N.M. Stat. § 34-9-19 (2026)

check system.
    A. In any circumstance other than that described in Subsection B of this section, the
administrative office of the courts shall obtain and electronically transmit information
from court proceedings relating to a person's eligibility to receive or possess a firearm or
ammunition pursuant to state or federal law to the federal bureau of investigation's
national instant criminal background check system. The administrative office of the
courts shall also be responsible for notifying, as soon as practicable within ten days of
receipt of the information, the federal bureau of investigation to update, correct, modify
or remove information affecting a person's eligibility to receive or possess a firearm or
ammunition pursuant to state or federal law in the national instant criminal background
check system.

    B. The administrative office of the courts shall electronically transmit information
about a court order, judgment or verdict to the federal bureau of investigation for entry
into the national instant criminal background check system regarding each person who
has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution and is
therefore, pursuant to federal law, disabled from receiving or possessing a firearm or
ammunition.

    C. Upon entry of a court order, judgment or verdict referred to in Subsection B of
this section, the administrative office of the courts shall transmit to the federal bureau of
investigation only that information necessary to identify the person for the sole purpose
of inclusion in the national instant criminal background check system. The
administrative office of the courts, consistent with rules promulgated pursuant to
Subsection L of this section, shall also notify the person that, as an adjudicated mental
defective or as a person committed to a mental institution, the person is disabled
pursuant to federal law from receiving or possessing a firearm or ammunition.

   D. A person who has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a
mental institution and is therefore, pursuant to federal law, disabled from receiving or
possessing a firearm or ammunition or, pursuant to state law, is ineligible for a
concealed handgun license may petition the court that originated the order, judgment or
verdict or another court of competent jurisdiction to remove that person's firearm-related
disabilities and restore the person's right to receive and possess a firearm and
ammunition and the right to be eligible for a concealed handgun license. A copy of the
petition seeking relief from disabilities shall be served upon the office of the attorney
general and upon all parties to the proceeding resulting in a court order, judgment or
verdict described in Subsection B of this section.
   E. The court shall conduct a hearing and receive and consider evidence on a
petition for relief described in Subsection D of this section, including evidence offered by
the petitioner, concerning:

      (1)     the circumstances regarding the firearm disabilities from which relief is
sought;

       (2)    the petitioner's mental health and criminal history records, if any;

      (3)    the petitioner's reputation, developed, at a minimum, through character
witness statements, testimony or other character evidence; and

       (4)     changes in the petitioner's condition or circumstances since the original
court order, judgment or verdict that are relevant to the relief sought.

    F. After conducting a hearing on the petition, the court shall grant the petition for
relief from the disability reported pursuant to Subsection B of this section if the court
finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner will not be likely to act in a
manner dangerous to public safety and that granting the relief will not be contrary to the
public interest.

   G. A record shall be kept of the proceedings held pursuant to Subsection E of this
section. The decision of the court may be appealed.

   H. Regardless of whether an earlier decision has been appealed, a person may
petition for relief pursuant to Subsection D of this section not more than once every two
years and, in the case of a person who was committed to a mental institution, not before
the person has been discharged from that commitment.

   I. Upon the entry of a court order granting relief from disabilities pursuant to
Subsection F of this section, and as soon as practicable within ten days of receipt of the
court order granting relief, the administrative office of the courts and any other state
agency as applicable shall each be separately responsible for updating, correcting,
modifying or removing the petitioner's record from their own databases that they make
available to the national instant criminal background check system and each shall
promptly notify the United States attorney general for the purpose of reporting to the
national instant criminal background check system that the basis for the petitioner being
disabled pursuant to federal law from receiving or possessing a firearm or ammunition
no longer applies.

    J. The administrative office of the courts is prohibited from disclosing information
regarding a court order, judgment or verdict referred to in Subsection B of this section or
regarding a petitioner or proceedings under this section, except as otherwise provided
by law. Information compiled and transmitted under this section is not a public record
and is not subject to disclosure pursuant to the Inspection of Public Records Act
[Chapter 14, Article 2 NMSA 1978].
    K. A person who is the subject of information compiled or transmitted by the
administrative office of the courts pursuant to this section, or the person's authorized
representative, has a right to obtain, inspect and correct information compiled or
transmitted.

    L. The administrative office of the courts shall promulgate rules relating to the
inspection and correction of information contained in its records and relating to the
transmission of corrected information by the office for inclusion in the national instant
criminal background check system database and other rules as necessary to implement
the provisions of this section.

    M. As used in this section, the terms "adjudicated as a mental defective" and
"committed to a mental institution" have the same meaning as those terms are defined
in federal regulations at 27 C.F.R. Section 478.11, as amended or renumbered.

History: Laws 2016, ch. 10, § 2.

                                      ANNOTATIONS

Effective dates. — Laws 2016, ch. 10 contained no effective date provision, but,
pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, was effective May 18, 2016, 90 days after the
adjournment of the legislature.