New Mexico
New Mexico’s Law Enforcement Certification Board must deny, suspend, or revoke a peace officer’s certification for just cause, and by statute must offer a public online search of misconduct outcomes. In 2023 the State moved certification and discipline from the old academy board to this board, set statutory limits on vascular neck restraints and shooting at moving vehicles, required officers to intervene in and report excessive force, and required annual training in de-escalation and peer intervention. A 2025 law lets people authorized to work by USCIS be certified. New training and certification rules are pending, and the old academy rules stay in effect until they are replaced.
- Sources checked
- Part of
- Officer Ledger
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Law Enforcement Certification Board (LECB), 11 members chaired by a retired district judge and administratively attached to the Department of Public Safety. It issues, denies, suspends, and revokes officer and telecommunicator certifications and investigates. The New Mexico Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council (LESTC), attached to the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy, sets training requirements and curricula (NMSA 1978, 29-7-3, 29-7-4.3).
- Statute
- Law Enforcement Training Act, NMSA 1978, 29-7-1 et seq., restructured by Laws 2022, ch. 56 and Laws 2023, ch. 86; Use of Force Procedures Act, 29-7D-1 to 29-7D-5; body-worn cameras, 29-1-18 (NMSA ch. 29, compiled). Rules: 10.29.1 to 10.29.10 NMAC.
- Minimum standards
- An applicant must show the board that the applicant: is a U.S. citizen or (since June 20, 2025) authorized to work by USCIS, and has reached the age of majority; holds a high school diploma or equivalent and a valid driver’s license; has no felony conviction or plea, and no conviction or plea in the past 3 years for aggravated assault, theft, DWI, controlled substances, or another crime of moral turpitude; was not discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions; passes a physician’s exam and a psychologist’s exam; is of good moral character; meets any other board requirements set by rule; and holds the director’s certificate of completion of an approved training program. An officer forfeits the position unless certified within 12 months of starting work (29-7-6).
- Decertification
- Mandatory: the board “shall” deny, suspend, or revoke a peace officer’s certification “for just cause” as the Act provides, and may investigate, administer oaths, and subpoena. Internal-affairs and other investigation documents used in a certification case stay confidential, and board decisions are final agency decisions appealable under 39-3-1.1 (29-7-4.3(E), (K)). Failing to complete or report in-service training “may be grounds for suspension” (29-7-7.1(B)). An officer found to have used unlawful force, or who failed to intervene, “shall be disciplined” and “may” be decertified (29-7D-4, 29-7D-5(C)).
- Public decertification list
- Yes, by statute. By July 1, 2024, the board had to set up a web tool letting any member of the public search outcomes of misconduct investigations that result in dismissal, denial, suspension, or revocation of a certification, showing name, action, and date (29-7-16). The board links a Misconduct Lookup. No statute or rule requires agencies to check it before hiring.
- National Decertification Index
- None found. Neither the compiled NMSA ch. 29 nor 10.29.1 to 10.29.10 NMAC names the Index or IADLEST.
- Continuing training
- To keep certification, at least 40 hours of council-approved in-service instruction in each 24-month period, reported by March 1. The board audits compliance; failure may lead to suspension and to the State withholding the agency’s law enforcement protection fund distribution (29-7-7.1). In-service training each year must cover the topics listed in 29-7-4.4, including de-escalation and peer-to-peer intervention.
Changes, 2023 to 2026
People authorized to work by USCIS may be certified as peace officers
Appointing authorities may appoint, and the board may certify, a person who “is a citizen of the United States or has been authorized to work by the United States citizenship and immigration services.” The same standard applies to New Mexico State Police members. The other certification qualifications in 29-7-6 are unchanged.
For officers: U.S. citizenship is no longer required for certification if you have USCIS work authorization.
Certification board and training council reconstituted; investigation files confidential; board decisions appealable
The Department of Public Safety now provides administrative services for the LECB and a new law enforcement certification office. The board’s membership was revised; its 11 seats now include a current or retired sheriff, a management-experienced officer, a certified public safety telecommunicator, a criminal justice professor, and a citizen-at-large, with members appointed to reflect the state’s regions and diversity. New 29-7-4.3(K): internal-affairs and other investigation documents provided to or developed by the board for a certification case “shall remain confidential,” and a board decision is a final agency decision appealable under 39-3-1.1. The council was also reconstituted, with 11 appointed members, and given the duty to promulgate training requirements, curricula, and performance standards.
