Search Union County Court Records
Union County court records for District Court, Magistrate Court, and many Municipal Court matters route through the New Mexico judiciary. The public path starts with New Mexico Case Lookup, which is built for individual electronic court record viewing. It does not provide document downloads. If a user needs pleadings, orders, or other case documents, re:SearchNM is the registered-user system, and eligibility depends on user tier and case type.
The Union County homepage points to county services and includes a Clerk Records Search shortcut. That county recording portal is important, but it is not the main District Court case database. It fits land records, marriage licenses, ordinances, informal probate, and other county clerk records. Court case information, hearing schedules, and formal court files still route through New Mexico Courts or the Eighth Judicial District.
The Union County official homepage is one source for local department routing and public links.
The county page helps separate county administration from the state court tools used for Union County court records.
- Start with Case Lookup for a District Court, Magistrate Court, or public court case search.
- Use re:SearchNM if document access is needed and the user qualifies for a registered access tier.
- Use the Eighth Judicial District docket pages for hearings scheduled now or in the next several days.
- Use the Union County Official Records Search for county clerk recordings, marriage licenses, and informal probate.
- Call the right local office when the online result is missing, older than 1997, restricted, or tied to municipal court.
Union County Courts
Union County belongs to the Eighth Judicial District with Colfax and Taos Counties. The District Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court for civil, criminal, domestic-relations, juvenile, lower-court appeal, administrative appeal, and formal probate matters. Clayton Magistrate Court handles limited civil cases, landlord-tenant matters, misdemeanors, DWI/DUI, traffic violations, and felony preliminary hearings. Clayton Municipal Court handles petty misdemeanors, traffic cases, DWI/DUI, and local ordinance matters without jury trials.
The Eighth Judicial District homepage connects Union County users to hearing schedules, jury duty, Case Lookup, self-representation forms, and fines or fees.
The district site matters because many Union County court records are maintained through the state court system, not the county website.
| Court or office | Main role | Union County contact point |
|---|---|---|
| Eighth Judicial District Court | General civil, felony criminal, domestic, juvenile, formal probate, lower-court appeals | 100 Court St., Suite 5, Clayton |
| Clayton Magistrate Court | Limited civil, landlord-tenant, misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, traffic, felony preliminary hearings | State pages list 100 Court Street, Suite 5; facilities inventory also lists 836 Main St. |
| Clayton Municipal Court | Municipal traffic, petty misdemeanor, DWI/DUI, ordinance matters | 124 North Front St, Clayton |
| Union County Probate Court | Informal probate and uncontested estate matters | Union County Clerk at 200 Court Street |
Union County Court Contacts
The address pattern in Clayton is easy to mix up. The Eighth Judicial District lists Union County District Court at 100 Court Street, Suite 5. Union County administration, the County Clerk, informal probate, and the sheriff partner listing use 200 Court Street. Clayton Municipal Court is on North Front Street. A reader looking for a court hearing should verify the courtroom on the current docket or call before leaving, especially because official pages conflict on the Magistrate Court physical address.
Union County Courthouse
100 Court St., Suite 5
Clayton, NM 88415
575-374-9577
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Union County Clerk
200 Court Street
Clayton, NM 88415
575-374-9491 Ext. 2
Mail: PO Box 430, Clayton, NM 88415
Clayton Municipal Court
124 North Front St
Clayton, NM 88415
575-207-0445
Municipal traffic and ordinance matters
Union County Clerk Records Search
The Union County Clerk's Office records and preserves land records, deeds, resolutions, ordinances, and marriage licenses. It also serves as clerk of the Probate Court for informal proceedings. Devian Fields is identified as County Clerk on the county page. The clerk page says the office cannot give legal advice, fill out forms, or perform detailed real estate searches, and it directs detailed title work to a local abstract or title company.
Union County Official Records Search has Quick Search and Advanced Search tabs for county clerk records.
