Search Chaves County Court Records
The main online court case channel is New Mexico Case Lookup. It covers New Mexico Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, District Court, Magistrate Court, Metropolitan Court, and limited Municipal Court data. For Chaves County, that means many District Court and Magistrate Court case records can be checked by name, case number, court type, court location, and date filters. The portal is free and does not require registration, but its own public-access materials state that it is not a document download system.
Use Case Lookup to identify the case number, court location, case category, hearing date, and docket activity before asking a clerk for copies. Chaves County District Court is listed as District 504 - Roswell. Chaves County Magistrate Court is listed as Magistrate 7 - Roswell. Roswell Municipal Court was observed as Municipal 117 - Roswell, while Dexter, Elida, Hope, and Hagerman also appear in Chaves-area municipal contexts. Municipal data in the public system is narrow, so local ordinance and city traffic records often require direct municipal contact.
- Open New Mexico Case Lookup and accept the disclaimer.
- Choose name search, case number search, or DWI search based on what is known.
- For a name search, enter the party name in Last First Middle format and narrow by court type or Chaves location when possible.
- Review the case number, court, hearing date, docket activity, and disposition fields shown in the result.
- For documents, certified copies, or missing data, contact the court clerk or use the New Mexico Judiciary IPRA portal.
The New Mexico Courts public access and re:SearchNM page explains the difference between public Case Lookup and registered re:SearchNM access. Public Case Lookup has no document images and omits protected personal information. re:SearchNM can provide Odyssey case information and documents based on user profile, but ordinary public users should not assume full pleadings are downloadable.
The New Mexico public access source shows why Chaves County court records may be visible online while the pleadings still require a clerk or authorized document channel.
That distinction matters in Chaves County because the same search may identify a District Court case, while the document request still goes through the court clerk or Judiciary IPRA process.
Chaves County Court Records Fields
Case Lookup has separate name, case number, and DWI search paths. The name search is the broadest starting point for Chaves County court records when the case number is unknown. It can also be narrowed by court type, court location, case category, filing date, or hearing date. The case number search is segmented, so the user enters the court type, court location, category, and number rather than one open text string.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Text | Unspecified | Max 35 characters; format shown as Last First Middle. |
| Driver License / DL State | Text and dropdown | Optional or unspecified | DL State includes New Mexico and other states. |
| Date of Birth | Date text | Optional or unspecified | MM/DD/YYYY mask; year-only DOB field is also available. |
| Court Type | Dropdown | Optional or unspecified | D District, M Magistrate, T Metropolitan, U Municipal. |
| Court Location | Dynamic dropdown | Optional or unspecified | Chaves examples include District 504 - Roswell and Magistrate 7 - Roswell. |
| Date Type | Radio button | Optional when enabled | Filing Date or Hearing Date. |
| Results | Dropdown | Optional | Name search result options include 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50. |
The Case Lookup source itself appears in the manifest for Chaves County court research. The New Mexico Case Lookup portal is the official statewide public court case entry point.
Chaves County Court Records Types
Chaves County court records are not kept in one office. Felony, major civil, divorce, domestic relations, juvenile, mental-health, lower-court appeal, and district-level probate disputes route through the Fifth Judicial District Court in Roswell. Chaves County Magistrate Court handles limited civil matters, landlord-tenant cases, misdemeanors, DWI/DUI, traffic violations, and felony preliminary hearings. Roswell Municipal Court handles city misdemeanor, traffic, and ordinance cases inside Roswell city limits, while other municipal courts may handle local ordinance or traffic matters in their communities.
Some records that sound court-related are not court case files. The Chaves County Clerk handles recorded documents, marriage licenses, probate records, and Tyler Web document images. Roswell Police P2C covers police incident and arrest information, not the District Court criminal file. New Mexico Courts also states that it does not conduct criminal background checks for the public and does not maintain law-enforcement records, motor vehicle driving records, or marriage licenses.
- Civil records can include complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, hearings, notices, and docket entries.
- Criminal court records can include complaints, informations, indictments, bond orders, arraignment, pleas, disposition, judgment, sentence, warrants, and docket events.
- Family records can include divorce and custody activity, but protection order matters have special public-display limits.
- Probate records may be informal county Probate Court files or District Court estate disputes when the matter is contested.