For officers: Investigation files in your certification case are confidential, and you can appeal the board’s decision to court.
Certification moved to a new board; required basic and annual training topics, including use of force without vascular neck restraints
New 29-7-4.3 created the Law Enforcement Certification Board to deny, suspend, or revoke peace officer certification for just cause and to investigate, administer oaths, and subpoena. Certification and discipline moved from the former academy board to the LECB, and training standards to the renamed Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council. Agencies’ quarterly officer-status reports now also go to the board (29-7-7.2). New 29-7-4.4: each basic training class, and in-service training each year, must cover crisis management and intervention, mental health, de-escalation, peer-to-peer intervention, stress management, racial sensitivity, reality-based situational training, and “use of force training that includes the elimination of vascular neck restraints.”
For officers: Your in-service training each year must cover the eight listed topics, including de-escalation and peer intervention.
Use of Force Procedures Act, duty to intervene, public misconduct database, and in-service enforcement
Each agency “shall develop and maintain” use-of-force policies. An officer “shall not” fire into a fleeing vehicle unless necessary to prevent an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury with no reasonable alternative, and should move out of an oncoming vehicle’s path when possible. An officer “shall not” use a vascular neck restraint unless an attack poses a threat of imminent harm, and must stop once the threat ends. Unlawful force “shall be disciplined” and may lead to suspension or revocation of certification. An officer who sees force the officer has probable cause to believe is excessive “shall intervene,” unless that would cause imminent harm, and must report it to a supervisor by the end of the shift; failing to intervene “shall be disciplined” and may lead to decertification. New 29-7-16 required the public misconduct-outcome database by July 1, 2024. In 29-7-7.1, in-service training is now required “to maintain certification”; failing to report completion joins failing to complete as a ground for suspension; the State may withhold the agency’s law enforcement protection fund distribution; and the board must audit compliance.
For officers: If you see force you believe is excessive, you must intervene and report it by the end of your shift.
Body-camera exceptions for undercover and bomb-disposal work; spoliation presumption made discretionary
Officers who routinely interact with the public must still wear body-worn cameras on duty, except during sanctioned undercover operations and explosive recovery and disposal operations. An officer who fails to follow body-camera policies “may be presumed” to have acted in bad faith and “may be deemed liable” for the civil torts of negligent or intentional spoliation of evidence; the law had said “shall.” The 120-day retention rule and the activation and discipline policy elements date from 2020.
For officers: A camera-policy violation no longer automatically creates a presumption of bad faith in a civil case.
Not yet in force and pending
- LESTC rule package: would repeal 10.29.2 to 10.29.5 and 10.29.7 to 10.29.10 NMAC and adopt new 10.28.1 to 10.28.9 NMAC (general provisions, definitions, facilities, regional academies, admission qualifications, course accreditation, instructor credentialing, law enforcement training, and telecommunicator training). Hearing noticed for August 25–27, 2026. No adoption appears through Register Issue 19 (October 6, 2026). NM Register, July 14, 2026
- LECB rule package: would amend 10.29.1 NMAC, repeal 10.29.6 NMAC (certification by waiver), and adopt new 10.28.8 and 10.28.9 NMAC. Hearing set for October 27–29, 2026. Not adopted. NM Register, September 9, 2026
These bills were not enacted: SB 50 (2026, law enforcement training requirements; passed the Senate 35-7 and died in House Judiciary); HB 208, SB 57, SB 303, and HB 328 (2026, officer identification and concealing identity); HB 98 and HB 203 (2023, reinstating qualified immunity); HB 109 (2023, repealing the Civil Rights Act); SB 426 (2023, an Attorney General civil rights division; pocket veto); HB 283 (2025, law enforcement records); SB 505 (2025, body cameras); HB 139 and HB 497 (2025, public records changes); and SB 146 (2026, Civil Rights Act claims).
Checked and unchanged
- 10.29.1 to 10.29.10 NMAC (academy rules): no amendment after 2018. They still name the academy and its board as the issuing authority, but Laws 2023, ch. 86, sec. 15 keeps them in effect until the council or the certification board amends or repeals them.
- NMSA 29-7-7.1: the 40-hour, 24-month in-service requirement and suspension for failing to complete it predate 2023.
- Not counted: 2026 DPS rule 10.2.5 NMAC (missing-persons records) and 2025 rule 10.6.2 NMAC (Enhanced 911) do not concern officer certification.
Last updated October 20, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “New Mexico officer certification: Officer Ledger,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/new-mexico (last updated October 20, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.