Grant County Court Records
How To Find Court Records in Grant County in 2026
GrantCountyRecords.us provides publicly available information related to court records in Grant County, New Mexico, aggregated from official government sources. Members of the public seeking court records in Grant County may access case information through multiple channels, including clerk offices, courthouse public terminals, official court websites, written requests, and statewide judicial search tools. The information available through these sources may include, but is not limited to, the following record categories:
- Criminal case filings and dispositions
- Civil complaints, judgments, and orders
- Family law matters, including divorce and custody proceedings
- Probate filings and estate records
- Traffic and misdemeanor case records
- Small claims court filings
- Magistrate court case records
Access to specific records depends on case type, filing date, court jurisdiction, and applicable confidentiality rules. Not all records are available online, and some filings may be sealed, restricted, or available only through in-person inspection.
Method 1 – Clerk of Court or Court Records Office: The Grant County District Court Clerk maintains the official case files for district-level proceedings. Members of the public may present a case number, party name, or filing date to request record inspection or copies during regular business hours.
Grant County District Court Clerk
201 N. Cooper St.
Silver City, NM 88061
Phone: (575) 574-1900
Sixth Judicial District Court
Method 2 – Courthouse Public Access Terminals: Public access computer terminals are available at the Grant County District Court and Grant County Magistrate Court locations. These terminals allow in-person searches of case dockets and index information at no charge.
Method 3 – Online Court Search: The New Mexico Courts' Public Access portal provides online case index information for district and magistrate courts statewide, including both Grant County Magistrate Court locations in Bayard and Silver City.
Method 4 – State-Level Judicial Search Tools: The NM Case Lookup tool maintained by the New Mexico Judiciary allows searches by party name, case number, or attorney across multiple court levels. Search results reflect index-level data and may not include full document images.
Method 5 – Written or Mail Requests: Members of the public may submit written requests to the clerk of the relevant court. Requests should include the case number or party name, the type of record sought, and a return address. Copy fees apply to records produced in response to written requests.
Are Court Records Public in Grant County
Court records in Grant County are public under current New Mexico law, subject to specific statutory and judicial exceptions. The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, codified at § 14-2-1 NMSA 1978, establishes the right of the public to inspect records held by government bodies, including judicial records not otherwise restricted by court rule or statute.
The following categories of records are public at present:
- Case docket entries and index information
- Party names and case numbers
- Hearing dates, continuances, and scheduling orders
- Filed pleadings, motions, and responses
- Judgments, orders, and decrees
- Sentencing entries and conviction records
- Probate inventories and orders
The following categories may be confidential, sealed, redacted, or restricted under applicable law or court rule:
- Juvenile delinquency and children's court records
- Adoption proceedings
- Mental health commitment records
- Expunged criminal records
- Records sealed by court order
- Protected personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and dates of birth in certain filings
A distinction exists between courthouse inspection and online access. While the public may inspect a broader range of records in person at the clerk's office, online systems such as New Mexico Courts' Public Access may display only index-level data and may exclude document images for certain case types or older filings.
As the New Mexico Judiciary states regarding its public records framework: "The judicial branch of New Mexico is committed to providing access to court records consistent with the public's right to know and the protection of individual privacy rights."
What Are Court Records in Grant County?
Court records are the official documents, filings, and entries created and maintained by a court in connection with a legal proceeding. In Grant County, court records are maintained by the clerks of the relevant courts — the Sixth Judicial District Court for district-level matters and the Grant County Magistrate Court for magistrate-level proceedings.
A docket entry is a chronological log of actions taken in a case, while a full case file contains the actual documents filed by parties and the court. Civil court records arise from disputes between private parties or between a party and a government entity, while criminal court records document proceedings initiated by the state against an individual charged with a violation of law. Filed pleadings are the initial and responsive documents submitted by parties, whereas final judgments represent the court's conclusive resolution of the matter.
Public filings are accessible to any member of the public under applicable law, while sealed or restricted filings are withheld from public inspection pursuant to a court order or statute. Trial court records are created at the district or magistrate court level, while appellate records are maintained by the New Mexico Court of Appeals or the New Mexico Supreme Court for matters that have been appealed.
Court records are created at the moment of initial filing and are updated continuously as the case progresses through hearings, motions, orders, and final disposition. Upon appeal, the trial court transmits the record to the appellate court, where it becomes part of the appellate record.
What's Included in a Grant County Court Record?
A Grant County court record may include the following information, depending on case type and applicable public-access rules:
- Case identification: Case number, court name and division, and filing date
- Party information: Names of plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, respondents, and attorneys of record
- Case classification: Case type (civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic) and current case status
- Docket entries: A chronological log of all actions taken in the case
- Hearing information: Scheduled and past hearing dates, continuances, and minute entries
- Filed documents: Complaints, petitions, answers, motions, responses, notices, stipulations, and similar pleadings
- Court orders and judgments: Temporary orders, final judgments, decrees, sentencing entries, custody rulings, probate orders, and appellate decisions
- Outcome information: Dismissals, pleas, verdicts, convictions, acquittals, and case dispositions
- Financial and administrative data: Filing fees, assessed costs, fines, restitution amounts, and bond information where publicly displayed
The following categories are excluded or restricted from public court records under current law or court rule:
- Sealed filings and expunged matters
- Juvenile delinquency files and children's court records
- Adoption records
- Protected personal identifiers
- Certain mental health records
- Confidential exhibits and attachments designated by court order
Types of Courts in Grant County
Grant County is served by courts operating under the New Mexico unified state judiciary system. The New Mexico Courts public records page describes the judicial branch as consisting of "the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, 34 district courts and 43 magistrate courts in 13 judicial districts."