- Traffic records may sit in Magistrate Court, Municipal Court, police records, or MVD driver history depending on the request.
What Chaves County Court Records Show
A public Chaves County court record usually starts with identifying case data rather than document images. The online record can help a person confirm whether a case exists, which court has it, how the case is categorized, when hearings are set, and what docket activity has occurred. It can also show a disposition, which means the outcome of a case or charge. If the task requires a filed motion, order, exhibit, certified copy, or complete case packet, the court clerk or an allowed document system is the next step.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The segmented court identifier, including court type, location, category, and number. |
| Party Name | The person or entity tied to the case, with protected personal data limited in public display. |
| Court and Location | The court level and Chaves-area location, such as District Court or Magistrate Court in Roswell. |
| Dates | Filing dates, hearing dates, and date ranges used to locate the case. |
| Docket Events | Filings, notices, hearings, motions, orders, judgments, sentences, continuances, warrants, and payments when listed. |
| Disposition | The final or current outcome of the case or charge, if one has been entered. |
The Fifth Judicial District fees and costs page supports copy and certification planning for Chaves County court records.
Copy fees are practical record-access facts because public lookup may identify the record, while the clerk copy process supplies the usable paper or certified record.
Chaves County Court Records Access
New Mexico court access is shaped by the Inspection of Public Records Act, Rule 1-079 NMRA, Case Lookup terms, and court confidentiality rules. Rule 1-079 treats many court records as open to public inspection unless sealed or protected. It also limits public display of protected identifiers, including full Social Security numbers, taxpayer IDs, financial account numbers, driver's license numbers, and full dates of birth.
For Chaves County District Court, records requests, pro se filings, and non-e-filed filings are routed to rosdfax@nmcourts.gov, and the court phone is 575-622-2212. Roswell Magistrate Court uses rosmpublic@nmcourts.gov and 575-624-6088. Both courts are listed by the Fifth Judicial District location and contact page. The New Mexico Judiciary IPRA form can also be used for court records when online lookup is not enough.
Note: Public Case Lookup has case data, but it does not provide document images or guarantee every restricted case is visible.
The Fifth Judicial District courtroom rules source is also relevant when a Chaves County court records request requires an in-person court visit.
In-person record work may involve clerk counters, courthouse security, and hearing schedules, so access rules are part of the record-search plan.
Restricted Chaves County Court Records
Several Chaves County court record categories are not searched like ordinary adult civil or criminal cases. Juvenile criminal cases are no longer displayed in public Case Lookup effective July 1, 2007. Family Violence Protection Act order-of-protection cases are no longer displayed in public Case Lookup effective July 1, 2008. Adoption, mental health, wills deposited but not submitted to probate, and expungement proceedings also have special limits under Rule 1-079 or related law.
Expungement is a separate process. The New Mexico DPS expungement page describes the Criminal Record Expungement Act and the need to petition a court when a record qualifies. Expungement is not automatic for every case. The person seeking relief must identify the record, case or arrest information, and statutory basis. For Chaves matters, District Court may be the filing court, but venue depends on the record.
The New Mexico DPS expungement source is assigned to Chaves County court records because sealed and expunged records change what public users can see.
The research did not locate a Chaves-specific expungement filing fee, so any fee question should be confirmed with the filing court before submitting papers.
Chaves County Court Record Requests
When a Chaves County court records search does not return enough information, use the courthouse that holds the case. District Court is the local general-jurisdiction trial court. Magistrate Court is the limited-jurisdiction court for many misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, traffic, landlord-tenant, limited civil, and felony preliminary matters. Roswell Municipal Court is a city court for Roswell city-limit cases, and municipal records may not appear fully in statewide public lookup.
Chaves County District Court
400 N. Virginia Ave.
Roswell, NM 88201
575-622-2212
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m.; no financial transactions after 4:30 p.m.
Roswell Magistrate Court
400 N. Virginia Ave., Ste. G-1
Roswell, NM 88201
575-624-6088
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.; open during lunch.
For recorded county documents, marriage records, and some probate records, use the Chaves County Public Document Search and Tyler Web instead of Case Lookup. Tyler is reCAPTCHA-gated, and the research could not inspect post-disclaimer search fields. The county says its Either Name format is last name, blank space, first name, with no punctuation.