How to Search the Chama Court Docket
Check the court name at the top of the citation before anything else. That single line routes your case. A village ordinance ticket or municipal violation belongs with Chama Municipal Court. State-law traffic, DWI, misdemeanor, limited civil, and preliminary felony matters may sit in Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court instead. Both courts share the town of Chama. So rely on the court name, not just the mailing address. That tells you which clerk to call. New Mexico Case Lookup works when you enter the full number. Still, the public Chama municipal data it returns is not a promise. It is not a complete live search.
- Copy the Chama court name, citation or case number, violation date, and deadline exactly as they appear on the ticket.
- For Chama Municipal Court, call 575-756-1019 and ask for the case number, current status, next setting, and court procedure.
- For Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court, call 505-984-3975 and request the magistrate case number and calendar information.
- Use the full citation or case number in New Mexico Case Lookup when it is available.
- Confirm the Chama appearance method and date with the court named on the citation before taking action.
Chama Court Name on Citation
The court name printed on a Chama citation is the best routing clue you have. See Chama Municipal Court on the ticket? Call the village court at 299 Fourth Street, Chama, NM 87520, phone 575-756-1019. See Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court instead? That file belongs at the state magistrate location at 2332 Highway 17, Chama, NM 87520. The phone is 505-984-3975. These are two separate Chama venues. Each has its own public contacts and its own case routes. Chama Municipal Court's official listing posts no hours and no judge. There is no docket schedule. There is no live citation search, no payment portal, and no annual case count. Call the court first. Ask whether you must appear in person, send a written request, or pay by a set method. The court simply offers no online search interface. That says nothing about whether a case exists. Some citations carry a case code. Rio Arriba magistrate cases use the location component 117, often written as M-117. A Chama municipal case may show a municipal prefix in older search explanations. Whatever the format, the complete number the court printed is your safest search input.
The Chama Municipal Court
Chama Municipal Court is the office of record for village ordinance and village traffic cases. Find it at 299 Fourth Street, Chama, NM 87520. Mail goes to PO Box 794, and the court phone is 575-756-1019. Ask the clerk for the case number, current status, and next setting. Ask, too, how to pay, contest, inspect, or copy the file. The official state directory is only a contact page, not a docket or payment service. Chama is Rio Arriba County's second incorporated community. It was home to 917 residents in the 2020 Census. Its village court plays a city-level role. It does not take every case that arises in town. A state citation or a higher-court filing follows the venue named in its paperwork. That boundary matters. It is exactly why a Chama court search starts with the citation, not a general search box.
The Village of Chama provides local context for the incorporated community served by the village court.
Chama Court Contacts Compared
The two Chama courts keep different files. Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court handles civil matters under $10,000. It also takes misdemeanors, DWI, traffic, felony preliminary hearings, and weddings. It sits at its own Chama address. Call 505-984-3975. Fax is 575-756-2477, and mail goes to PO Box 538. The two buildings are close. That does not make the village court the right home for a state-law Chama traffic case. The Secretary of State directory also lists Maggie Valdez as Village of Chama municipal clerk, 299 West 4th Street, Chama, NM 87520, phone 575-756-2184. That is a village administrative contact. It does not replace the Chama Municipal Court docket line at 575-756-1019. Call the court number. It handles anything about a citation, a court date, the docket, or a court copy.
| Chama venue | Matters described in research | Docket contact |
|---|---|---|
| Chama Municipal Court, 299 Fourth Street | Village ordinance and village traffic matters | 575-756-1019 |
| Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate, 2332 Highway 17 | State limited-jurisdiction matters, including traffic and DWI | 505-984-3975 |
| Village administrative clerk, 299 West 4th Street | Village administration, not the documented court-docket route | 575-756-2184 |
Keeping these contacts straight prevents a common routing mistake. The court named on the ticket is the office that holds its record.
Chama Court Dates and Settings
Pair the Chama citation with your most recent court notice. A setting is a scheduled court event, nothing more. It is not proof of any result. A reset or continuance can push an earlier date. So the current notice or the named Chama clerk must confirm the active setting. Chama Municipal Court's public contact page shows no calendar. That makes the direct court phone essential. Use it whenever a date is unclear or a notice looks stale. Remote-hearing information from the First District does not make a Chama municipal hearing remote. Ask the specific Chama court. Is your setting in person, by phone, or through a current link? For a magistrate case, Case Lookup offers a summary. The court holding the case still gives the binding appearance instruction.
| Court | Chama Municipal Court or Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court, exactly as named in the case. |
|---|---|
| Date | The current Chama setting date; check the latest notice and clerk confirmation. |
| Time | The listed start or docket-call time for the Chama proceeding. |
| Setting type | For example, arraignment, pretrial, trial, compliance, or another court event. |
| Method | In person, phone, or a current remote method only when the named court confirms it. |
Chama Court-Date Fallback Chain
Start with the citation itself. Read it again, and copy the full number into Case Lookup. Then call whichever Chama court the citation names. That is the fastest fallback chain when no online date can be confirmed. If Chama Municipal Court asks you to come in person, check the hours first. Do that before you drive. The village publishes no official public hours, so a quick call saves a wasted trip. A magistrate court case works differently. Call the separate state phone. Ask for the calendar date, the current case status, and any courtroom instructions you will need at the door.