That court page is separate from the clerk's recording portal, so searchers should choose based on record type.
| Search field | Use in Union County clerk records |
|---|---|
| Department | Visible value is Real Property. |
| Search Term | Grantor, grantee, subdivision, document type, or document number. |
| Date Range | From and to dates tied to recorded date. |
| Search Index Only | Searches indexed information and individual words. |
| Search Index & Full Text (OCR) | Searches document text and phrase matches. |
Union County Court Record Types
Union County court records include civil District Court cases, Magistrate civil and landlord-tenant records, criminal District Court cases, Magistrate misdemeanor and traffic matters, municipal traffic and ordinance records, domestic-relations files, probate records, and dockets. The search path changes by court. A formal probate dispute goes to District Court. An informal probate file may be searched through the County Clerk. A municipal traffic case may require Clayton Municipal Court or its payment portal rather than the statewide public case system.
- Civil records: complaints, petitions, answers, motions, orders, judgments, writs, and docket entries.
- Criminal records: charging documents, pleas, hearings, dispositions, judgment and sentence, probation terms, and fines.
- Traffic records: citation records in Magistrate or Municipal Court, separate from the MVD driver history record.
- Domestic records: divorce, custody, support, and parentage matters handled in District Court with redactions where needed.
- Probate records: informal probate through the clerk and formal or contested estate cases through District Court.
What Union County Court Records Show
Union County court record fields depend on court and case type. District Court docket examples use case numbers such as D-818-CV-year-number or D-818-DM-year-number. Magistrate traffic examples use M-58-TR-year-number. The prefix helps identify the court level, while the middle code describes the case type. A public docket may show a hearing but not documents, money due, protected details, or a full case history.
| Field | What it means |
|---|---|
| Case number | Court, location, case type, year, and sequence where visible. |
| Caption | Parties or case title, such as a civil name matter or State of New Mexico v. defendant. |
| Judge or presiding officer | The judge assigned to the hearing or case event. |
| Hearing type | Arraignment, civil hearing, motion setting, or another scheduled event. |
| Disposition | The outcome, such as dismissed, judgment entered, convicted, or closed. |
Union County Court Records Access
New Mexico public access is broad, but online court access is not the same as full courthouse access. New Mexico Courts public records points users to IPRA, Case Lookup, and re:SearchNM. The public Case Lookup path is free and does not require registration, but it is limited to individual electronic court record viewing and does not provide documents. Registered re:SearchNM access depends on profile, case type, and user tier.
The New Mexico Courts public records page is one of the official statewide access points assigned to Union County court records.
That public-records page is useful because it places IPRA, Case Lookup, and re:SearchNM in one statewide court-record access framework.
New Mexico Courts public access and re:SearchNM guidance explains the difference between public Case Lookup and registered document access.
The access tiers are important for Union County because documents and sensitive case types are not exposed in the same way to every user.
Key access rules: IPRA gives a public inspection right with exceptions. NMSA 14-3-15.1 limits state database use and is cited by Case Lookup. The 2023 Case Access Policy controls online court access. The Criminal Record Expungement Act gives eligible people a petition path to remove some records from public view.
Restricted Union County Court Records
Several record types are not public through ordinary Union County court record searches. New Mexico Courts states juvenile criminal cases are no longer displayed in public Case Lookup effective July 1, 2007. Family Violence Protection Act order-of-protection cases are no longer displayed effective July 1, 2008. re:SearchNM places delinquency in a higher tier and strictly confidential matters such as adoption, abuse and neglect, FINS, and mental health in the most restricted tier.
- Sealed record
- A record hidden from ordinary public access by law, rule, or court order.
- Expungement
- A court process that can remove eligible arrest, conviction, or related public records from view.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a case or charge, such as dismissed, convicted, or judgment entered.
- Docket
- The chronological list of filings, hearings, and court events.
Note: A missing online result can mean a restricted record, an older record, a municipal limitation, or a case not yet entered.
Union County Court Dockets
Union County District Court and Magistrate Court dockets are public hearing schedules, not full case files. The Eighth Judicial District hearing schedule pages show the current day plus several days ahead. A docket entry can show date, time, case number, caption, judge, courtroom, and hearing type, including virtual courtroom references where posted. It will not show full documents, financial history, or all redacted details.
The Union County District Court docket shows scheduled District Court hearings.
The location and contact page is the practical fallback when a docket entry is missing or a courtroom needs confirmation.
