In New Mexico, death records are available for public search. A death record here will likely contain important details about a person's death and life. It will include information about the person's family, such as the person's next of kin. It can also include details about where they lived and even the cause of death. However, it is very important to know that not all records contain this much information. When obtaining the New Mexico state records, these documents may only contain a fraction of information that you may need. Keeping that in mind, it is still worth exploring these records to find out what information is available.

In order to do so, you will need to know where to get this information. In New Mexico, death records were not always collected. In fact, many of these records were not collected until the 1900's. The state began requiring death records to be reported to the state in 1920. At that time, local county clerk's sent information to the state about the person's death and it was recorded at kept. The agency does have some back records dating back to as early as 1889, though. If you are looking for death records from 1889 forward, your first step should be the Bureau of Vital Records.  To do so, you can visit or write to the agency at the following address.

New Mexico Department of Health

Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics

1190 St Francis Drive

PO Box 26110

Santa Fe, New Mexico 87504

To get these records, you will have to pay a fee. This administrative fee is minimal in terms of expense but it is generally required to be paid prior to gaining access to this information. A records search at the state level can take several weeks to complete, especially for records prior to 1920.

If you need any records prior to 1889 or those prior to 1920 in general, you can find them through most county clerk offices. The state did not initially town clerks and then county clerks gathering this information long before it was a requirement by the state to report the information. To find this information, though, you will need to contact the local public health offices in the area where the death occurred. Generally, these records are more detailed and they can answer all of your questions regarding family history. However, a very old records search like this can take a significant amount of time.

For those who need New Mexico death records, it is incredibly important to request this information as soon as possible since it can take several weeks to process. In many situations, death records do answer questions and can point you in new directions for filling out your family history. However, it is very difficult to find records in this region prior to the mid 1800's, just because it was not as inhabited and as established as other regions. Nevertheless, trying to find this information can be an adventure worth taking.

• New Mexico Child Death Rate

• New Mexico Death Certificates & Records

• New Mexico Drunk Driving Death Rate

• New Mexico Fatal Occupational Injuries