N.M. Stat. » N.M. Stat. / Chapter 12 / Article 1
New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 12-1-7 (2026)

Recognition as official compilation.

✓ current as of May 2026
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     Upon the annual certification of the compilation of 1978 by the New Mexico
compilation commission, with the advice and approval of the advisory committee of the
supreme court, the compilation shall be in force and recognized, referred to and used in
all the courts and in all departments and offices of the state as the official compilation of
the statutory law of New Mexico and may be cited as the "NMSA 1978", whether printed
under an exclusive license of the content of the compilation or published electronically
free of charge.

History: 1941 Comp., § 1-125, enacted by Laws 1953, ch. 39, § 7; 1953 Comp., § 1-1-
7; Laws 1977, ch. 74, § 4; 2006, ch. 70, § 4; 2019, ch. 74, § 6.

                                     ANNOTATIONS

Compiler's notes. — The annual certification of the commission and advisory
committee is filed with the secretary of state. See 12-1-3 NMSA 1978 prior to the 2006
amendment of that section on NMOneSource.com.

The 2019 amendment, effective May 3, 2019, clarified that the compilation, whether
printed under an exclusive license of the content of the compilation or published
electronically free of charge, shall be recognized as the official compilation of the
statutory law of New Mexico; after "Upon the", added "annual", after "shall be in force
and", deleted "printed and electronic copies thereof shall be received", and added
"whether printed under an exclusive license of the content of the compilation or
published electronically free of charge".

Temporary provisions. — Laws 2019, ch. 74, § 9 provided:

A.      On May 3, 2019, all state, local and district officers designated by the New
Mexico compilation commission to receive distributions of sets of the compilation,
replacement volumes or replacement pamphlets may dispose of such sets according to
procedures set out for disposal of surplus property. Sets shall not be delivered or
returned to the office of the commission in Santa Fe. The commission shall determine
how many full sets of the printed statutes and other publications it will maintain for
historical, reference and possible replacement purposes, and the remainder of the sets
held by the commission may be disposed of according to procedures set out for the
disposal of surplus property.

B.    All contracts in effect on May 3, 2019, shall continue to be effective until the
contract has been completed or the commission decides to terminate the contract.

C.    On May 3, 2019, all references in law and other legal documents to the New
Mexico statutes annotated or the NMSA 1978 shall be deemed to be references to the
content of the master database.
The 2006 amendment, effective July 1, 2006, deleted the provision that the
commission act through the secretary and provides for electronic copies of the official
compilation or supplements.

Effect of omission of law from NMSA 1978. — Since NMSA 1978 is a compilation,
not a revision or codification, i.e., it is gathered from other books and documents, a
failure to refer to an enacted law in NMSA 1978 would not diminish the applicability of
that enacted law. Loesch v. Henderson, 1985-NMCA-104, 103 N.M. 554, 710 P.2d 748.

Compilation presumptively official. — Compiled versions of statutes and court rules,
certified by the compilation commission, are presumptively official. State v. Sandoval,
2003-NMSC-027, 134 N.M. 453, 78 P.3d 907.

Rules compilation. — Where the supreme court authorized the compilation
commission to follow a set of drafting guidelines in the recompilation of the 1986
Supreme Court Rules Annotated, and the court approved the recompiled versions of the
rules, instructions and forms, the version of the rules appearing in the 1986 Supreme
Court Rules Annotated, and later in the New Mexico Rules Annotated, was the "official"
version approved by the supreme court. State v. Sandoval, 2003-NMSC-027, 134 N.M.
453, 78 P.3d 907.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2003–2021 · leading case: State ex rel. League of Women Voters v. Advisory Comm. to the N.M. Compilation Comm'n, 2017 NMSC 25 (N.M. 2017).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State ex rel. League of Women Voters v. Advisory Comm. to the N.M. Compilation Comm'n, 2017 NMSC 25 (N.M. 2017). · cites it 4× “; NMSA 1978, § 12-1-7 (2006) (providing that the Commission shall, “with the advice and approval of the advisory committee[,]” certify the 1978 7 compilation); see also § 12-1-3.”
State v. Sena, 2021 NMCA 047 (N.M. Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 2× “See NMSA 1978, § 12-1-3 (2019); NMSA 1978, § 12-1-7 (2019). “When presented with two or more acts enacted during the same session of the Legislature amending the same section of the NMSA, the Compilation Commission is governed by [NMSA 1978,] Section 12-1-8 [(1977, amended…”
State v. Sandoval, 78 P.3d 907 (N.M. 2003). · cites it 2× “See NMSA 1978, § 12-1-3(B)-(C) (1979) (empowering the New Mexico Compilation Commission “to provide for official, annotated compilations of the New Mexico statutes” and “to determine whether such compilation contains the basic law and the general law of New Mexico”); NMSA 1978,…”
State ex rel. League of Women Voters v. Advisory Comm. to the N.M. Compilation Comm'n (N.M. 2017). · cites it 4× “; 3 NMSA 1978, § 12-1-7 (2006) (providing that the Commission shall, “with the advice 4 and approval of the advisory committee[,]” certify the 1978 compilation); see also 5 § 12-1-3.”
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