New Mexico Crash Reports: State Police, City Police and Rules
Who has your crash report, what drivers must report, insurance rules and traffic deaths in New Mexico.
Who Has Your New Mexico Crash Report
New Mexico’s crash notice law, NMSA 66-7-206, sets the pattern. A crash inside a city or town is reported to its police department, and a crash anywhere else goes to the county sheriff’s office or the nearest New Mexico State Police office. The agency that came to the scene is the one that wrote the report.
New Mexico State Police (NMSP) crash reports are kept by the Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Records Bureau, which holds every State Police and Motor Transportation Police crash report in the state. You can search for a report or order a copy through the DPS Records Request Portal, linked from the Law Enforcement Records Bureau page. Anyone may ask, whether a member of the public, an officer or another agency, and the bureau takes written or spoken requests, though it prefers them in writing. Crash photos, dashcam video and diagrams can be requested too, when they exist.
A copy delivered electronically through the portal is free. Paper copies by mail, fax or in person cost $1.00 for the first page and $0.25 for each page after that, a disc costs $6.75, and invoices must be paid before anything is released. Mail requests go to the bureau at P.O. Box 1628, Santa Fe, NM 87504; the fax is 505-827-3388, and the public records line is (505) 476-2400. Fatal crash reports are kept for 25 years and other crash reports for 10.
Don’t want to sort out portals and invoices, or not sure which agency took your report? We can get a copy of your report for you at no cost.
Police Reports From New Mexico Cities
The DPS bureau holds State Police and Motor Transportation Police reports. A crash worked by a city department or a sheriff’s office means asking that agency, so start with the department that responded:
| Department | How to request | Fee |
| Albuquerque Police Department | Online through Carfax for Police, or in person at the Law Enforcement Center, 400 Roma NW, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays | $7.50 per report online; in person not posted |
| Las Cruces Police Department | Online through LexisNexis BuyCrash, linked from the police Records Section page; Records Section, 217 E. Picacho Ave., (575) 528-4137 | Not posted |
| Rio Rancho Police Department | The city’s Crash Report Portal, linked from the police Records page, or the Records Division, 500 Quantum Road NE, Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; 505-891-5904 or [email protected] | Not posted |
| Santa Fe Police Department | Online on the city’s crash report site, where reports have been posted since Nov. 24, 2024; other copies through the city’s Office of Records Custodians; report updates at 505-955-5751 | Not posted |
What New Mexico Drivers Must Report
Under NMSA 66-7-206, the driver in a crash that injures or kills someone, or causes property damage of $500 or more, must give notice immediately by the quickest means available. Inside a city, that call goes to the police department; anywhere else, to the county sheriff’s office or the nearest State Police office. When a driverless autonomous vehicle is involved, the owner, or someone acting for the owner, carries that duty.
The same crashes call for a written report from the driver. NMSA 66-7-207(A) requires it within five days, sent to the New Mexico Department of Transportation, whenever a crash causes injury, death or apparent total property damage of $500 or more, and NMDOT may ask for supplemental reports. The investigating officer sends a separate report to NMDOT within 24 hours of finishing the investigation. A city may also require drivers to file a report with one of its departments by local ordinance (NMSA 66-7-215).
New Mexico Insurance and Fault Rules
New Mexico’s Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act sets minimum liability coverage at $25,000 for injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people and $10,000 for property damage (NMSA 66-5-215). Those limits are the floor for what a policy pays to others hurt by the insured driver.
Every policy must also include uninsured motorist coverage, which by law includes underinsured motorist coverage, at limits no lower than those minimums (NMSA 66-5-301). It covers property damage as well, though the insurer may exclude the first $250 of property loss per crash. The named insured can turn it down, and state insurance rules (13.12.3.9 NMAC) require that rejection to be in writing and made part of the policy.
Fault can be shared. In Scott v. Rizzo (1981), the New Mexico Supreme Court adopted pure comparative negligence, so a person who was partly to blame for a crash is no longer barred from recovering. Their recovery is reduced by their own share of the fault, whatever that share is.
Claims against a government agency fall under the Tort Claims Act. Written notice of the time, place and circumstances goes within 90 days to the Risk Management Division for a state claim, the mayor for a city, the county clerk for a county, the superintendent for a school district, or the administrative head of another local body (NMSA 41-4-16). Notice is not needed when the agency already had actual notice of the crash.
