Chapter 66, Chapter 66

A. It is unlawful for a person to knowingly: (1) fail to install an airbag in a motor vehicle after representing to another person that the person will install an airbag in the motor vehicle; (2) install or reinstall a counterfeit or nonfunctional airbag in a motor vehicle; (3) i…

The department shall file each application received for registration of a vehicle. When satisfied as to the genuineness and regularity of the application and that the applicant is entitled to register the vehicle and to the issuance of a certificate of title, the department shall…

condition. A. A person shall not drive or move on any highway any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or pole trailer or any combination thereof unless the equipment upon every vehicle is in good working order and adjustment as required in the Motor Vehicle Code and the vehicle i…

service companies must be licensed; presumption of conducting business. A. A person, unless licensed to do so by the department, shall not carry on or conduct the active trade or business of: (1) a dealer in motor vehicles of a type subject to registration pursuant to the Motor V…

business. A. A person desiring to engage in the business of wrecking or dismantling vehicles for the purpose of reselling parts or scrap material shall apply to the department for an auto recycler license. A person possessing three or more wrecked, dismantled or partially wrecked…

A. Prior to taking actual possession of a vehicle that an auto recycler has purchased, the auto recycler shall verify with the department if the vehicle has been reported stolen by checking an electronic system maintained by the department. The auto recycler shall include the sel…

A. Except for recreational vehicles, the department, upon receiving an initial nonfranchise dealership application accompanied by the required fee and when satisfied that the applicant has completed eight hours of education as approved by the department and complies with the laws…

A. A dealer, as defined in Section 66-1-4.4 NMSA 1978, shall apply to and be issued by the department a license to deal in recreational vehicles if the department finds the applicant is in compliance with department rules regarding registration of vehicles, certificates of title …

A. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a New Mexico licensed dealer or the holder of a security interest filed pursuant to Section 66-3-201 NMSA 1978 shall not sell a vehicle or offer a motor vehicle for sale at a location other than the licensed dealer's established pl…

license or use of temporary permits; hearing; appeal. A. The department may refuse to issue a license for just cause and may cancel or suspend a license or use of a temporary registration permit, demonstration permit or transport permit for violation of the Motor Vehicle Code. Th…

The provisions of the Criminal Offender Employment Act [28-2-1 to 28-2-6 NMSA 1978] govern any consideration of criminal records required or permitted by Sections 66-4-1 through 66-4-9 NMSA 1978. History: 1953 Comp., § 64-4-4, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 217; 1999, ch. 122, §…

A. A dealer licensee shall maintain a record in a form prescribed by the department of every vehicle of a type subject to registration pursuant to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code [66-1-1 NMSA 1978] that is bought, sold or exchanged by the licensee or received by the lice…

A. No license shall be issued to a dealer or auto recycler unless an established place of business as defined in the Motor Vehicle Code [66-1-1 NMSA 1978] is maintained by the dealer or auto recycler. Each license to carry on or conduct the business of a dealer or auto recycler b…

service companies; dealers of motorcycles only; bond. A. Before issuance of any dealer's license, wholesaler's license, distributor's license, auto recycler's license or title service company license, the applicant shall procure and file with the department a corporate surety bon…

sections of the Motor Vehicle Code. A. Any person violating any provision of Sections 66-3-119, 66-3-121, 66-3-123 through 66-3-125, 66-4-1 through 66-4-7 and 66-4-9 NMSA 1978 or Section 1 [66-4-10 NMSA 1978] of this 2018 act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a …

As used in Sections 66-5-8 and 66-5-9 NMSA 1978, "traffic violation" means: A. failure to obey traffic-control devices, as provided in Section 66-7-104 NMSA 1978; B. failure to obey traffic-control signals, as provided in Section 66-7-105 NMSA 1978; C. speeding, as provided in Se…

As used in Sections 66-5-25, 66-5-26, 66-5-30 and 66-8-102 NMSA 1978, "tribe" means an Indian nation, tribe or pueblo that is located wholly or partially in New Mexico and that has executed an intergovernmental agreement with the state pursuant to Section 66-5-27.1 NMSA 1978. His…

A. Within the forms prescribed by the department for applications and licenses of drivers of motor vehicles, a space shall be provided to show whether the applicant is a donor as provided in the Jonathan Spradling Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act [Chapter 24, Article 6B NMSA 1…

on secretary of state in accident cases.] That the acceptance by nonresidents of the rights and privileges conferred by existing laws to operate motor vehicles on the public highways of the state of New Mexico, or the operation by a nonresident, or his authorized chauffeur, or ag…

operator.] The manner of procuring and serving process in any cause, brought pursuant to the preceding section [66-5-103 NMSA 1978], shall be as follows, to wit: The plaintiff shall file a verified complaint in one of the district courts of the state, showing a cause of action ag…

A. The application of any person under the age of eighteen years for an instruction permit, provisional license or driver's license shall be signed and verified by the father, mother or guardian or, in the event there is no parent or guardian, by another responsible adult who is …

Any person who has signed the application of a minor for an instruction permit, a driver's license or provisional license may thereafter file with the division a verified written request that the license of the minor so granted be canceled. Thereupon, the division shall cancel th…

minor's application. The division upon receipt of satisfactory evidence of the death of the person who signed the application of a minor for an instruction permit, a driver's license or provisional license shall cancel the license and shall not issue a new license until such time…

