How to File a Restraining Order in New Mexico

To file a restraining order in New Mexico, you go to the district court in the county where you live, fill out a petition describing the abuse or harassment, and ask a judge for a temporary order the same day. If the judge signs it, the sheriff serves the other person, and the court sets a full hearing within ten days where both sides testify and the judge decides whether to make the order final. Domestic violence petitions are free; civil harassment petitions carry a filing fee unless the court waives it.

Pick the Right Type Before You File

New Mexico has two separate tracks, and filing on the wrong one can get your petition dismissed.

An Order of Protection under the Family Violence Protection Act is for abuse by a household member. The statute defines that broadly: a spouse or former spouse, a parent or stepparent, a grandparent, a child or grandchild, a co-parent (someone you share a child with, even if you never lived together), or anyone you have or had a dating or intimate relationship with. You do not need to live together to qualify.¹

The qualifying abuse includes physical harm, bodily injury, threats that cause fear of injury, severe emotional distress, criminal property damage, harassment, strangulation, suffocation, and harm or threats directed at children.¹ One important carve-out: if you are the victim of stalking or sexual assault, you can file for an Order of Protection even when the person is not a household member.²

A civil restraining order is the route for harassment by someone outside that circle: a neighbor, coworker, acquaintance, or stranger whose conduct does not amount to stalking or sexual assault.³ The procedure is similar but the fees are different.

What to Gather Before You Go to the Courthouse

Come prepared with as much identifying information about the person you are filing against (the respondent) as you can: full legal name, date of birth, and a current address where they can be served with court papers.

Write out a chronological account of the incidents. For each one, note the date, time, location, and what happened, in plain factual terms. “He came to my workplace three times in one week after I told him not to” is stronger than “He is obsessed with me.”

Bring supporting evidence: photographs of injuries or property damage, screenshots of threatening texts, emails, or social media messages, voicemails, and copies of any police reports. If witnesses saw any of the incidents, get their names and phone numbers. You will need them at the full hearing.

Filing the Petition and Getting a Same-Day Temporary Order

File your petition at the district court clerk’s office in the county where you live. For a domestic violence case, ask for the Petition for Order of Protection; forms are available at the clerk’s office or on the New Mexico Courts website.⁴ The petition must be signed under oath or come with a sworn affidavit describing the specific facts of the abuse.⁵

Once you file, a judge reviews the petition immediately. This first review is ex parte: the respondent is not present and has no notice yet. If the judge finds probable cause to believe domestic abuse has occurred, the court must grant a temporary order of protection right away, without requiring you to post a bond.² The temporary order is legally enforceable the moment it is signed.

If the judge does not grant the temporary order, the case is not over. The court will schedule a hearing within 72 hours after both parties have been served. If service cannot be completed within 72 hours, the temporary order is automatically extended for ten days.²

What It Costs

An Order of Protection under the Family Violence Protection Act is free. The statute requires that it be filed and served at no cost to the protected party, which covers the filing fee, copies, and service by the sheriff.⁶

A civil restraining order for harassment carries a $132 filing fee. If you cannot afford it, ask the clerk about free process; the court may waive fees for anyone who shows financial hardship.⁷

If You Need Protection Before You Can Get to Court

If police respond to an incident of domestic abuse, the officer can request an emergency order of protection on your behalf. The officer contacts a district court judge by phone, in person, or by fax with a sworn statement of why immediate protection is needed. The judge can issue a written emergency order on reasonable grounds to believe you or your child is in immediate danger.⁸

These orders are short. They expire 72 hours after issuance or at the end of the next business day the court is open, whichever comes later.⁸ To keep protection in place, file a petition at the courthouse before the emergency order expires.

Getting the Order Served

The respondent has to be personally served for the order to bind them. After the judge signs the temporary order, the clerk sends a copy to the local law enforcement agency, and the sheriff delivers it. For domestic violence Orders of Protection, service is free. If the respondent or their attorney was in court when the order was issued, personal service is not required because they already have notice.⁶

For a civil harassment restraining order, you may need to arrange service through the sheriff’s office or a private process server, and there can be a fee unless the court has granted you free process.

