Public Records Act

By law, under the Inspection of Public Records Act, every person has the right to inspect public records of Otero County, New Mexico. The Act also makes compliance with requests to inspect records an integral part of the routine duties of the officers and employees of Otero County, New Mexico.

Submitting a Request

A person desiring to inspect public records may submit their request with this form, available from the Otero County Administration Office, or downloaded here. All procedures and penalties prescribed by the Act apply to the request. 

The request must contain the name, address, and telephone number of the person making the request. The request must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable the records custodian to identify and locate the requested records.

Records Custodian

The records custodian must permit inspection immediately or as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 calendar days after the records custodian received the inspection request. If inspection is not permitted within 3 business days, the person making the request will receive a written response explaining when the records will be available for the inspection or when the public body will respond to the request. 

If any of the records sought are not available for public inspection, the person making the request is entitled to a written response from the records custodian explaining the reasons inspection has been denied. The written denial shall be delivered or mailed within 15 calendar days after the records custodian received the request for inspection.

Public Record Copies

If a person requesting inspection would like a copy of a public record, a reasonable fee may be charged. The fee for documents eleven" by seventeen" or smaller is $0.25 cents per page. The fee for larger documents is $0.75 cents per page. For records other than documents, the reasonable fee is $4 dollars each. 

The records custodian may request that applicable fees for copying public records be paid in advance, before the copies are made. A receipt indicating that the fees have been paid for making copies of public records will be provided upon request to the person requesting the copies.

Requesting a Public Record

Requests (PDF) to inspect public records should be submitted to the records custodian.