Chaves County Marriage and Divorce Records

Chaves County Marriage Licenses

The Chaves County Clerk handles marriage licenses and marriage copies from 1 St. Mary's Place, Suite #110, Roswell, NM 88203. The office phone is 575-624-6614, fax is 575-624-6523, and hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Clerk's duties also include maintaining public records, probate records, historical documents, and elections.

The dedicated Chaves County marriage license page controls the current marriage-license rules. The license must be purchased before the ceremony, can be used for a ceremony anywhere in New Mexico, and must be returned to the Clerk within 90 days after the ceremony. After recording, the couple receives a certified copy of the Marriage License and completed Marriage Certificate.

Apply for Chaves Marriage License

A Chaves County marriage application can be started online, but it is not a fully online license. Both applicants still have to appear at the County Clerk's office to verify identity, sign the application, and receive the certificate for the officiant. If an applicant cannot appear, authorization from a District Judge is required.

1. Start the online application if desired, understanding that browser-flow access may apply.
2. Both applicants appear at the Chaves County Clerk's office in Roswell.
3. Bring government-issued photo ID or, if none is available, an original or certified birth certificate.
4. Pay the license fee with an accepted payment method.
5. Sign the application and receive the marriage certificate for the officiant.
6. After the ceremony, return the signed license and certificate to the Clerk within 90 days.

The Chaves County online marriage application source is the manifest source for the browser-flow application entry.

The application start does not remove the in-person identity and signature step at the Clerk's office.

Chaves County Marriage Requirements

Applicants must provide proof of age and identity, normally with a government-issued photo ID. If no government-issued photo ID is available, the county requires an original or certified birth certificate. Both applicants must appear in person unless a District Judge authorizes issuance when an applicant cannot appear.

Minor Marriage Applicants

The county publishes special rules for applicants who are 16 or 17. They need an original or certified birth certificate and written consent from each living parent listed on the birth certificate. Consent can be given in person or by notarized statement. If a listed parent is deceased, a certified death certificate is required.

If a parent is not deceased and cannot or will not consent, District Judge authorization is required. Applicants under 16 require District Court Judge authorization. These rules make the District Court a possible part of a marriage-license issue even though the County Clerk is the office that issues the license.

Chaves Marriage and Divorce Fees

The current dedicated marriage-license page says the Chaves County marriage license fee increased to $55 effective June 20, 2025 under Senate Bill 290. The broader recording-fee page still has older marriage-fee text, so the dedicated marriage page is the better source for current license fee. Credit-card payments have a $2 service fee that the county says it does not charge or retain.

Accepted marriage-license payment methods listed by the county are cash, American Express, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover. District Court payment methods include cash, cashier's check, money orders, and credit cards, with personal checks not accepted.

Look Up Chaves Marriage Records

Marriage copies can be requested through the Chaves County Clerk and Tyler Web Public Document Search. The county says documents, including marriage license copies, can be purchased by credit card through Self Service Tyler Web. For document images without redacted data, the requester should include a phone number so staff can call to verify protected information.

The Clerk's Tyler search tip is specific: in the Either Name field, enter last name, blank space, first name, and no punctuation. Marriage licenses may continue to use book/page format after December 2, 2019. The Tyler index is a guide to the underlying document, so search spelling variations when a name is uncertain.

Note: Tyler post-disclaimer search fields were not inspected because the official portal is reCAPTCHA-gated.

Find Chaves County Divorce Records

Divorce decrees are not County Clerk marriage records. New Mexico Vital Records explains that marriage copies come from county clerks, while divorce decrees come from the district court where the court order was filed. In Chaves County, that is the Fifth Judicial District Court / Chaves County District Court at 400 N. Virginia Ave., Roswell, NM 88201.

The state vital records source is useful because it confirms the office split: Clerk for marriage, District Court for divorce decrees.

District Court records requests, pro se filings, and non-e-filed filings use rosdfax@nmcourts.gov. The court phone is 575-622-2212. Public Case Lookup may show divorce docket or case data if the record is public, but it does not provide public documents. Family cases may include restricted financial, custody, child-support, or protection-order material.

Chaves County Divorce Forms

The Fifth Judicial District provides divorce and family forms, including petitions, answers, motions, orders, and self-help materials. Forms help identify the filing type, but they do not determine whether a filed record is public or confidential. The District Court clerk can receive filings and records requests, but the clerk cannot provide legal advice.

The Fifth Judicial District divorce forms page is the official source for local family forms.

Use the form source for filing materials and the court clerk for filed decree copies or case records.

Certified Copies in Chaves County

Certified marriage copies come from the County Clerk. Certified divorce decree copies come from District Court. That split prevents wasted requests. A marriage-license copy request through Tyler Web should include a phone number because county staff may call to verify protected information before releasing an image without redacted data.

Restricted Family Records

Chaves County divorce files can include public and restricted parts. Public Case Lookup has no documents, omits protected personal identifiers, and excludes or restricts several categories. Protection-order cases under the Family Violence Protection Act are no longer displayed in public Case Lookup. Juvenile, adoption, mental-health, sealed, and expungement-related materials have separate limits under New Mexico access rules.

When requesting a divorce record, ask for the decree or the specific document needed instead of requesting the entire file without detail. Judiciary IPRA requests should identify the record with reasonable particularity, including case number, party names, court, date range, and document type when known.

Chaves Marriage Divorce Contacts

Use the office that owns the record. The County Clerk is the marriage-license and marriage-copy office. Chaves County District Court is the divorce-decree and family-case office. New Mexico Vital Records confirms the split but does not replace the local Clerk or District Court for these records.