Socorro County Marriage Licenses
Socorro County marriage licenses are county clerk records. The Socorro County Clerk handles licenses for marriages within Socorro County, along with recorded county documents such as deeds, mortgages, ordinances, and resolutions. The current County Clerk listed in the research is Michelle Paz. The clerk office is at 200 Church St., Socorro, NM 87801, with mailing through P.O. Box I, Socorro, NM 87801. The clerk phone is 575-835-0423 x2504, and the listed email is mpaz@co.socorro.nm.us.
The New Mexico Department of Health records guidance says marriage licenses are obtained from the county clerk where the license was issued. That means a marriage that used a Socorro County license should be directed to the Socorro County Clerk, not the District Court Clerk and not the state court case system. No official Socorro County online marriage-record search portal or online marriage-copy request form was located in the source material, so the practical access channels are in person, phone, mail or email contact with the clerk, and county IPRA when a county-held public record request is appropriate.
Socorro County Clerk
Clerk: Michelle Paz
200 Church St.
Socorro, NM 87801
Mailing: P.O. Box I, Socorro, NM 87801
575-835-0423 x2504
mpaz@co.socorro.nm.us
Apply for Socorro County Marriage
A marriage-license request should begin with the County Clerk because the clerk issues, acknowledges, and records the license. The research did not locate a local online application, appointment tool, waiting-period notice, identification checklist, or certified-copy fee schedule beyond the license fee. Use direct clerk contact for current application logistics before traveling, especially if both applicants need to appear, if a prior-marriage document is involved, or if a certified copy is needed after the ceremony.
- Contact the Socorro County Clerk by phone, email, mail, or in person to confirm current marriage-license application requirements.
- Ask what identification, prior-marriage information, and payment methods the clerk currently accepts for a Socorro County marriage license.
- Complete the license process through the County Clerk, not the District Court Clerk, because the license is a county record.
- Pay the marriage-license fee set by New Mexico law for issuing, acknowledging, and recording the license and certificate.
- After the marriage, request any certified license or certificate copy from the Socorro County Clerk where the license was issued.
For local context, the New Mexico Department of Health records guidance points people back to the issuing county clerk for marriage licenses. That state guidance matters because it prevents a common routing error: divorce decrees and marriage licenses do not live in the same office.
Socorro County Marriage Request Fields
The research did not capture a Socorro County online marriage application form, so the field list is framed as a request inventory rather than a promise that the clerk uses a specific web form. These are the details a requester should be ready to provide or verify when asking the County Clerk about a license, a recorded certificate, or a certified copy. The clerk page also warns that clerks do not conduct searches and cannot give legal advice, so a request should identify the record as clearly as possible.
| Field or detail | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Names of both spouses | Record identification | Use full names and any prior or maiden names if they help locate the license. |
| Approximate marriage date | Record identification | A date range helps when the exact date is unknown. |
| County of license | Routing | Use Socorro County only if the license was issued there. |
| Requester name and contact | Response | Include mailing address, phone, and email when asking for a copy or fee quote. |
| Copy type | Fulfillment | State whether a plain copy, certified copy, or status confirmation is needed. |
| Delivery method | Fulfillment | Ask whether pickup, mail return, or another method is available. |
Socorro County Marriage Fees
New Mexico's 2025 legislation set the marriage-license fee at a fixed amount for issuing, acknowledging, and recording a marriage license and certificate. Other local copy or certification charges for marriage records were not captured from the official Socorro County Clerk page reviewed for this build. For divorce records, no official Socorro District Court copy-fee table was located in the research, so decree-copy costs should be confirmed with the court before sending payment.
| Item | Amount | Record custodian |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | $55 | Socorro County Clerk |
| Certified marriage record copy | Fee not located in official research | Socorro County Clerk |
| Divorce filing | Fee not located in official research | Socorro County District Court |
| Certified divorce decree copy | Fee not located in official research | Socorro County District Court |
New Mexico SB0290 is the captured source for the marriage-license fee. Do not use the probate fee schedule or an MVD fee table as a substitute for marriage or divorce copies because those fees belong to other record types.
Search Socorro County Marriage Records
Because no official local online marriage-record search portal was located, the County Clerk is the front door for Socorro County marriage records. A person who needs a license copy should call, email, write, or visit the clerk and provide the names, date, and license-county facts that allow staff to identify the record. The county clerk's role is different from a commercial search service. The county page specifically warns that clerks do not conduct searches and cannot give legal advice, so requests should be narrow and record-focused.
