Access Bernalillo County Clerk Records

Bernalillo County Court Clerk Office

The Clerk's Office of the Second Judicial District Court is the primary clerk office for Bernalillo County District Court case records. It is separate from the Bernalillo County Clerk, which maintains recorded documents, land records, and marriage records. The City of Albuquerque public-records routing confirms that divorce decrees filed in Bernalillo County are maintained by the Second District Court, while marriage licenses are maintained by the Bernalillo County Clerk. Criminal and warrant information also has a Metro Court path when the matter belongs to Metropolitan Court.

District Court clerk work is divided by case type. Domestic Relations handles divorce, custody, time sharing, paternity, and kinship guardianship. Civil handles torts, debt and money due, foreclosure, name changes, criminal record expungements, driver's license restoration, probate-related civil matters, personal injury, property damage, malpractice, and civil restraining orders. Criminal handles felony and criminal case matters. Children's Court handles delinquency, abuse and neglect, adoptions, and mental health. Domestic Violence has its own window and filing schedule.

Bernalillo County Clerk Records Duties

The District Court clerk maintains the official court file for Second Judicial District Court cases. That file can include pleadings, petitions, complaints, motions, notices, orders, judgments, warrants, sentencing records, hearing entries, and copy certifications. The clerk is not the prosecutor, judge, public defender, sheriff, jail, or County Clerk. Each office keeps a different record set, so routing the request correctly is part of the search.

• Maintain District Court civil, criminal, domestic relations, domestic violence, Children's Court, and related case records.
• Process copy, certification, exemplification, X-Files, and hearing audio requests through the proper records channels.
• Collect filing, jury, copy, certification, media, and other clerk-collected fees unless a court order waives or reduces them.
• Receive filings and route questions by division, including Civil, Criminal, Domestic Relations, Domestic Violence, and Children's Court.
• Support access to older files, microfilmed files, and archived records through District Court records staff.

Requests for marriage records, land records, recorded instruments, and online purchase of recorded document copies belong to the Bernalillo County Clerk, not to the District Court clerk.

Bernalillo County Clerk Division Contacts

Division routing matters because Bernalillo County District Court has a large case load and a split clerk structure. A divorce copy request should not go to the Criminal Division. A criminal record expungement question listed under Civil should not be routed to the County Clerk. A hearing audio request should go to Special Services. When the case number is known, include it in every request. When it is not known, provide party names, case type, approximate filing year, and the court where the case was heard.

Certified Bernalillo County Clerk Copies

A certified copy is a copy issued with court certification showing that it is an official copy from the court record. Bernalillo County District Court certified copies are often needed for legal filings, agency requests, name changes, divorce decree proof, appeal packets, or formal record submission. A plain online docket entry is not the same as a certified copy. Certification must come from the court clerk that maintains the underlying case file.

1. Find the case number in New Mexico Case Lookup or from prior court papers. If no number is known, gather party names, case type, and approximate filing date.
2. Identify the correct District Court division, such as Domestic Relations, Civil, Criminal, Domestic Violence, Children's Court, X-Files, or Special Services.
3. Ask for the exact document and state whether a plain copy, certified copy, exemplified copy, or hearing audio is needed.
4. Confirm copy, certification, media, and mailing costs before submitting payment, since filing fees and clerk-collected fees are not refundable unless a valid waiver applies.
5. Use the court's pickup, mail, email, or records request process as directed by the division handling the file.

Bernalillo County Clerk Request Fields

The research found District Court X-Files and hearing audio request forms linked from the Clerk's Office page, but the direct fillable PDF fields were not fetched. The safe field inventory below uses only information supported by the Bernalillo County District Court research and the normal data needed to locate a case file. More detail is better when the exact case number is unknown, especially for older, archived, or microfilmed files.

Bernalillo County Clerk Fees

The official District Court clerk fee table lists both filing fees and record-copy fees. Civil filing fees are collected unless waived by a judge-signed fee waiver or reduction order. Filing fees, jury deposits, and other clerk-collected fees are not refundable. The District Court page states that fees can be paid by attorney firm checks, cash, money order, or certified check, and that personal checks are not accepted.

Bernalillo County Clerk Hours

Public windows differ by division. Downtown Domestic Relations is listed as 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Domestic Violence is listed as 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., with new Domestic Violence filings accepted 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Civil Division and Criminal Division public windows are listed as 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Children's Court Clerk's Office is listed as 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Self Help is a separate courthouse service, not the clerk's legal advice desk. The research states that the downtown Self Help Center is first come, first served, has a 15-minute visit limit, and does not schedule interviews. For court records, copies, and certifications, use the clerk division that holds the case. For traffic, misdemeanor, and DWI/DUI records in Metropolitan Court, use Metro Court records channels rather than the District Court clerk.