Older files and missing results deserve a few direct questions. Ask the clerk whether the case predates public electronic records. Ask whether it is restricted. Ask whether it was filed in the other Chama venue. The court can also tell you whether a public docket may be inspected. It can say whether copies exist. Do not count on a public terminal, though. Chama municipal material states no such policy. In the end, the court on the citation is the authority. The public municipal listing carries no live calendar.
Chama Traffic Tickets
Route a Chama traffic ticket by the court printed on the citation. Village ordinance and municipal traffic cases belong to Chama Municipal Court. State-law traffic and DWI matters can name another court. That court is Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court. Those matters go to the magistrate clerk instead. The citation tells you the court, the deadline, and the case clue. Chama itself offers no official municipal online docket, citation search, or payment button.
Cross-check by running the full citation or case number through Case Lookup. Is the result thin or missing? Pick up the phone and call the Chama court listed on the ticket. Two questions matter most. Must payment or appearance happen in person? Does the court have a current contest procedure? A statewide summary system does not mean a Chama case can be settled on a website.
Fees are another gap. Chama publishes no local traffic-fee schedule and no photo-enforcement portal, so the court must confirm the amount, the deadline, and the procedure for your exact case. For anything not published online, the citation and the clerk remain the reliable route.
Chama Court and MVD Records
A Chama court file and a New Mexico MVD file are two different records. Two different offices hold them. The Chama court record can show the citation, the setting, the plea, the disposition, and any order. MVD keeps its own licensing record. A court may report a failure-to-appear. A later compliance event may also be reported. Entries may then surface in both systems. Even so, the court case must be requested from the court, and any driver record from MVD.
Do not mistake county eRecords for a court docket. The Rio Arriba County Clerk archive and its eRecords route handles recordings. It is not the municipal or magistrate docket in Chama. Want a specific Chama court event? Ask the specific court for the docket or register of actions. Bring the full case number.
One caution about summaries. A public Chama case summary may leave out document images or restricted matter. The court can explain whether a public copy exists. It can also say whether the item you want is a docket entry, a filed document, a certified copy, or something protected from disclosure.
Where Chama Cases End Up
The Chama municipal path is Chama Municipal Court → an applicable municipal appeal or receiving court → First Judicial District Court when a district case exists. The state path is separate: Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court → an applicable state appellate or transfer route. Those arrows describe possible court routes, not an automatic movement of every Chama case.
Docket flow: Chama Municipal Court › applicable municipal appeal or receiving court › First Judicial District Court, Rio Arriba County
A case sitting in First Judicial District Court lands in Tierra Amarilla. The Rio Arriba District Courthouse clerk's office holds the district file. The phone is 505-455-8335. Rio Arriba district numbers carry the 117 location code, in the form D-117-CR-year-sequence. Want the wider county picture? The Rio Arriba County court docket reference maps the full court structure.
Chama Magistrate Court Scope
The Chama magistrate court is a state limited-jurisdiction venue. It is not an annex of the village court. Its published scope covers traffic, DWI, misdemeanors, and civil matters under $10,000. Felony preliminary hearings and weddings are included too. Any Chama matter that names the magistrate court belongs with that clerk. Search and request it there. This holds even when the event happened inside village limits.
For a magistrate case, enter the full M-117 number in Case Lookup. Compare the summary against your current notice. Remember what Case Lookup is. It is a free public summary system, not a complete document archive. A registered re:SearchNM account may open more document access where rules allow. For local status, event details, and copies, the Chama magistrate clerk remains the best source. Access rules still apply.
The 2020 incorporated-place table identifies Chama among Rio Arriba County's two incorporated communities.
Public Access to Chama Court Records
Chama court records are generally open under New Mexico's public-record rules. Sealed, confidential, protected, and restricted material stays off limits. Rule 1-079 NMRA places docket and register-of-actions entries within court records. It shields identifiers such as most Social Security, financial-account, and driver-license numbers. Send a public Chama request to the court that actually holds the file. Do not send it to some other office.
A targeted Judiciary request helps when the direct Chama route falls short. Name Chama Municipal Court or Rio Arriba County-CC Magistrate Court as the court or department. Give the case number. Describe the public docket, order, or document you want. Be aware of the limits. A request cannot override a protected record. That covers juvenile, sealed, and other restricted material. The custodian decides what public material may be inspected or copied.
Key Rules:
NMSA 1978 §§14-2-1 through 14-2-12 are New Mexico's Inspection of Public Records Act provisions governing public records.
NMSA 1978 §14-2-8 describes written request mechanics and a reasonable record description.
Rule 1-079 NMRA addresses public court records, protected information, and restricted access.
Chama IPRA Record Route
Keep a Chama records request narrow from the start. Say exactly what you want: the public docket or register of actions, a specific order or disposition, a named filing, or a certified copy. Add the Chama case number or citation, the court's name, and the document date if you know it. A municipal case sometimes moves to another court. When that happens, send the receiving custodian both the old citation and the new case number.
Fees vary by which court holds the record. Call Chama Municipal Court first. Confirm its copy fee, payment method, and how it delivers records. The court posts no local municipal fee schedule. For a district record, First Judicial District guidance sets copying at 35 cents per page. Local packet evidence shows 35 cents per page plus $1.50 per certification. Check current terms with whichever court actually holds the Chama record before mailing any payment.
Prefer a formal written route? Use the Judiciary IPRA form. It gathers your contact information, the case number, the record type, and a reasonably particular description. Pick the right Chama court or department before submitting. Filing the form opens a request channel only. It does not guarantee release of restricted material.