By law, under the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA), every person has the right to inspect public records maintained by New Mexico Courts.

INFORMATION FOR FILING A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST

Records in civil and criminal cases are kept by the court where the case was filed, usually a District Court, Magistrate Court or the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court (Metro Court).  The Administrative Office of the Courts is not the custodian of case file records maintained by courts.

IMPORTANT: Your record request should go to the judicial district where the court is located.

Example: The Valencia County Magistrate Court in Belen is in the Thirteenth Judicial District. For records in a case in that magistrate court, select “13th Judicial District” in the Court Locations field in the form below. For cases in Metro Court, select that court in the form’s list.

View a map of court locations by city and judicial district.

Click here for a directory with a physical address for each court and a telephone number.

Court case records may be inspected in person at the court clerk’s office at the courthouse where the records are located or by using the form below. By law, there may be fees for copies of public records.

PLEASE NOTE: New Mexico courts do not conduct criminal background checks for the public or maintain law enforcement records, motor vehicle driving records or marriage licenses. Click here for contact information about those records.

Instructions for Online Request Form

1. Name of the person requesting the records.
2. Email address of the person requesting the records
3. Phone number of the person requesting the records.
4. Location of the court where the case was filed. The Administrative Office of the Courts does not have custody or control of court case records.
5. Address of the person requesting the records.
6. Specifically describe the requested records. Example: a criminal complaint.

IMPORTANT: Provide as much detail as possible about the requested records, such as a case number and the name of a party in the case.

If you have a case number, click here to determine which court holds the record and where to send your request.

To help find a civil or criminal case, its case number and the court location, click here. 

What the Law Requires

NMSA 1978, Section 14-2-8(D) states that a written request to inspect public records “shall provide the name, address and telephone number of the person seeking access to the records and shall identify the records sought with reasonable particularity.”