Public Records Requests

The New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act provides every person the right to inspect public records of the City of Rio Rancho.

As the Chief Records Custodian for Rio Rancho, the City Clerk provides various options for individuals to exercise their right to inspect public records, as follows: 

A request to inspect public records may be submitted to the Office of the City Clerk orally or in writing.  However, the procedures and penalties prescribed in IPRA apply only to written requests. Requests can be submitted online at cityofrioranchonm.nextrequest.com  (NextRequest is the City’s online record processing software).  Alternatively, requests may be submitted in person or by mail to the Office of the City Clerk, 3200 Civic Center Circle NE, Suite 150, Rio Rancho, New Mexico 87144, by phone at (505) 891-5004 or via e-mail at clerk@rrnm.gov.  A written request must contain the name, address, email address and telephone number of the requester.  The request must identify the records sought with reasonable particularity to enable the records custodian to locate and identify the requested records. Requests for audio and video must specify the report or CAD number or the date and location or time of the incident.  The City of Rio Rancho will not answer questions, compile information or data into a document, or create a new record via a submitted IPRA request.

The records custodian must permit inspection immediately or as soon as practicable, but no later than fifteen (15) calendar days after the records custodian receives the inspection request. If inspection is not permitted within three (3) business days, the person making the request will receive a written response explaining when the records will be available for inspection or when the public body will respond to the request. If any of the records sought are not available for public inspection, the person making the request is entitled to a written response from the records custodian explaining the reasons inspection has been denied. The written denial shall be delivered or mailed within fifteen (15) calendar days after the records custodian received the request for inspection.

If the custodian determines that a written request is excessively burdensome or broad, an additional reasonable period of time shall be allowed to comply with the request. The custodian shall provide written notification to the requester within 15 days of receipt of the request that additional time will be needed to respond to the written request. 

  • If a request is deemed excessively broad or burdensome, you may be able to reduce the time required to process your request by narrowing your request.
  • If a requester has multiple requests pending, we recommend requesters advise on how they would like us to prioritize their requests.  If we do not hear from the requester about how they would like their requests prioritized, partial productions will be released.

The custodian will notify the requester when records are available for inspection.  Inspection may occur in the Office of the City Clerk during normal business hours or by electronic release.  The City may charge a reasonable fee for copying public records and providing public data pursuant to IPRA. The City shall charge the following reasonable fees:

  •  Twenty-five cents ($0.25 per printed page) 
  • CD, DVD or a 64 GB flash drive is $6.75

Copies will be available for pick up in the Office of the City Clerk or mailed USPS Certified return receipt (as requested) with costs assessed. The Records Custodian may request that applicable fees for copying public records be paid in advance, before the copies are made. A receipt indicating that the fees have been paid will be provided upon request to the person requesting the copies.