The courts currently serving Grant County are as follows:
Sixth Judicial District Court – Grant County
201 N. Cooper St.
Silver City, NM 88061
Phone: (575) 574-1900
Sixth Judicial District Court
The Sixth Judicial District Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court for Grant County. It hears felony criminal cases, civil cases exceeding the magistrate court's jurisdictional limit, domestic relations and family law matters, juvenile proceedings, probate matters, and appeals from magistrate court.
Grant County Magistrate Court – Silver City
2001 N. Hudson St.
Silver City, NM 88061
Phone: (575) 538-3850
New Mexico Courts' Public Access
Grant County Magistrate Court – Bayard
New Mexico Courts' Public Access
Magistrate courts are limited-jurisdiction courts that handle misdemeanor criminal cases, civil cases up to $10,000, traffic violations, and preliminary hearings in felony matters. The official record for magistrate court cases is maintained by the magistrate court clerk.
What Types of Cases Do Grant County Courts Hear
The Sixth Judicial District Court handles felony criminal prosecutions, civil litigation, domestic relations (divorce, child custody, child support), adoptions, juvenile matters, probate and estate proceedings, and appeals from lower courts. The Grant County Magistrate Court handles misdemeanor and petty misdemeanor criminal cases, civil disputes up to the statutory jurisdictional limit, DWI cases, traffic infractions, and small claims matters. Appeals from magistrate court are heard de novo by the Sixth Judicial District Court.
How to Search Grant County Court Records for Free?
Members of the public may search Grant County court records at no cost through several methods. In-person inspection of case files at the clerk's office is free of charge, as is use of the public access terminals located at the courthouse. The NM Case Lookup tool and the New Mexico Courts' Public Access portal are available online at no charge for index-level searches.
The following table summarizes access methods and associated costs:
| Access Method | Cost |
|---|---|
| In-person record inspection | Free |
| Courthouse public access terminal | Free |
| NM Case Lookup (online index) | Free |
| New Mexico Courts' Public Access portal | Free |
| Standard paper copies | $0.25–$1.00 per page (varies by court) |
| Certified copies | $1.50–$5.00 per document (varies by court) |
| Research by clerk staff | Fee may apply for extensive requests |
Copy fees are established pursuant to § 34-6-20 NMSA 1978 and applicable court fee schedules. Members of the public seeking certified copies should contact the clerk of the relevant court to confirm the current fee schedule prior to submitting a request.
How Long Does Grant County Keep Court Records?
Court records in Grant County are retained according to retention schedules established by the New Mexico Supreme Court and the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives. Retention periods vary by case type and record category.
Under current judicial records management policy, the following retention periods apply to common record types:
- Felony criminal case files: Retained permanently or for a minimum of 10 years after final disposition, depending on case outcome
- Misdemeanor and traffic case files: Retained for a minimum of 3 to 7 years after final disposition
- Civil case files: Retained for a minimum of 7 years after final disposition; cases involving judgments may be retained longer
- Domestic relations and family law files: Retained permanently or for extended periods due to ongoing enforceability of orders
- Probate records: Retained permanently
- Docket books and minute records: Retained permanently
- Juvenile records: Subject to separate retention and confidentiality rules under § 32A-2-32 NMSA 1978
Paper files may be destroyed after imaging, microfilming, or transfer to archival storage, provided the record has been preserved in an approved format. Destruction of a record is distinct from sealing or expungement: a sealed record continues to exist but is withheld from public access, while an expunged record is removed from public view pursuant to a court order. Older records may exist in paper files, microfilm, county archives, or the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives.
How To Find a Court Docket in Grant County
A court docket is a chronological index of all actions taken in a specific case, distinct from the full case file, which contains the actual documents filed. The docket records the sequence of filings, hearings, orders, and other case events but does not itself contain the text of filed documents.
Members of the public may locate Grant County court dockets through the following methods:
- NM Case Lookup: The NM Case Lookup tool allows searches by party name or case number and returns docket-level information for cases in the New Mexico court system, including Grant County District Court and Magistrate Court cases.
- Grant County District Court Docket: The Grant County District Court Docket published by the Sixth Judicial District Court displays court hearings scheduled for the current day plus six days in the future, providing a near-term hearing calendar for the Silver City courthouse.
- Courthouse public access terminals: In-person terminals at the Grant County District Court allow docket searches by case number or party name.
- Clerk of Court request: Members of the public may request docket information directly from the clerk's office by providing a case number or party name.
A court docket contains hearing dates, continuances, motion filings, minute entries, order entries, and case status updates. A docket does not include the full text of filed documents, sealed entries, confidential attachments, or exhibits that have been restricted by court order. Motion calendars and daily hearing rosters may be separately available through the court clerk or the district court's published docket page.