Lincoln County District Court Clerk Office
The District Court Clerk works through the Lincoln County District Court in the Twelfth Judicial District. Court guidance says case records are kept by the court where the case was filed, usually District Court, Magistrate Court, or Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court. The Administrative Office of the Courts is not the custodian for local case files. For Lincoln County District Court cases, the local clerk contact is the Carrizozo court location.
Use this office for District Court case records, certified copies from District Court case files, and questions about case status in civil, criminal, domestic relations, felony, probate/estate cases that belong in District Court, administrative matters, children's court matters where access is allowed, and lower-court appeals. Use the Lincoln County Clerk for recorded documents and marriage licenses instead.
Lincoln County District Court Clerk
300 Central Ave.
P.O. Box 725
Carrizozo, NM 88301
575-648-2432
Fax: 575-648-2581
Case information: ext. 100, 102, or 103
Records: 12thdistrictresearch@nmcourts.gov
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Lincoln County District Court Clerk Duties
The District Court Clerk is not the same as Shannan Hemphill's County Clerk office. The District Court Clerk supports court case records for the Twelfth Judicial District, while the County Clerk records deeds and other instruments, issues marriage licenses, administers elections, serves as Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners, and serves as Clerk to the Probate Judge. That distinction keeps a person from searching the land-record portal for a felony case or asking the court clerk for a deed copy.
- Maintain District Court case files filed in Lincoln County.
- Provide case status assistance through the listed case-information extensions.
- Receive court-record requests at the Twelfth District records email.
- Direct users to court IPRA channels when a formal request is needed.
- Support access to civil, criminal, family, probate/estate, administrative, children's court, and appeal records as allowed by rule.
The District Court Clerk should also be distinguished from New Mexico Case Lookup. Case Lookup may show public docket and case information, but public Case Lookup does not provide documents. Copies and certified copies require clerk access, registered re:SearchNM access where allowed, or a request to the court.
Request Lincoln County Certified Copies
A certified court copy is used when the requester needs proof that a document came from the court record. Examples include a divorce decree, judgment, sentencing document, order, or other filed paper from a District Court case. A plain online docket entry is not the same as a certified court copy.
- Identify the court and case type. For District Court matters in Lincoln County, use the Lincoln County District Court Clerk.
- Gather the case number if known, party names, approximate filing date, document name, and whether a plain or certified copy is needed.
- Call 575-648-2432, use case-information extensions 100, 102, or 103, or send a records request to 12thdistrictresearch@nmcourts.gov.
- If the request must be made through a formal court IPRA process, use the New Mexico Courts IPRA form and select the Twelfth Judicial District for Lincoln County records.
- Confirm copy fees, certification fees, mailing steps, and access limits with the clerk before relying on the copy for filing or identity purposes.
District Court Request Fields
New Mexico's court IPRA form asks the requester to identify the proper court location and describe the records with enough detail for staff to locate them. State public-records procedure under NMSA 1978, Section 14-2-8 expects a written request to identify the requester and describe records with reasonable particularity. A short request with only a name may be slower than one that gives a case number, court, date range, and document type.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Court location | Yes for court IPRA | Select Twelfth Judicial District for Lincoln County District or Magistrate court records. |
| Requester name and contact | Yes | Include name, address, telephone number, and email if requested. |
| Case number | If known | Speeds routing but may not be available to every requester. |
| Party names | Usually needed | Use full names and spelling variations when known. |
| Document or record type | Yes | Examples: decree, order, judgment, docket, complaint, sentence, or file inspection. |
| Copy type | Yes | State whether plain, certified, emailed, mailed, or in-person inspection is requested. |
The IPRA request-procedure source supports the written-request field inventory for Lincoln County District Court Clerk records.
The IPRA image reinforces why District Court record requests should identify the record clearly rather than ask for a broad name search.
Lincoln County Clerk Fee Clues
The research file located a clear County Clerk fee table but did not locate a Lincoln-specific District Court copy-fee schedule in the assigned sources. For District Court certified copies, confirm the current fee directly with the District Court Clerk before sending payment. For comparison, County Clerk fees in the research include a $25 recording fee for a document up to 10 index entries, $55 for a marriage license, $1.50 for a certified Lincoln County marriage-license copy, $30 for a probate docket fee, $0.50 per probate copy page, and $1.50 for a probate certified document.
That fee gap should not be filled with a guessed amount. The practical step is to ask the District Court Clerk what the current copy, certification, search, and mailing charges are for the exact case file. A divorce decree, criminal judgment, and civil order may all be District Court documents, but the copy request still needs the same basic identifiers: case number if known, party names, document name, and copy type.
| Request | Known Amount | Custodian |
|---|---|---|
| District Court certified case copy | Confirm with court | District Court Clerk |
| District Court plain case copy | Confirm with court | District Court Clerk |
| Probate docket fee | $30.00 | County Clerk for Probate Judge |
| Probate certified document | $1.50 per document | County Clerk for Probate Judge |
| Certified Lincoln County marriage license | $1.50 each | County Clerk |
Online Access Before Clerk Requests
Before asking the District Court Clerk for a copy, many users check the online court systems. New Mexico Case Lookup is public and covers New Mexico appellate courts, District Courts, Magistrate Courts, Metropolitan Court, and Municipal Court records. It is useful for docket and case information, not document downloads. re:SearchNM and Secure Odyssey Public Access provide registered or tiered access where policy allows broader court-record review.
Do not confuse court access tools with LandmarkWeb. LandmarkWeb is the Lincoln County Clerk's official-records portal for recorded instruments and related county-clerk records. It is not the District Court docket. If a user is searching for a divorce, felony, civil judgment, or District Court order, start with court case tools and the District Court Clerk. If the user is searching for deeds, liens, marriage licenses, recording activity, or historical recorded documents, start with the County Clerk.
The LandmarkWeb source is included in the clerk manifest and shows the county official-records search, not District Court case search.
The LandmarkWeb image is a useful contrast: it belongs to County Clerk recorded records, while District Court case copies come from court channels.
The recording activity notification source is another County Clerk feature that should not be mistaken for a court notice system.
The notification image supports the split-clerk warning because recording alerts track county recorded instruments, not District Court hearings.
Lincoln County IPRA Routing
Lincoln County records may have several custodians. Court case records go to the court where the case was filed. District and Magistrate Court records in Lincoln County route through the Twelfth Judicial District. County records that are not court case files may use the county IPRA process at publicrecordsrequest@lincolncountynm.gov. The county also says recorded documents in the County Clerk's office can be viewed or printed free through Clerk's Document Lookup without filing an IPRA request.
For a court record, the most useful request is narrow. A request for every record about a person can cross criminal, civil, domestic relations, traffic, magistrate, municipal, sheriff, jail, and county-record systems. A District Court Clerk request should name the District Court case or at least the case type and date range. If the record might be in Magistrate Court or a municipal court, contact that court too.
The Lincoln County IPRA source explains the county request process and the recorded-document exception.
The county IPRA image helps separate county administrative requests from court-file requests sent to the Twelfth Judicial District.
The IPRA written-request source also supports written request wording for records described with reasonable particularity.
The written-request image reinforces the practical need to name the court, case, parties, and exact document sought.
The County Clerk recording source gives the county-recording rules that belong on the separate County Clerk page.
The recording-documents image closes the loop: recorded instruments are public county records, while District Court files remain court records.