Legislation, Lobbying & Legal Resources

The Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA), NMSA 1978, §14-2-1 to – 12, is a New Mexico state law that provides the public access to public records. The law requires open access to almost all public records in state and local government, with a few exceptions.

The Attorney General has the statutory authority to enforce IPRA, as do district attorneys.

When requesting public records, keep in mind that most state and local government agencies have their own Public Records Custodians who oversee records that are maintained by their office. If you would like to request records from the Office of the Secretary of State, these are the types of records that our office maintains:

• Voting and Elections
• Candidates and Campaigns
• Legislation, Lobbying and Legal Resources
• Business Filings
• Notary Filings
• Apostille & Authentication Requests
• Facsimile Signature Filings
• UCC & EFS Filings
• Commercial Service Filings
• Service of Process Requests
• Athlete Agent Registration
• Trademark Registration
• Certain Oaths of Office and Surety Bonds

Please note that many of the records maintained by our office are available using streamlined, public-facing information system databases, and may not require a formal IPRA request.

• New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System (CFIS):  If you are seeking information related to campaign finance, financial disclosure statements, or lobbyists/lobbying, our office maintains a streamlined portal for requesting records of this nature.
• Voter Data:
• Election Stats: Our office maintains a searchable database of historical election information from the year 2000 to the last statewide election (2024 General).
• If you are looking for more in-depth voter information, please fill out a “Voter Data Authorization Form.”
• Business Services Portal: You can search for most records maintained by our Business Services Division, and/or request purchase of copies of documents, using the business services portal, or by contacting the Business Services Division at: (505) 827-3600, option 1 or  Business.Services@sos.nm.gov.

If you are looking for records outside of the scope of services provided by our office, we would not be the proper records custodian, and therefore unable to assist with certain records requests.

14-2-8. PROCEDURE FOR REQUESTING RECORDS

1. Any person wishing to inspect public records maintained by the Secretary of State may submit an oral or written request to the custodian. However, the procedures set forth in this section shall be in response to a written request. The failure to respond to an oral request shall not subject the custodian to any penalty.
2. Nothing in the Inspection of Public Records Act shall be construed to require a public body to create a public record.
3. A written request 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. No person requesting records shall be required to state the reason for inspecting the records.

Copies of records may be given to a person who has requested inspection. Reasonable fees may be charged. Advance payment of fees may be required before copies are made.

For requests for records maintained by the New Mexico Secretary of State, please fill out the IPRA request form and submit it to our office.

By email: ipra.sos@sos.nm.gov

By fax: 505-827-3611

By mail:
New Mexico Secretary of State
325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300
Santa Fe, NM 87501

FOR MEDIA INQUIRIES

For media inquiries, please contact Alex Curtas, Director of Communications, via email at alex.curtas@sos.nm.gov