Welcome to the Office of the Court Clerk

The Court Executive Officer is the Clerk of the Court as defined in NMSA 1978, §34-6-19. The Clerk, through deputies in the Office of the Court Clerk, receives, endorses, and dockets all manner of pleadings, motions, and other litigation-related papers into the Court’s files and provides public access to those files in the manner and to the extent provided by law.

The Office of the Court Clerk is the processing center through which virtually all the court and case documents flow. These documents are issued, recorded and filed in accordance with New Mexico statutes and rules of the courts. The efficiency of the Clerk’s office is maintained to ensure that documents are processed accurately and on a timely basis. The Clerk’s office is also responsible for receiving and accounting for filing fees, fines, forfeitures, bonds, and other matters.

Scope of Court Clerk Services

Court Clerk staff can only provide informational assistance. They cannot provide legal assistance or advice.

Court Staff Will Provide:

• Assistance with research and case lookup.
• Information on case status, unless the case is sequestered [not available for public inspection].
• Copying, duplication and certification services.
• Information about Court schedules.
• General information about Court procedures and policies.
• Court approved forms.
• Scheduling for interpreter services.

Court Staff Will Not Provide:

• Any legal advice.
• Advice whether to file a case.
• Advice whether to take any action in a case.
• Assistance filling out forms for you or advice for what to state on a form.
• Advice for what to say in court.
• Speculation about a judge’s decision, sentencing or when a judge will sign court documents.

Case Inquiry

The Court Clerk’s staff can assist you in obtaining case information, case status and scheduling information. Case lookup also is available online from the New Mexico State Courts Web site (Click on “Case Lookup” on the Home Page.

Case lookup can be performed based on the name of any one of the parties, but research may be easier and faster if you can provide the full case number. Case numbers are comprised of five sections, for example: D-307-CV-2015-00999:

D indicates District Court.

307 indicates the code for Doña Ana  County.

CV indicates the case category, for example, CV for Civil and CR for Criminal.

2015 indicates the year the case was filed.

00999 indicates a sequential number assigned to the case when it was filed

Requests under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act

1. Every person has the right to inspect public records available under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, NMSA 1978, Section 14-2-1 et seq.
2. Court case records may be inspected in person at the Clerk’s Office at the Courthouse where the case was filed.  Additional information concerning location and hours of each Courthouse of the Third Judicial District Court may be found here:  https://thirddistrict.nmcourts.xyz/location-hours-contacts/
3. Procedures to Obtain Copies of Records
   • To obtain copies of records, a requester may make an electronic request online at https://ipra.nmcourts.xyz using the New Mexico Courts’ web form; the web form will generate an email to the Third Judicial District Court’s designated Records Custodian, after identifying the location of the records as the Third Judicial District.
   • Alternatively, a requester may mail a written request to: Third Judicial District Court, Attn: Records Custodian, 201 W. Picacho Ave., Las Cruces, NM 88005. 
   • All digital and written requests must provide the name, address and telephone number of the person seeking access to the records and shall identify the records sought with reasonable particularity.
4. The cost for a physical copy of a record is $0.35 per page.  Additional fees for mailing and storage devices, such as Compact Discs, will be charged when applicable.
5. The Third Judicial District Court is responsible, through its designated Records Custodian, for making available public records for inspection.  Requests may be answered by court staff acting on behalf of the Records Custodian.