IPRA

PUBLIC RECORDS INSPECTION REQUEST

The Inspection of Public Records Act is intended to provide the public with access to information governmental affairs. The law requires public access to virtually all public records with a few exceptions most records are available for public inspection.  Each state agency and local governmental entities have designated a records custodian to whom requests to inspect records should be addressed. To request to inspect records from the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys, please send a written request to:

info@da.state.nm.us
Fax: (505) 242-3227

For further information regarding the Inspection of Public Records Act, review the OMA /IPRA (NM Sunshine Laws).

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO INSPECT PUBLIC RECORDS

By law, under the Inspection of Public Records Act, every person has the right to inspect public records of the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys. The Act also makes compliance with requests to inspect public records an integral part of the routine duties of the officers and employees of the Administrative Office of the District Attorneys.

A person desiring to inspect public records may submit a request to the records custodian orally or in writing. However, the procedures and penalties prescribed by the Act apply only to written requests. A written request must contain the name, address and telephone number of the person making the request. The request must describe the records sought in sufficient detail to enable the records custodian to identify and locate the requested records.

The records custodian must permit inspection immediately or as soon as practicable, but no later than fifteen (15) calendar days after the records custodian receives the inspection request. If inspection is not permitted within three (3) business days, the person making the request will receive a written response explaining when the records will be available for inspection or when the public body will respond to the request. If any of the records sought are not available for public inspection, the person making the request is entitled to a written response from the records custodian explaining the reasons inspection has been denied. The written denial shall delivered or mailed within fifteen (15) calendar days after the records custodian received the request for inspection.

PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING COPIES AND FEES

If a person requesting inspection would like a copy of a public record, a reasonable fee may be charged. The fee for documents eleven inches by seventeen inches or smaller is $0.10 per page. The fee for larger documents is $0.25 per page. For records other than documents, the reasonable fee is $6.75 for videos/DVDs and $2.75 for audio tapes. The records custodian may request that applicable fees for copying public records be paid in advance, before the copies are made. A receipt indicating that the fees have been paid for making copies of public records will be provided upon request to the person requesting the copies.