New Mexico

Secretary of State

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Tell Us What You Think
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • Events
  • Voter Information
  • Bureau of Elections Resources
  • Candidates, Lobbyists, Political Committees
  • Corporations
  • Business Services
  • Kids' Corner
  • Voter Registration
    • NMVote.org-Your Voter Information Portal
    • Register to Vote
    • Change Your Voter Registration
    • Cancelling Voter Registration
    • Changing Party Affiliation
    • Voter Registration Agents
    • Voter Registration Statistics
    • ERIC Project FAQs
  • Voting
    • Absentee & Early Voting
    • Military and Overseas Voters
    • Voters with Disabilities
    • Native American Voting Task Force
      • Native American Election Information Program
    • Voter Bill of Rights
  • Election and Party Information
    • NM Political Party Information
  • Find My Voter Registration
    • Find My Voter Registration
    • Voter Complaint
    • County Clerk Information
Popular Pages:
  • NMVote.org - Your Voter Information Portal427
  • Voter Registration Information343
  • 23 NM Federally Recognized Tribes in NM Counties216
  • County Clerk Information107
  • Absentee and Early Voting100
  • Voter Information Overview85
  • List of 2019 Special Elections93
  • Voter Registration60
  • Native American Languages in New Mexico32
  • Election, Ethics, and Voter Complaints35
  • Election Data
    • Election Results
    • Voter Data Information
    • Voter Data Request Form
    • Maps
  • Election Administration
    • Voting System Certification Information
    • Governmental Conduct Act
    • NM Administrative Rules
    • NM Election Handbook
    • NM Constitution
    • Local Election Act Information
  • Election Related Links
    • Follow The Money
    • Election Assistance Commission
    • Southwest Voter Registration Education Project
    • U. S. Census Bureau
  • Legislation & Resources
    • Signed & Chaptered Bills
    • Legislative Information
    • Election Resources
    • NM Constitution
Popular Pages:
  • Public Records Request64
  • Financial Disclosures Overview46
  • Roster of Professional Engineers and Professional Surveyors27
  • Financial Disclosures6
  • Candidates
    • 2018 Candidate Information
    • Primary & General Election Candidacy FAQs
    • Search or File Campaign Finance Reports
    • New Mexico Public Financing Guide for the 2018 Election Cycle
    • Ethics Complaint
    • Campaign Finance Reporting Information
    • Financial Disclosures
    • Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule
  • Lobbyists
    • Lobbyist Information
    • Search Lobbyist Index
    • Lobbyist Forms
    • Search or File Campaign Finance Reports
    • Lobbyist Guide
    • Harassment and Discrimation Resources
    • Lobbyist Registration Form Search
  • Political Committees
    • Political Committee Forms
    • Campaign Reporting Act
    • Search or File Campaign Finance Reports
    • Ethics Complaint
    • Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule
    • Campaign Finance Reporting Information
    • Independent Expenditures
  • NM Campaign Finance Information System
    • Search or File Campaign Finance Reports
    • Training Resources
    • Campaign Finance Reporting Information
    • Campaign Finance Random Report Examination
Popular Pages:
  • Campaign Finance Reporting Info143
  • 2018 Candidate Information90
  • Primary & General Election Candidacy FAQs59
  • Political Action Committee Information40
  • Ethics Educational Resources3
  • E-File & Online Services
    • Search Corporations and LLC's
    • E-File Corporate Report
    • E-File Domestic (NM) Limited Liability Company Formation
    • Limited Liability Company Address Change
    • Good Standing & Status Certificates
    • Request Copies
  • Domestic
    • Limited Liability Company (LLC)
    • Profit
    • Nonprofit
    • Domestic Cooperative Associations
    • Good Standing & Status Certificates
      • Sanitary Project Associations
    • Application For Reinstatement
    • Application For Tax Clearance
    • Cooperative Liscense Renewals
  • Foreign
    • Limited Liability Company (LLC)
    • Profit
    • Nonprofit
    • Foreign Cooperative Association
    • Business Trusts
    • Good Standing & Status Certificates
    • Application for Reinstatement
    • Application for Tax Clearance
    • Cooperative License Renewals
  • Resources
    • About Us/Corporations Overview
    • NM Corporation Statutes
    • FAQs
    • Business Resources
    • Family Friendly New Mexico
    • Customer Service Support
    • Contact Us
    • Harassment and Discrimination Resources
Popular Pages:
  • Corporations6631
  • NM Domestic LLC2322
  • Good Standing and Status Certificate Information and Fees996
  • Business Services Overview609
  • Domestic NM For Nonprofit Corp612
  • Domestic NM For Profit Corp504
  • Foreign For Profit Corp501
  • Foreign LLC405
  • Business Services Overview337
  • Corporation Statutes336
  • Notary Public
    • Qualifications and Information
    • Notary Forms
    • Notary Fees
    • E-Notarization
    • Notary Public Handbook
    • Notary Public Training Video
    • Apostille Information
    • Apostillas y Certificados
    • Education and Resources
    • Notary Search
  • UCC's
    • UCC Home
    • UCC Forms
    • File a UCC Online
    • UCC Online Searches and Images
  • Partnerships
    • Information on Partnerships
    • Partnership Search
    • Partnership Forms
  • Other Business Services
    • Service of Process
    • Trademark Forms/Instructions
    • Trademark FAQs
    • Agricultural Liens
    • Oath of Office
    • Facsimile Signatures
    • Boards and Commissions
    • Confidential Address Program
    • Uniform Athletes Agent Act
    • Trademark Search
Popular Pages:
  • Corporations6632
  • NM Domestic LLC2322
  • Good Standing and Status Certificate Information and Fees996
  • Business Services Overview609
  • Domestic NM For Nonprofit Corp612
  • Domestic NM For Profit Corp504
  • Foreign For Profit Corp501
  • Foreign LLC405
  • Business Services Overview337
  • Corporation Statutes336
  • History
    • Hispanic Culture
    • Native Americans
    • Past Secretaries of State
  • Government
    • Governor
    • Lieutenant Governor
    • Secretary of State
    • Government
  • State Symbols & Songs
    • State Symbols
    • State Songs
  • Other Links
    • Kid's Corner Overview
    • Geography
    • Coloring Book
Popular Pages:
  • State Symbols234
  • Hispanic Culture40
  • Native Americans31
  • New Mexico Government19
  • State Songs19
  • Coloring Book18
  • Secretary of State11
  • Past NM Secretaries of State6
  • Geography6
  • Government5
  • Office of the Secretary of State
  • Meet the Secretary
  • Duties of the Secretary
  • Great Seal of New Mexico
  • Divisions
  • Meet the Management Staff