New Mexico Traffic Deaths by the Numbers
| Measure | Figure | Year | Source |
| People killed in traffic crashes | 454 (preliminary) | 2025 | NMDOT Traffic Safety Division, monthly fatality report by UNM |
| Deaths in alcohol-involved crashes | 157 (34.6%), down from 174 in 2024 (preliminary) | 2025 | NMDOT Traffic Safety Division, monthly fatality report by UNM |
| Pedestrians killed | 89 (preliminary) | 2025 | NMDOT Traffic Safety Division, monthly fatality report by UNM |
| Motorcyclists killed | 67 (preliminary) | 2025 | NMDOT Traffic Safety Division, monthly fatality report by UNM |
| People killed in traffic crashes | 434 | 2024 | NMDOT Traffic Safety Division, monthly fatality report by UNM |
The 2025 figures come from NMDOT data as of Oct. 1, 2026, and can still change. More than half of 2025’s deaths, 253, happened on rural roads, against 200 on urban ones.
New Mexico Crash Guides by City and County
Local guides and county-by-county crash coverage for New Mexico:
County accident news: Bernalillo County · Curry County · Sandoval County · Chaves County · Santa Fe County · Doña Ana County · San Juan County · Lea County
Compare nearby states: Southwest crash reports and car accident laws by state · No-fault states and insurance minimums in all 50 states
Questions about getting, reading or correcting a police report? See our accident report FAQ.
Road stretches and intersections around the state are listed on our New Mexico intersections page.
Help After a Crash
- Local Accident Reports. After a crash, we can connect you with local help, from doctors and body shops to injury attorneys. Contact our team.
- New Mexico Crime Victims Reparation Commission. Pays up to $20,000 toward medical bills, counseling, funeral costs, lost earnings and travel to medical appointments and court for victims of covered crimes, though not property loss or pain and suffering. Covered crimes include homicide by vehicle and great bodily injury by vehicle, the charges that apply when a drunk driver kills or seriously hurts someone, along with leaving the scene of a crash; a DWI charge alone is not on the list. Apply within a reasonable time. 1-800-306-6262 or (505) 841-9432. Program details
- MADD. Support for people hurt by drunk or drugged drivers and their families. 24-hour help line: 877-MADD-HELP (877-623-3435).
- 988. Call or text 988 any time for crisis support.
- Trauma care. The New Mexico Department of Health posts information on the state’s trauma system on its trauma care page.
New Mexico Crash Questions
How do I get a New Mexico State Police crash report?
Request it from the Department of Public Safety’s Law Enforcement Records Bureau, which keeps every State Police and Motor Transportation Police crash report, through the DPS Records Request Portal. An electronic copy is free. Paper copies by mail, fax or in person cost $1.00 for the first page and $0.25 for each additional page. Anyone may request one.
Do New Mexico drivers have to file their own crash report?
Yes, when a crash injures or kills someone or causes apparent property damage of $500 or more. Under NMSA 66-7-207, the driver sends a written report to the New Mexico Department of Transportation within five days. The driver must also notify police right away: city police inside a city, otherwise the county sheriff or nearest State Police office.
How does fault work after a New Mexico car accident?
New Mexico follows pure comparative negligence, adopted by the state Supreme Court in Scott v. Rizzo in 1981. A driver who was partly to blame can still recover, with the amount reduced by their own share of the fault. Every policy must carry liability limits of at least $25,000, $50,000 and $10,000, plus uninsured motorist coverage unless rejected in writing.
How long do I have to file a car accident claim in New Mexico?
Three years for injury claims (NMSA 37-1-8) and three years from the date of death for wrongful death (NMSA 41-2-2). Property damage claims have four years (NMSA 37-1-4). A claim against a state or local government needs written notice within 90 days, or six months for a death (NMSA 41-4-16), and a lawsuit within two years (NMSA 41-4-15).
Recent New Mexico Crash Coverage
Pedestrian Killed in Collision on San Mateo Blvd in Albuquerque, NM
Officer, Driver Hurt in Overnight Crash at Tijeras Ave NW and 3rd St NW in Albuquerque, NM
Three-Vehicle Crash on St Francis Dr in Santa Fe, NM
Two Crashes With Injuries Reported in Curry County, NM
Three Dead After Fiery Crash on Unser Blvd in Albuquerque, NM
Earlier stories are in the New Mexico accident news archive, and recent accident alerts follow new crashes nationwide as they are reported.
Local Accident Reports compiles this information from public agency sources and published reports for general reference. It is not legal advice and is not an official police record. Fees, forms and deadlines change, so confirm with the agency before you send a request. Last updated October 2026.