New Mexico Statutes

N.M. Stat. § 32A-5-11 (2026)

Who may be adopted; who may adopt.

✓ current as of May 2026

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A. Any child may be adopted.

B. Residents who are one of the following may adopt:

(1) any individual who has been approved by the court as a suitable adoptive
parent pursuant to the provisions of the Adoption Act; and

(2) a married individual without the individual's spouse joining in the adoption
if:

(a) the nonjoining spouse is a parent of the adoptee;

(b) the individual and the nonjoining spouse are legally separated; or

(c) the failure of the nonjoining spouse to join in the adoption is excused for
reasonable circumstances as determined by the court.

C. Nonresidents who meet the criteria of Subsection B of this section may adopt in
New Mexico if the adoptee is a resident of New Mexico or was born in New Mexico but
is less than six months of age and was placed by the department or an agency licensed
by the state of New Mexico.

History: 1978 Comp., § 32A-5-11, enacted by Laws 1993, ch. 77, § 138.

ANNOTATIONS

Decisions under prior law. — In light of the similarity of the provisions, annotations
decided under former Section 40-7-33 NMSA 1978 have been included in the
annotations to this section.

Provision requiring residence as mandatory. — The provision requiring adopting
persons to be residents of the state was mandatory and it limited jurisdiction over
adoption proceedings to those brought by residents of New Mexico. Heirich v. Howe,
1946-NMSC-016, 50 N.M. 90, 171 P.2d 312.

Since petitioners for adoption are nonresidents, the district court lacks the
necessary jurisdiction and petition to adopt must be dismissed. Heirich v. Howe, 1946-
NMSC-016, 50 N.M. 90, 171 P.2d 312 (decided under prior law).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2013–2021 · leading case: Griego v. Oliver, 2014 NMSC 003 (N.M. 2013).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Griego v. Oliver, 2014 NMSC 003 (N.M. 2013). · cites it 2× “NMSA 1978, § 32A-5-11 (1993) (recognizing parties who are eligible to adopt children); see also Chatterjee v.”

In the Matter of the Adoption Of: Atws, Minor Child, Ka v., 2021 WY 62 (Wyo. 2021). “24 (2)(b) (specifying that the court may allow “[a] married individual to adopt without his or her spouse joining in the petition if the failure of the other spouse to join in the petition or to consent to the adoption is excused by the court for good cause shown or in the best…”

In re Adoption Petition of Darla D. v. Grace R., 2016 NMCA 093 (N.M. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Section 32A-5-11(B)(1) (emphasis added). The record reveals consistent failures to comply with the Adoption Act’s requirements.”

In re Adoption Petition of Darla D. v. Grace R., 2016 NMCA 93 (N.M. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “Section 32A-5-11(B)(1) (emphasis added). The record reveals consistent failures to comply with the Adoption Act’s requirements.”

Griego v. Oliver, 2014 NMSC 3 (N.M. 2013). · cites it 2× “NMSA 1978, § 32A-5-11 (1993) (recognizing parties who are eligible to adopt children); see also Chatterjee v.”

— N.M. Stat. § 32A-5-11(B)(1) — 2 cases

In re Adoption Petition of Darla D. v. Grace R., 2016 NMCA 093 (N.M. Ct. App. 2016). “Section 32A-5-11(B)(1) (emphasis added). The record reveals consistent failures to comply with the Adoption Act’s requirements.”

In re Adoption Petition of Darla D. v. Grace R., 2016 NMCA 93 (N.M. Ct. App. 2016). “Section 32A-5-11(B)(1) (emphasis added). The record reveals consistent failures to comply with the Adoption Act’s requirements.”

— N.M. Stat. § 32A-5-11(B)(2) — 1 case

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.