N.M. Stat. § 29-11A-5 (2026)

department of public safety; participation in the national sex
offender registry; rules.
    A. A county sheriff shall maintain a local registry of sex offenders in the sheriff's
jurisdiction required to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act.

   B. The county sheriff shall forward:

        (1)    registration information obtained from sex offenders to the department of
public safety. The initial registration information and any new registration information
subsequently obtained from a sex offender shall be forwarded by the county sheriff no
later than ten working days after the information is obtained from a sex offender. If the
department of public safety receives information regarding a sex offender from a
governmental entity other than a county sheriff, the department shall send that
information to the sheriff for the county in which the sex offender resides; and
        (2)    samples of DNA obtained from sex offenders to the administrative center
for the sex offender DNA identification system pursuant to the provisions of the DNA
Identification Act [Chapter 29, Article 16 NMSA 1978].

    C. The department of public safety shall maintain a central registry of sex offenders
required to register pursuant to the provisions of the Sex Offender Registration and
Notification Act. The department shall participate in the national sex offender registry
administered by the United States department of justice. The department shall send
conviction information and fingerprints for all sex offenders registered in New Mexico to
the national sex offender registry administered by the United States department of
justice and to the federal bureau of investigation.

    D. The department of public safety shall retain registration information regarding a
sex offender convicted for any of the following sex offenses for the entirety of the sex
offender's natural life:

        (1)    aggravated criminal sexual penetration or criminal sexual penetration in
the first, second or third degree, as provided in Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978;

       (2)   criminal sexual contact of a minor in the second, third or fourth degree, as
provided in Section 30-9-13 NMSA 1978;

        (3)   sexual exploitation of children, as provided in Section 30-6A-3 NMSA
1978;

       (4)    kidnapping, as provided in Section 30-4-1 NMSA 1978, when the victim is
less than eighteen years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim;

     (5)   criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree, as provided in Section 30-9-
12 NMSA 1978; or

      (6)     attempt to commit any of the sex offenses set forth in Paragraphs (1)
through (5) of this subsection, as provided in Section 30-28-1 NMSA 1978.

   E. The department of public safety shall retain registration information regarding a
sex offender convicted for the following offenses for a period of ten years following the
sex offender's conviction, release from prison or release from probation or parole,
whichever occurs later:

      (1)  criminal sexual penetration in the fourth degree, as provided in Section 30-
9-11 NMSA 1978;

      (2)  sexual exploitation of children by prostitution, as provided in Section 30-
6A-4 NMSA 1978;
        (3)    false imprisonment, as provided in Section 30-4-3 NMSA 1978, when the
victim is less than eighteen years of age and the offender is not a parent of the victim;

        (4)   aggravated indecent exposure, as provided in Section 30-9-14.3 NMSA
1978;

        (5)   enticement of child, as provided in Section 30-9-1 NMSA 1978;

       (6)   incest, as provided in Section 30-10-3 NMSA 1978, when the victim is less
than eighteen years of age;

        (7)    solicitation to commit criminal sexual contact of a minor in the second,
third or fourth degree, as provided in Sections 30-9-13 and 30-28-3 NMSA 1978;

      (8)    child solicitation by electronic communication device, as provided in
Section 30-37-3.2 NMSA 1978; or

      (9)     attempt to commit any of the sex offenses set forth in Paragraphs (1)
through (6) of this subsection, as provided in Section 30-28-1 NMSA 1978.

   F. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection E of this section, if a sex offender is
convicted a second or subsequent time for a sex offense set forth in that subsection, the
department of public safety shall retain information regarding the sex offender for the
entirety of the sex offender's natural life.

   G. The department of public safety shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the
provisions of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act. Rules necessary for
the collection of DNA samples and the administration and operation of the sex offender
DNA identification system shall be adopted by the DNA identification system oversight
committee pursuant to the provisions of the DNA Identification Act.

History: Laws 1995, ch. 106, § 5; 1999, ch. 19, § 5; 2000, ch. 8, § 3; 2003 (1st S.S.),
ch. 1, § 11; 2005, ch. 279, § 4; 2007, ch. 68, § 2; 2007, ch. 69, § 6.

                                     ANNOTATIONS

2007 Multiple Amendments. — Laws 2007, ch. 68, § 2 and Laws 2007, ch. 69, § 6
enacted different amendments to this section that can be reconciled. Pursuant to 12-1-8
NMSA 1978, Laws 2007, ch. 69, § 6, as the last act signed by the governor, is set out
above and incorporates both amendments. The amendments enacted by Laws 2007,
ch. 68, § 2 and Laws 2007, ch. 69, § 6 are described below. To view the session laws in
their entirety, see the 2007 session laws on NMOneSource.com.

