About the Bernalillo County Clerk
Bernalillo County was carved out in 1852 by New Mexico's territorial legislature and originally took its name from the town of Bernalillo, a former Spanish colonial outpost along the Rio Grande that served as the first county seat. As Albuquerque -- founded in 1706 as a villa named for the Duke of Alburquerque, a Spanish viceroy -- outgrew its namesake town through the late 1800s, the county seat shifted south to follow the population and rail traffic. Today Bernalillo County is by far the most populous in New Mexico, anchoring the Albuquerque metro area and the state's economic, medical, and higher-education center around the University of New Mexico and Sandia National Laboratories. The county stretches from the Sandia Mountains on the east down through the Rio Grande valley, taking in both dense urban neighborhoods and older agricultural valley communities that still reflect its acequia-irrigated farming past.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Bernalillo County, this is the Bernalillo County Clerk that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Albuquerque (county seat), Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, Tijeras.
Unincorporated communities: South Valley, North Valley, Sandia Heights, Carnuel.
Office Details
Address: 415 Silver Ave SW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Phone: (505) 468-1290
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM (recording and filing counter closes for lunch from 12:00 PM - 1:15 PM)
Recording Fee: New Mexico charges a flat, statute-set recording fee per document, with an added fee once a document runs past a set number of index entries -- not a percentage of the property's value. Contact the county clerk's office for current amounts.
E-recording: Bernalillo County accepts electronic recording of deeds and other real property documents through both Simplifile and CSC (Corporation Service Company).
Good to know before you go: Since 2022 the recording counter has closed to the public over lunch, noon to 1:15 p.m. on weekdays -- factor that into a document drop-off or pickup instead of expecting continuous 8-to-5 service.
How to File a Document
- Sign in Front of a Notary -- In Person or Remotely: New Mexico requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public before the Bernalillo County Clerk will accept a deed for recording. New Mexico has permitted remote online notarization on a permanent basis since January 1, 2022, under the state's Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (NMSA 1978, Sections 14-14A-1 to 14-14A-32) -- the notary handling it must be commissioned and physically located in New Mexico at the time, even if you're signing from somewhere else.
- Attach a Full Legal Description, Not Just an Address: A street address alone won't satisfy New Mexico's requirements -- the deed needs the property's actual legal description (a metes-and-bounds description, a government survey reference, or a platted lot and block, depending on how the parcel was originally surveyed and subdivided), plus a reference to the prior deed that brought the property into the grantor's name, to keep the chain of title intact. You can usually copy the legal description directly from the deed that transferred the property to you.
- Get Both Spouses to Sign if It's Community Property: New Mexico is a community property state, and state law (NMSA 1978, Section 40-3-13) generally requires both spouses to join in a deed transferring community real property -- even when only one spouse's name appears on the title. Skipping the second signature doesn't necessarily void the transfer outright, but it leaves the deed open to being challenged, so it's worth confirming with the Bernalillo County Clerk or an attorney whether your specific situation calls for both signatures before you file.
- File a Real Property Transfer Declaration Affidavit With the Assessor: For most residential property transfers, New Mexico law (NMSA 1978, Section 7-38-12.1) also requires a separate Real Property Transfer Declaration Affidavit to be filed with the county assessor's office -- not the Bernalillo County Clerk -- within thirty days of recording the deed. It's a distinct step from recording itself, used to keep the assessor's records current for property tax purposes, and the assessor's office can supply the current form.
- Record With the County Clerk: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed, notarized deed with the Bernalillo County Clerk for the county where the property sits. New Mexico charges a flat, statute-set recording fee per document, with an added fee once a document runs past a set number of index entries -- never a percentage of the property's value -- and the state has no separate real estate transfer tax on top of it. The first page needs roughly an inch and a half of blank space at the top for the clerk's recording stamp, with the document's title placed just below it.
Still Have Questions About Filing With the Bernalillo County Clerk?
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Other Counties in New Mexico
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
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