The county public-record route is separate from court IPRA. For county-held public records, Socorro County lists records custodian Andrew Lotrich at 198 Neel Ave., Socorro, NM 87801, with mailing at P.O. Box D, phone 575-835-0589, and fax 575-835-4629. The county says written requests may be made in person, by mail, by email, or by fax, and oral requests are also allowed. Inspection should be immediate or as soon as practicable, no later than 15 calendar days, with a timing response if records are not provided within three business days.
The visual reference is sourced from the New Mexico Courts divorce forms page, which is useful because divorce records use court forms rather than the county clerk marriage-license process.
The source image reinforces the routing split: marriage-license copies go through the Socorro County Clerk, while divorce filings and decrees are handled as District Court domestic-relations records.
Note: If the marriage license was issued in another New Mexico county, contact that county clerk instead of Socorro County.
Find Socorro County Divorce Records
Socorro County divorce records are District Court records. The District Court is the general-jurisdiction trial court for domestic relations matters in Socorro County, and the New Mexico Department of Health guidance says divorce decrees are obtained from the district court where filed. For Socorro County, the District Court address is 200 Church St., Socorro, NM 87801, with phone 575-835-0050 ext. 12, fax 575-838-5217, mailing at P.O. Drawer 1129, and public counter hours Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Public case-status checks can start in New Mexico Case Lookup or registered re:SearchNM access, but Case Lookup is not a document download system. It may show case information, court location, filing data, hearings, and case status where public access permits. A certified divorce decree still comes from the District Court clerk for the filed case. Family matters may also have restricted details, especially when protected identifiers, children, sealed material, or protection-order issues are involved.
| Access channel | Use for divorce records | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Case Lookup | Public case-status and party/case-number searches | No downloadable documents; some family details are restricted. |
| re:SearchNM | Registered access with possible document visibility | Access depends on account type, case relationship, and rules. |
| District Court Clerk | Decree copies, certified copies, older records, and corrections | Contact the court where the case was filed. |
| Court IPRA | Judiciary records request channel | Not for marriage licenses or county administrative records. |
Socorro County Divorce Forms
The New Mexico Courts divorce forms page supplies statewide forms for self-represented divorce filings. These forms help identify what information may appear in a divorce case file, but choosing a form or deciding what to file is a legal decision. The District Court Clerk can accept filings and provide copies of filed records, but clerks cannot give legal advice. The two petition forms in the research also show why divorce records with children can contain more sensitive family and custody information than a no-children divorce.
| Form | Official source | Fields captured in research |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic Relations Information Sheet 4A-101 | New Mexico Courts PDF | Party identifying information, contact details, and private data used by the court. |
| Petition for Dissolution without Children 4A-102 | New Mexico Courts PDF | County, judicial district, parties, residency, marriage date/place, incompatibility, property, debts, military status, alimony, former-name request, and signature. |
| Petition for Dissolution with Children 4A-103 | New Mexico Courts PDF | Core divorce facts plus child names, ages, pregnancy status, home-state jurisdiction, addresses, five-year residence history, custody requests, and support issues. |
Socorro County Divorce Privacy
The Domestic Relations Information Sheet is privacy-sensitive and is not filed in the public case file according to the research. That matters because divorce paperwork can include Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, child information, and other protected details. Public online access is narrower than clerk-counter access, and New Mexico court access rules protect sealed records, protected identifiers, juvenile material, order-of-protection cases, and other restricted categories.
Custody and child-related divorce files deserve special care. A divorce with children may include residence history, custody requests, child-support facts, and claims involving other proceedings or third-party custody and visitation. A public Socorro County divorce record may show the case exists while withholding sensitive forms or data. For a certified decree or complete access question, use the District Court Clerk, not the County Clerk. For broader domestic-relations case information, the Socorro County court records route explains statewide court case lookup limits.
Note: A missing online divorce result does not prove no case exists because older, sealed, restricted, or non-displayed court records may require direct court contact.
Certified Socorro County Copies
Certified copies must come from the office that holds the source record. A certified Socorro County marriage license or certificate should be requested from the County Clerk if the license was issued in Socorro County. A certified divorce decree should be requested from the Socorro County District Court if the divorce was filed there. A requester should be ready to provide names, approximate date, case number or license details if known, copy type, delivery method, and contact information.
For a divorce decree, start with the case number if it is known. If it is not known, a Case Lookup name search may help find a public case number, using Socorro District Court location code 725 where the court-location field is available. For a marriage record, the best first step is direct clerk contact because the research did not locate a local online marriage database. In both settings, ask for the current copy fee before mailing a check or money order.