Laws 2007, ch. 69, § 6, effective July 1, 2007, required the department of public safety
to retain registration information regarding a sex offender convicted of aggravated
criminal sexual penetration.
Laws 2007, ch. 68, § 2, effective July 1, 2007, required the department of public safety
to retain registration information regarding sex offenders convicted of child solicitation
by electronic communication device.

The 2005 amendment, effective July 1, 2005, added Subsection B(2) to provide that
the sheriff shall forward samples of DNA obtained from sex offenders to the
administrative center for the sex offender DNA identification system; deleted the former
provision in Subsection D that the department shall retain registration information for a
period of twenty years after a sex offender's conviction, release from prison or release
from probation or parole, whichever is later; provided in Subsection D that the
department shall retain registration information for the natural life of a sex offender;
added criminal sexual penetration in the third degree in Subsection D(1); added criminal
sexual contact of a minor in the fourth degree in Subsection D(2); added criminal sexual
contract in the fourth degree, as provided in Section 30-9-12 NMSA 1978 in Subsection
D(5); deleted the former reference to criminal sexual contact in the fourth degree as
provided in Section 30-9-12 NMSA 1978 in Subsection E(2); deleted the former
reference to criminal sexual contact of a minor in the fourth degree as provided in
Section 30-9-13 NMSA 1978 in Subsection E(3); added the reference to aggravated
indecent exposure in Subsection E(4); added enticement of child in Subsection E(5);
added incest when the victim is less than eighteen years of age in Subsection E(6);
added Subsection F to provide that if a sex offender is convicted a second or
subsequent time for a sex offence set forth in Subsection E, the department shall retain
information regarding that sex offender for the sex offender's natural life; and provided
in Subsection G that the DNA identification system oversight committee shall adopt
rules for the collection of DNA samples and the administration and operation of the sex
offender DNA identification system.

Applicability. — Laws 2005, ch. 279, §14, effective July 1, 2005, provided that Laws
2005, ch. 279, §§ 1 through 13 apply to a person convicted of a sex offense on or after
July 1, 2005 and a person convicted of a sex offense prior to July 1, 2005 and who, on
July 1, 2005, was still incarcerated, on probation or on parole for commission of that sex
offense.

The 2003 (1st S.S.) amendment, effective February 3, 2004, deleted "county"
preceding "sheriff" near the end of the last sentence of Subsection B, inserted "second
or" in Paragraph (2) and deleted "Subsection A, B or C of" preceding "Section" in
Paragraph (3) of Subsection D, and inserted "second" in Paragraph (6) of Subsection E.

The 2000 amendment, effective July 1, 2000, inserted "initial" and "and any new
registration information subsequently obtained from a sex offender" in the second
sentence and added the last sentence in Subsection B; added the last sentence in
Subsection C, added a new Subsection D(4) and redesignated former Subsection D(4)
as present Subsection D(5); added a new Subsection E(5) and redesignated former
Subsections E(5) and E(6) as present Subsections E(6) and E(7).
The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, in the section heading substituted
"participation in the national sex offender registry" for "exchange of registration
information with other states" and deleted "and regulations" following "rules"; inserted
"and Notification" in Subsections A, C and F; substituted the language following "The
department" through the end for "may enter into interstate compact agreements
providing for the exchange of information regarding sex offenders, provided that the
other state does not permit dissemination of information regarding sex offenders to any
persons or entities other than law enforcement agencies" in the last sentence of
Subsection C; added Paragraphs D(4), E(5) and E(6); and deleted "and regulations"
following "rules" in Subsection F.

Application of multiple amendments of definition of "sex offense". — Where in
2012, defendant pled guilty to the charge of solicitation of a child by electronic
communication device; in 2007, the legislature enacted two acts amending Sections 29-
11A-3 and 29-11A-5 NMSA 1978 which were signed on the same day by the governor;
Laws 2007, ch. 68 created the new criminal offense of child solicitation by electronic
communication device; Laws 2007, ch. 69 created the new crime of aggravated criminal
sexual penetration; in 2012, Section 12-1-8 NMSA 1978provided that if, in the same
legislative session, the legislature enacted two or more acts amending the same section
of the New Mexico Statutes Annotated, then the last act signed by the governor is
presumed to be the law and shall be compiled into the NMSA; and Laws 2007, ch. 69
was compiled into the NMSA, child solicitation by electronic communication device was
not a SORNA-covered crime in 2012 when defendant pled guilty and defendant was not
subject to SORNA. State v. Ho, 2014-NMCA-038, cert. granted, 2014-NMCERT-003.