Bernalillo County
Bernalillo County was founded in 1852 and is the most populous county of the State of New Mexico. Alburquerque, one of the state's famous cities, is the county seat of Bernalillo County. The county covers a land area measuring 1,162.3 square miles and is home to 676,444 residents according to statistics from the 2020 Decennial Census.
The Bernalillo County system comprises the municipal court, probate court, metropolitan court, and the district court. In the municipal courts, there are no jury trials and these courts have limited jurisdiction, hearing cases of petty misdemeanors, DWI/DUI, traffic violations, and other municipal ordinance violations. The probate court in the county is also a court of limited jurisdiction, where no trials are held. Probate courts hear cases of informal probate; uncontested cases of estate. Contested cases are heard at the district court.
The Bernalillo County metropolitan court hears cases of tort, contract, landlord and tenant rights (up to $10,000), felony first appearances, misdemeanors, domestic violence, DWI/DUI, and other traffic violations. Like the metropolitan court, the district court in Bernalillo holds jury trials. The district court is a court of general jurisdiction, and it hears cases of tort, contract, real property rights, and estate. It also hears cases of domestic relations, mental health, appeals for administrative agencies, miscellaneous civil jurisdiction, criminal appeals, and juvenile jurisdiction.
Case information for district court, metropolitan court, municipal courts are accessible online via the New Mexico Courts Case Lookup resource. You can perform a search online on the resource by providing the name of a participant in the case or the case number. However, probate case information can be obtained online using the Bernalillo County case lookup resource. Probate court case docket information are available on the tool from 1964 till date. If you are unable to access case information online, you can use a computer available at the courthouse in Bernalillo County to access case information.
Physical copies of court records are charged at $0.50 per page, and electronic copies are charged $1 per page. Certified copies attract an additional $0.50 per page, while CD copies cost $5 each.
