How much is a speeding ticket in New Mexico?
$81 – $87state-set
15 mph over the limit, first offense, county without a metropolitan court — the full arithmetic is on this page.
New Mexico writes speeding fines into state law itself — Up to 10 mph over: $76 – $82 · 11-15 mph over: $81 – $87 · 16-20 mph over: $116 – $122. Where mandatory surcharges attach on top, this page itemizes them with their statutes. For 15 mph over the limit, the all-in figure is $81 – $87. What raises it: posted double-fine construction or safety zones; violation contributing to an injury or death accident. Points: The MVD point schedule assigns 3 points for speeding 6-15 mph over, 5 points for 16-25 over, and 8 points for 26+ over; no points are scheduled below 6 over. Two statutory carve-outs narrow it: no points for speeding on rural highways (2+ miles outside an incorporated municipality) except in Bernalillo County, for vehicles of 12,000+ lbs, or where speed contributed to an accident; and the schedule's rows apply where the posted limit is 15, 30, or 75 mph — on other limits, where the actual speed was at least 76 mph. Every row on this page carries its citation — 4 primary sources (statute text, court fine schedules, DMV publications), each with a retrieval date, plus the local-variation caveat that applies in New Mexico. This is a reference to what the law and the schedules print; it is not legal advice.
How New Mexico sets it New Mexico prices speeding in the statute itself: the penalty-assessment law (NMSA 66-8-116) prints an exact dollar amount for each mph-over tier — $25 at up to 10 over, rising to $200 above 35 over — and a driver who signs the assessment pays that amount plus a fixed stack of statutory fees instead of going to court. The fee stack is $57 in most counties and $51 in Bernalillo County (the one county with a metropolitan court), so the true total is the assessment plus roughly fifty dollars.
The fine, tier by tier
| Speed over the limit | Base fine | What you actually owe | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 mph over the limit | $25 state-set | $76 – $82 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 Total = $25 assessment + $51 in fees in Bernalillo County or + $57 elsewhere (the fee stack differs only by county type). |
| 11-15 mph over the limit | $30 state-set | $81 – $87 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 |
| 16-20 mph over the limit | $65 state-set | $116 – $122 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 |
| 21-25 mph over the limit | $100 state-set | $151 – $157 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 |
| 26-30 mph over the limit | $125 state-set | $176 – $182 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 |
| 31-35 mph over the limit | $150 state-set | $201 – $207 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 |
| More than 35 mph over the limit | $200 state-set | $251 – $257 state-set | NMSA 66-8-116(A) (Speeding, 66-7-301); NMSA 66-8-116.3 |
- state-set state law or a statewide schedule fixes this number.
- cap only the statute sets a ceiling; the court picks the amount within it.
- court-set no statewide number exists — the local court’s schedule decides.
The mandatory add-ons
These attach on top of whatever fine the court sets:
| Add-on | How it is computed | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Local government corrections fee | $20.00 flat — only in counties WITHOUT a metropolitan court (every county except Bernalillo) | NMSA 66-8-116.3(A) |
| Court automation fee | $10.00 flat on every penalty assessment | NMSA 66-8-116.3(B) |
| Traffic safety fee | $3.00 flat on every penalty assessment | NMSA 66-8-116.3(C) |
| Judicial education fee | $3.00 flat on every penalty assessment | NMSA 66-8-116.3(D) |
| Jury and witness fee | $5.00 flat on every penalty assessment | NMSA 66-8-116.3(E) |
| Juvenile adjudication fee | $1.00 flat on every penalty assessment | NMSA 66-8-116.3(F) |
| Brain injury services fee | $5.00 flat on every penalty assessment | NMSA 66-8-116.3(G) |
| Court facilities fee | $24.00 in a county with a metropolitan court (Bernalillo); $10.00 in any other county | NMSA 66-8-116.3(H) |
Worked example: 15 mph over the limit, first offense, county without a metropolitan court
| Line | Amount | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Penalty assessment — 11-15 mph over | $30 | NMSA 66-8-116(A) |
| Local government corrections fee | $20 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(A) |
| Court automation fee | $10 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(B) |
| Traffic safety fee | $3 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(C) |
| Judicial education fee | $3 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(D) |
| Jury and witness fee | $5 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(E) |
| Juvenile adjudication fee | $1 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(F) |
| Brain injury services fee | $5 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(G) |
| Court facilities fee (non-metro county) | $10 | NMSA 66-8-116.3(H) |
| Total | $81 – $87 state-set | lines sum to $87 |
The statute fixes the assessment at $30 for 11-15 over, and 66-8-116.3 adds fees totaling $57 in the 32 counties without a metropolitan court — $87 all-in. In Bernalillo County the stack is $51 (no $20 corrections fee, but a $24 instead of $10 court facilities fee), making the same ticket $81. Both endpoints are statutory; the range exists only because the fee stack differs by county type.