The Full Hearing

Within ten days after the temporary order is granted, the court holds a full hearing on whether to make the order permanent.² Both sides can attend, testify, present evidence, and call witnesses. The respondent gets to challenge your account and give their own. Bring everything you have gathered, and make sure your witnesses are there.

The judge weighs the evidence and either grants a final order of protection with restrictions tailored to your situation, or denies the petition.⁹ If the petition is denied, the temporary order dissolves.

What a Final Order Can Require

A final order is tailored to the circumstances. At minimum, it requires the restrained party to stop all abusive behavior toward you and any other household members. Beyond that, the court can include any combination of the following:

No contact of any kind, initiated by the respondent
Exclusive possession of a shared residence, or an order that the respondent provide you with temporary alternative housing
Temporary custody of children, visitation terms, and child or spousal support, with your safety and the children’s as the primary consideration
Reimbursement for medical bills, counseling, temporary shelter, property repair, and lost wages caused by the abuse
Professional counseling for the respondent at their own expense, including domestic violence perpetrator or substance abuse programs
A property freeze barring either party from hiding, transferring, or destroying property, except for ordinary living expenses

The order has to describe the specific acts the respondent must do or avoid. Vague or open-ended restrictions do not satisfy the statute.⁹

Firearms

If the court finds that the respondent poses a credible threat to your physical safety, the final order will direct them to turn over any firearms to a law enforcement agency or a licensed dealer within 48 hours of being served.⁹ Within 72 hours the respondent must file either a receipt showing what was turned in or a formal declaration of non-relinquishment with the court. Federal law also makes it a crime to possess a firearm while subject to a qualifying domestic violence protection order.¹⁰

How Long the Order Lasts

Duration depends on what the order covers. Provisions dealing with custody or support last up to six months, and you can ask the court to extend them for another six months by filing a motion showing good cause.⁶

Injunctive provisions like no-contact requirements have no automatic expiration. They stay in effect until either party asks the court to modify or rescind them, or the court approves a consent agreement.⁶ Many people miss this: the no-contact part can run indefinitely without a renewal, but custody and support terms will expire unless you renew them.

If the Respondent Violates the Order

Violating an order of protection is a criminal offense. Police can arrest the respondent without a warrant on probable cause that a violation occurred. A first conviction is a misdemeanor. A second or later conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 72 consecutive hours in jail that cannot be suspended or deferred. On top of any sentence, the court must order full restitution for harm caused by the violation and professional counseling at the respondent’s expense. If the violation is itself another crime, like assault or criminal trespass, police are required to file those additional charges.⁶

If the respondent contacts you, shows up, or otherwise violates the order, call 911. Do not engage. Save screenshots and photos, note the time and place, and report it as soon as you can. Each violation is its own criminal case and strengthens any future request to extend the order.

Enforcement in Other States

A valid New Mexico order of protection is enforceable in every other state, tribal territory, and U.S. territory. Federal law requires every jurisdiction to give full faith and credit to protection orders issued elsewhere, so police in another state must enforce your New Mexico order as if it were issued locally.¹¹ You do not have to register the order in the other state first, and no state may require registration as a condition of enforcement. Keep a copy of your order with you. If you call police in another state, having it on hand makes enforcement faster.

1
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-13-2 – Definitions
2
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-13-4 – Temporary Order of Protection
3
Second Judicial District Court. Restraining Order
4
New Mexico Courts. Domestic Violence Forms and Files
5
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-13-3 – Petition for Order of Protection
6
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-13-6 – Service of Order; Duration; Penalty; Remedies Not Exclusive
7
First Judicial District Court. Fees, Costs and Filing
8
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-13-3.2 – Ex Parte Emergency Orders of Protection
9
Justia. New Mexico Code 40-13-5 – Order of Protection; Contents; Remedies; Title to Property Not Affected; Mutual Order of Protection
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders