on the Second Judicial District (Bernalillo County) Clerk's Office fee schedule under the authority of NMSA 1978 §§ 34-6-40 and 34-6-43. Each judicial district and each magistrate/metropolitan court adopts its own fee schedule, so amounts can differ outside Bernalillo County; confirm with the specific clerk before sending payment.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed, expunged, and restricted records
New Mexico court records are open to the public under the common-law right of access and the Inspection of Public Records Act, but Rule 1-079 NMRA (and its counterparts for magistrate, metropolitan, and municipal courts) governs sealing and lets a court close all or part of a record's docket, case type, or documents by order. A record's basic case number and case type generally may not be sealed without a specific court order, even when the file itself is confidential.
Expungement. The Criminal Record Expungement Act, NMSA 1978 §§ 29-3A-1 to 29-3A-7 (effective January 1, 2020), lets a person petition the district court to remove an arrest or conviction record from public access, including from Case Lookup and law-enforcement websites. Waiting periods run from two years (municipal ordinance and lesser misdemeanors) to four to ten years (felonies) after completing the sentence, and some offenses involving children, great bodily harm, sex crimes, embezzlement, or DWI are not eligible.
Juvenile records. Delinquency and abuse/neglect cases in the Children's Court are confidential, and since July 1, 2007 juvenile criminal cases have not appeared on Case Lookup at all.
Domestic-violence protective orders. Family Violence Protection Act cases have been removed from the public Case Lookup website since July 1, 2008; contact the court directly for that information.
Other restricted matters. Adoption files, mental-health commitment cases, and certain records containing Social Security numbers or minors' identifying information are restricted or redacted under court rule.
To remove your own record from public view, read how to expunge or seal a criminal record.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one website to search New Mexico court records statewide?
Yes. The New Mexico Courts Case Lookup covers the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, all 13 district courts, every magistrate court, and the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, and it does not require registration. It shows docket information, not filed documents.
Does the county clerk keep New Mexico court records?
No. Unlike many states, New Mexico's county clerks handle real-property, election, marriage-license, and vital records, not court cases. Court files stay with the district court clerk or the magistrate/metropolitan court clerk.
How do I get copies of documents from a New Mexico court case, not just the docket?
Case Lookup does not show documents. If you are a party or attorney of record, re:Search®NM can show filed documents after registration. Otherwise, request copies directly from the clerk of the court that has the file, or use the courts' IPRA request form at ipra.nmcourts.gov.
How do I find out if someone has a criminal record in New Mexico?
The Department of Public Safety's Law Enforcement Records Bureau processes fingerprint-based criminal history checks for $15 per record with a notarized authorization form; there is no free public name-search database for statewide convictions the way some states offer.
Are New Mexico juvenile and domestic-violence cases public?
No. Juvenile delinquency and abuse/neglect cases have been excluded from Case Lookup since 2007, and Family Violence Protection Act protective-order cases have been excluded since 2008. Contact the court directly for information about those case types.
How do I expunge a New Mexico arrest or conviction record?
Petition the district court under the Criminal Record Expungement Act, NMSA 1978 §§ 29-3A-1 to 29-3A-7. Waiting periods after completing a sentence range from two years for minor misdemeanors to four to ten years for felonies, and some offenses are not eligible at all.
Sources
- New Mexico Courts — Courts in New Mexico — https://nmcourts.gov/courts-in-new-mexico/
- New Mexico Courts Case Lookup — https://caselookup.nmcourts.gov/caselookup/app
- New Mexico Courts — Public Access and re:Search®NM — https://selfrepresentation.nmcourts.gov/self-representation/public-access-and-researchnm/
- New Mexico Courts — IPRA Records Request — https://ipra.nmcourts.gov/
- NM Department of Public Safety — Fingerprinting and Background Checks — https://www.dps.nm.gov/law-enforcement-records-bureau/fingerprinting-and-background-checks/
- NMOneSource.com — https://www.nmonesource.com/nmos/en/nav.do
- Rule 1-079 NMRA — Public Inspection and Sealing of Court Records (District Court Civil) — https://supremecourt.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Rule-1-079-NMRA.pdf
- NMSA 1978, Chapter 29, Article 3A — Criminal Record Expungement Act — https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2019/chapter-29/article-3a/section-29-3a-1/
- NMSA 1978 § 34-6-40 — District Courts; Finance; Fees — https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2024/chapter-34/article-6/section-34-6-40/
- United States District Court for the District of New Mexico — https://www.nmd.uscourts.gov/