Union County Sheriff and Jail Records
Union County official sources did not publish an online county jail roster, inmate profile database, mugshot page, visitation schedule, commissary vendor, or jail mail rules. The official local path for recent custody questions is the Union County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Curtis Skaggs is listed on the county sheriff page, and the Eighth District Attorney partner list gives the sheriff's office at 200 Court Street with phone 575-374-2583.
State custody is different. New Mexico Corrections Department Offender Search covers state prison, probation, and parole, and it states that NMCD does not cover county or city detention facilities. New Mexico VINELink is a notification and status channel, with phone access through VINE. Northeast New Mexico Correctional Facility is near Clayton, but it is a state prison, not a Union County jail roster.
New Mexico Case Lookup can help connect a recent arrest to a public court case after filing.
Case Lookup can show court context after a case exists, but it should not be treated as a local jail roster.
Union County Warrants and Traffic
No official Union County online active-warrant list was located. Warrant checks should start by identifying the issuing court: District Court for felony, probation, and District Court matters; Magistrate Court for traffic, misdemeanor, DWI, and preliminary-hearing matters; or Clayton Municipal Court for municipal traffic, petty misdemeanor, DWI, or ordinance matters. The sheriff and police enforce warrants, but the issuing court controls many clearance steps.
Traffic records can involve a citation, a court case, a payment portal, and the MVD driver record. The New Mexico Fines and Fees portal has an important warning: online payment resolves financial obligations only and does not automatically clear an active warrant or other court condition. Clayton Municipal Court uses a separate nCourt payment page with a citation-number field, while MVD driver history is a separate state driver record.
The New Mexico Courts IPRA portal is the fallback for judiciary records not available through ordinary online tools.
IPRA is useful when a Union County court record is older, missing from online search, or needs a formal request path.
Union County Marriage Divorce Probate
Marriage licenses are issued by the Union County Clerk. Both parties must be present, adults must be 18 or older, and sufficient identification can include a driver's license, birth certificate, or passport. The posted marriage license fee is $55. If an applicant is under 18, the clerk page requires written parental consent shown by the birth certificate or district court judicial authorization. Copies of Union County marriage licenses come from the county clerk where the license was issued.
Divorce decrees are District Court records. The New Mexico Department of Health states divorce decree copies come from the district court where the court order was filed. Informal probate uses the Union County Clerk and Probate Court at 200 Court Street, while formal or contested probate goes to District Court. The clerk page says informal probate cases can be searched from the late 1800s to present in the public records database.
| Record | Union County office | Key note |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | Union County Clerk | $55 posted fee; both parties appear. |
| Divorce decree | Eighth Judicial District Court | Request from the district court where filed. |
| Informal probate | County Clerk / Probate Court | $5 packet and $30 filing fee posted. |
Union County Court History
Union County's courthouse history gives local context to modern records access. The National Park Service nomination states the Union County Courthouse was built in 1909 for $30,000 after an 1894 courthouse was severely damaged by a tornado. The architects were D.P. Kaufman and Son Architects of Amarillo, Texas, and the contractors were J.W. Wooten and N.V. Bundy. The current court system now ties Union County to a three-county judicial district with shared administration, judges, public access systems, and jury resources.
U.S. Census QuickFacts for Union County provides county context for the rural court market.
The county's rural setting makes clear office routing and phone confirmation more important than in larger urban courts.
Union County Court Records FAQ
Can Union County court records be searched online? Many public District Court and Magistrate Court case records can be searched through New Mexico Case Lookup. Documents are not available there, and some records are restricted.
Is the Union County clerk portal the same as court case search? No. The official records portal is for county clerk recordings, marriage-related records, informal probate, and similar records. Court case information uses New Mexico Courts.
Where are Union County divorce decrees kept? Divorce decrees are District Court records. Copies come from the district court where the divorce order was filed.
Does Union County publish a jail roster? No official online Union County jail roster was located in the reviewed sources. Call the Sheriff's Office for local custody questions and use NMCD only for state custody.
Does paying a traffic ticket clear a warrant? Not necessarily. New Mexico's payment portal warns that payment resolves only financial obligations, and the court must confirm any warrant or other condition.