Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Albuquerque, New Mexico, in Bernalillo County, has about 560,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A traffic ticket written in Albuquerque is a court case in the Magistrate Court; a city with a municipal court tries its own, and the conviction it ends in goes on the driving record kept by the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division. This guide says which court takes the ticket, who writes them and where the driving record lives.
This guide covers where tickets go, who writes them, the driving record and common questions.
Related guides: Albuquerque public records, Bernalillo County traffic tickets, Albuquerque arrest records, Albuquerque warrants, Albuquerque inmate search, Albuquerque criminal records, New Mexico arrest records and New Mexico inmate search.
Where a Ticket Written in Albuquerque Goes
Tickets in Albuquerque are split by who wrote them: the Magistrate Court for deputies and troopers, the municipal courts for city officers in the cities that run one. A paid ticket, a dismissal and a trial all end up in that court's records.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at metro.nmcourts.gov/public-records, phone (505) 841-8151.
Statewide, New Mexico Courts Case Lookup is the New Mexico Judiciary's free statewide case search.
Who Writes the Tickets in Albuquerque
The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Albuquerque (filed by the FBI as Albuquerque Police Department) write the traffic tickets in and around Albuquerque.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Bernalillo County: the University of New Mexico's Main Campus (campus police); Albuquerque Fire and Rescue (other agency).
The Rio Rancho Police Department and the Edgewood Police Department are each listed by the FBI across several counties including Bernalillo County, so their arrests are not broken out for Bernalillo County here.
The Driving Record and the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division
The driving record is a separate document from the court file. It is kept by the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division, which adds each conviction the court reports and handles suspensions; the court does not issue driving records.
Paying a ticket is a conviction, reported to the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division like any other; contesting it means a plea of not guilty entered with the court by the date on the ticket.
A DWI is a criminal charge rather than a ticket, with its own license case before the Motor Vehicle Division (see Albuquerque DUI).
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I pay a traffic ticket from Albuquerque?
With the Magistrate Court; a ticket from city police goes to the city's municipal court where it has one.
Who keeps my driving record in New Mexico?
The New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division. The court reports each conviction to it, and paying a ticket counts as one.
Which court handles traffic tickets in Albuquerque?
The Magistrate Court, which takes misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases up to $10,000; Bernalillo County has the Metropolitan Court instead. A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets under its ordinances.
Is this the official Albuquerque website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.