--- title: "New Mexico Eviction Process and Court Timeline | MCC" description: "New Mexico eviction court steps: Magistrate, Metropolitan or District Court, answer At the hearing, writ 3 to 7 days, lockout 3 to 7 days (from judgment), sheri" url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/tools/eviction-process-new-mexico" --- Eviction process · New Mexico # New Mexico eviction process and court timeline What happens after the landlord files: court, filing fee, time to answer or appear, judgment to writ, writ to lockout, who carries out the lockout, right to counsel (statewide) and diversion or mediation (statewide), from the state's own pages. **Short answer.** Cases go to the Magistrate, Metropolitan or District Court. The tenant may file an answer any time before the trial date and must appear at the trial. Who carries out a lockout: sheriff. ## At a glance Court Magistrate, Metropolitan or District Court. Magistrate, Metropolitan (Bernalillo County) and District Courts hear eviction cases. "[For use in Magistrate, Metropolitan, and District Courts with the Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program]" Source 3 Filing fee Set by each court; the Metropolitan Court (Albuquerque) lists $77 to file a petition. "The fee to file a Petition is $77.00." Source 1 Time to answer or appear The tenant may file an answer any time before the trial date and must appear at the trial. "The Tenant must appear at the Trial to prove his/her case." Source 1 Judgment to writ The statewide judgment form sets the writ of restitution to take effect 3 to 7 days after the judgment is filed. "Insert a date which is not less than three (3) nor more than seven (7) days from the date of filing of the judgment." Source 5 Writ to lockout If the landlord wins, the judge sets an eviction date, usually 3 to 7 days after the trial (Metropolitan Court's description). "not less than 3 days and not more than 7 days from the Trial/Court date" Source 1 Who carries out the lockout Sheriff. Only the sheriff's office may carry out the eviction. "The Sheriff's Office is the only office authorized by the Court to evict a Tenant." Source 1 Right to counsel (statewide) No statewide right to counsel for tenants in eviction cases (as of November 2026, per the National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel): its tracker of enacted laws lists no statewide law here. "An eviction right to counsel is created by an enacted law that, at a minimum:" Source 4, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source) Diversion or mediation (statewide) Yes. The courts' Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program helps tenants apply for rental assistance and points to legal help; tenants must attend the hearing. "The Court's Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program can help you start and complete the application" Source 3 ## Sample timeline: filed Monday, December 7, 2026 **Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer.** Need the other side served? [Process serving with an affidavit of service](/notary/process-serving). - **Answer or appear:** no date (Due at the hearing, and the official pages don't give a period for the hearing) - **Hearing or trial:** no date (The official pages don't give a period for setting the hearing) - **Judgment:** no date (Follows the hearing, which isn't dated here) - **Writ or warrant of possession:** no date (3 days after the judgment, which isn't dated here) - **Earliest lockout:** no date (3 days after the judgment, which isn't dated here) Another date: [open the estimator](/tools/eviction-timeline-estimator?state=nm). ## Want us to handle it? A runner files your papers in person at the clerk's window and sends you a scan of the stamped copy. We file what you prepared; we don't give legal advice. **Price:** Outside New Jersey it goes through our contractor network: quote-based, confirmed before any work starts, and booked once a local contractor accepts. In New Jersey it is from $75 per filing, court fees at cost. Starting rates. Your exact price is quoted after we confirm a local notary/runner, before you pay. [Request a court filing](/notary/court-filing#request) ## Help the official pages point to - The courts' Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program helps tenants apply for rental assistance and points to legal help; tenants must attend the hearing. - The Metropolitan Court's Self-Help Center (source 1) ## Worth knowing These pamphlets are from Albuquerque's Metropolitan Court; magistrate courts elsewhere may differ. The Metropolitan Court sets trial 7 to 10 days after the planned service date. **Not stated on the pages we read:** hearing after filing, paying to stop the case. ## Sources - [New Mexico Courts, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court: Self Help Pamphlet SH-109, Landlord's Process for Evicting a Tenant (rev. 9/24)](https://metro.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2024/10/SH-109-Landlords-Process-for-Evicting-a-Tenant_Website-FINAL-9-2024.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [New Mexico Courts, Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court: Self Help Pamphlet SH-110 (rev. 7/19)](https://metro.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/47/2023/11/SH-110-Tenants-Relief-and-Response-to-Landlords-Eviction-Process-revised-7-19.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [New Mexico Supreme Court: Rule 4-905B NMRA form, Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program (2022)](https://supremecourt.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/Form-4-905B-NMRA.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel (secondary source): National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel: Enacted Eviction Right to Counsel and Eviction Defense Programs (last modified November 2026)](https://civilrighttocounsel.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/RTC_Enacted_Legislation_in_Eviction_Proceedings_FINAL.pdf) (checked November 2026) - [New Mexico Supreme Court: Form 4-909 NMRA, Judgment for Restitution (effective December 31, 2025)](https://supremecourt.nmcourts.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/Form-4-909-NMRA.pdf) (checked November 2026) Sourced from official pages; a few facts from vetted secondary sources, marked "(secondary source)". General information, not legal advice; we are not lawyers. Not a court form. Earliest under the statute; courts' calendars often take longer. ## Common questions **Which court hears eviction cases in New Mexico?** Magistrate, Metropolitan or District Court. Magistrate, Metropolitan (Bernalillo County) and District Courts hear eviction cases. **How long does a tenant in New Mexico have to respond?** The tenant may file an answer any time before the trial date and must appear at the trial. **When can a New Mexico landlord get the writ after winning?** The statewide judgment form sets the writ of restitution to take effect 3 to 7 days after the judgment is filed. **How long between the writ and a lockout in New Mexico?** If the landlord wins, the judge sets an eviction date, usually 3 to 7 days after the trial (Metropolitan Court's description). **Who carries out an eviction in New Mexico?** Sheriff. Only the sheriff's office may carry out the eviction. The officer acts on the court's order. **What does it cost to file in New Mexico?** Set by each court; the Metropolitan Court (Albuquerque) lists $77 to file a petition. **Is there a statewide diversion or mediation program in New Mexico?** Yes. The courts' Eviction Prevention and Diversion Program helps tenants apply for rental assistance and points to legal help; tenants must attend the hearing. Notice step: [notice periods](/tools/landlord-tenant-notice-periods-by-state) · Deposit step: [deposit rules](/tools/security-deposit-rules-by-state) · All states: [eviction process by state](/tools/eviction-process-timeline-by-state) · [New Jersey](/tools/eviction-process-new-jersey) · [North Carolina](/tools/eviction-process-north-carolina) ## Keep rental records in order [Bookkeeping for landlords](/bookkeeping/for/small-landlords)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)