A. The department shall examine every first-time applicant for a driver's license or a motorcycle endorsement and may examine other applicants for a driver's license or motorcycle endorsement. The examination shall include a test of the applicant's ability to read and understand …

A. The department shall, upon payment of the required fee, issue to every qualified applicant a license as applied for. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the license shall bear the applicant's full legal name; date of birth; sex; current New Mexico residence add…

Every licensee shall, as a condition of holding a driver's license, agree to notify the director of any change in his physical or mental condition that would impair the licensee's ability to operate a vehicle. History: 1978 Comp., § 66-5-15.1, enacted by Laws 1989, ch. 318, § 16.

be accepted by federal agencies for official federal purposes; reimbursement. A. No later than six months from the effective date of this 2016 act, the department shall establish and begin to issue to qualified applicants licenses and identification cards that meet federal requir…

A. A standard driver's license or identification card shall be accepted by every state and local public agency and every public accommodation for all of the purposes for which such public agency or public accommodation would accept a REAL ID-compliant driver's license or identifi…

Every licensee shall have the licensee's driver's license in its physical form in the licensee's immediate possession at all times when operating a motor vehicle and shall display the license in its physical form upon demand of a magistrate, a peace officer or a field deputy or i…

In any criminal prosecution, civil action or administrative proceeding charging violation of a statute, ordinance or regulation concerning the sale, consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages involving minors, proof that the person charged, in good faith, demanded and was s…

A. A person who uses or possesses an altered, forged or fictitious driver's license, permit or identification card is guilty of a misdemeanor. B. A person who alters or forges a driver's license, permit or identification card or who makes a fictitious driver's license, permit or …

A. The division, upon issuing a license, may, whenever good cause appears, impose restrictions, including the shortening of the licensure period suitable to the licensee's driving ability with respect to the type of or special mechanical control devices required on a motor vehicl…

A. Except those expressly exempted from the Motor Vehicle Code, no person shall drive any motor vehicle, neighborhood electric car or moped upon a highway in this state unless the person: (1) holds a valid license issued under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Code; and (2) has…

applicability. A. Every male citizen of the state of New Mexico and every other male person residing in the state of New Mexico who, on the day or days fixed for the first or any subsequent Selective Service Act registration, is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six shall c…

In the event that a permit or driver's license issued under the provisions of this article is lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed, or in the event of a name or address change, the person to whom the permit or driver's license was issued may, upon payment of the required fee, obt…

Sections 66-5-201 through 66-5-239 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act". History: 1953 Comp., § 64-5-201, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 277; 1983, ch. 318, § 1.

The legislature is aware that motor vehicle accidents in New Mexico can result in catastrophic financial hardship. The purpose of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act is to require residents of New Mexico who own and operate motor vehicles upon the highways of the state eit…

The director shall: A. administer and enforce the provisions of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act and may make rules and regulations necessary for its administration; B. receive and consider any pertinent information upon request of persons aggrieved by his orders or act…

An owner of a motor vehicle registered in New Mexico who is aggrieved by the decision of the secretary made under the provisions of the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act may appeal to the administrative hearings office for a hearing to be held within twenty days after the re…

financial responsibility; penalties. A. No owner shall permit the operation of an uninsured motor vehicle, or a motor vehicle for which evidence of financial responsibility as was affirmed to the department is not currently valid, upon the streets or highways of New Mexico unless…

followed at time of accident; subsequent procedures; insurer notification requirements; suspension procedures. A. When a law enforcement officer issues a driver who is involved in an accident a citation for failure to comply with the provisions of the Mandatory Financial Responsi…

A. A motor vehicle insurance policy shall: (1) designate by explicit description or by appropriate reference all motor vehicles to which coverage is to be granted; and (2) insure the person named in the policy and a person using any such motor vehicle with the express or implied …

responsibility prohibited; suspension required. A. The department shall not issue or renew the registration for any motor vehicle not covered by a motor vehicle insurance policy or by evidence of financial responsibility currently valid meeting the requirements of the laws of New…

The following motor vehicles are exempt from the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act: A. a motor vehicle owned by the United States government, any state or any political subdivision of a state; B. an implement of husbandry or special mobile equipment that is only incidentally…

A. The superintendent of insurance shall issue a certificate of self-insurance to any applicant with motor vehicles registered in his name in this state, provided that the applicant has met the same criteria for self-insurance as set by the superintendent of insurance for workmen…

conditions. "Evidence of financial responsibility," as used in the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act, means evidence of the ability to respond in damages for liability, on account of accidents occurring subsequent to the effective date of the evidence, arising out of the own…

"Judgment," as used in the Mandatory Financial Responsibility Act, means any judgment which becomes final by expiration without appeal of the time within which an appeal might have been perfected or by final affirmation on appeal rendered by a court of competent jurisdiction of a…

issuance period; eight-year issuance period; renewal. A. Except as provided in Subsections B through H of this section and Sections 66-5- 19 and 66-5-67 NMSA 1978, all licenses shall be issued for a period of four years, and each license shall expire four years after the effectiv…

A. Unless the license is suspended, canceled or revoked as provided by law, a driver's license issued by this state that is held by a person who is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States and is absent from this state, or is in this state only on leave status, rem…

A. Any two or more of the persons involved in or affected by a motor vehicle accident may at any time enter into a written settlement agreement for the payment of an agreed amount with respect to all claims of any of the persons because of bodily injury to or the death of any per…