Quick Contact

Feel free to give us a call and we will be happy to assist you with any questions or concerns.

Tell us what you think

Business Services

Operations Phone: 505.827.3614
Operations Fax: 505.827.3611
Corporations Phone: 505.827.4508
Corporations Fax: 505.827.4387

Elections

Phone: 505.827.3600
Fax: 505.827.8403
Toll Free: 1.800.477.3632

Hours

8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Monday through Friday

Follow Us


Home > About Us > Duties of the Secretary

The Secretary of State is an elected state office. When the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are out of state, the Secretary of State must step in and perform the functions of the Governor. The Secretary of State is the keeper of the Great Seal of the State of New Mexico, and affixes the seal to all commissions issued in the name of the Governor’s Office.

At the start of each new legislative session, the Secretary of State (SOS) calls the House of Representatives to order, and presides over the body until a new Speaker of the House is elected. In addition to these statutory duties, the Secretary of State is responsible for administering the Office of the Secretary of State. The primary role is the state's chief election officer.

The Secretary of State oversees the entire election process, which includes maintaining a computerized listing of the state's registered voters, testing and evaluating voting machines, and certifying precinct boundary maps. With the passage of the 1993 Governmental Conduct Act, the agency assumed the role of state government ethics regulator.  Those duties include regulating lobbyist activity, the reporting of campaign finances by candidates for public office and political action committees, the required filing of financial disclosures by candidates and state officials, plus the filing of a general code of conduct for the employees under their supervision by each elected statewide executive branch public officer and the Legislative Council.

The Secretary of State maintains records vital to commerce and industry in New Mexico.  Trademarks and service marks used in New Mexico are registered in the Office of the Secretary of State.  Uniform Commercial Code and the records of loans secured through financial institutions with the use of collateral must be filed with the SOS.  All persons who wish to serve as a notary public must register with the Secretary of State's Office. On-line access is available to and the records of loans secured through financial institutions with the use of collateral must be filed with the SOS.  On-line access is available to UCC filings, as is the list of registered lobbyists. The Secretary of State's on-line service will be expanded to include other election and commercial databases.

The Secretary of State serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) and Board Member of State Records and Archives.

The Secretary of State’s Office also:

  • Provides the depository for legislative journals, and maintains records of all bills passed by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor;
  • Records and files referendum petitions signed by qualified electors disapproving of laws enacted during the last preceding legislative session;
  • Prior to an election, ensures that proposed amendments to the New Mexico Constitution are published in at least one newspaper in every county in the state of New Mexico for four consecutive weeks, in both English and Spanish (when newspapers in both languages are published in such counties);
  • Serves as the statutory agent for service of process in cases where the designated agent of a domestic corporation or foreign corporation doing business in the state dies, resigns, leaves the state, or cannot be found.

For further information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page.

New Mexico Office of the Secretary of State
New Mexico Capitol Annex North / 325 Don Gaspar, Suite 300 / Santa Fe, NM 87501
 
Disclaimer - A Word of Warning
Despite our good faith efforts to be accurate, these pages and our databases may contain inadvertent errors. Please email us immediately if you notice an error. Also, please remember that website information is not a substitute for researching the law or for the advice of a competent attorney. 

© 2012 - 2019 New Mexico Secretary of State

SOS Webmaster
Loading...