What raises it
- Posted double-fine construction or safety zones. The penalty assessment is twice the scheduled amount for the same mph over when the violation is of the posted limit in a DOT-designated construction zone or other safety zone posted as a double-fine zone (66-7-301(A)(5)). (NMSA 66-8-116(D); NMSA 66-7-301(A)(5))
- Violation contributing to an injury or death accident. The offense is excluded from the penalty-assessment program entirely — it proceeds as a court case rather than a fixed-amount ticket. (NMSA 66-8-116(B))
License points
The MVD point schedule assigns 3 points for speeding 6-15 mph over, 5 points for 16-25 over, and 8 points for 26+ over; no points are scheduled below 6 over. Two statutory carve-outs narrow it: no points for speeding on rural highways (2+ miles outside an incorporated municipality) except in Bernalillo County, for vehicles of 12,000+ lbs, or where speed contributed to an accident; and the schedule's rows apply where the posted limit is 15, 30, or 75 mph — on other limits, where the actual speed was at least 76 mph.
| Violation | Points |
|---|---|
| 6-15 mph over (posted limit 15/30/75 mph, or actual speed 76+ mph on other limits) | 3 |
| 16-25 mph over (same limit conditions) | 5 |
| 26+ mph over (same limit conditions) | 8 |
At 6 points MVD may send a warning; at 7-10 points within one year plus a municipal or magistrate judge's recommendation, MVD suspends for up to 3 months; reaching 12 points within 12 consecutive months brings a mandatory 12-month suspension. (18.19.5.53-.55 NMAC (MVD-11011))
When a court appearance is required
Speeding that caused or contributed to an accident with injury or death is not a penalty-assessment misdemeanor and goes to court. Otherwise the driver chooses: accept the penalty-assessment notice and pay, or take a notice to appear — and on conviction after electing court, the fine may not exceed the penalty assessment for that offense. (NMSA 66-8-116(B), (C))
Local variation — the honest caveat
The assessment and its fee stack are statutory and statewide; the only geographic split is the county-type fee difference ($51 in Bernalillo County, $57 everywhere else). Tickets written under municipal ordinances and processed in municipal court sit outside the state penalty-assessment schedule, and rural-highway speeding carries no license points outside Bernalillo County. (NMSA 66-8-116.3; 18.19.5 NMAC; NMSA 66-7-302.2 (as reproduced in MVD-11011))
- The speeding assessment amounts were last changed by Laws 2018, ch. 74 (effective July 1, 2018; the first tier rose from $15 to $25). Later amendments to 66-8-116 (2019, 2023) touched other rows, not speeding.
- 66-8-116.3(I)'s $4 magistrate courts operations fee expired by its own terms on May 31, 2014 and is excluded from the totals here; FindLaw's mirror current through Jan 1, 2024 still prints the section with that lapsed clause.
- Fee-stack arithmetic: non-metro counties $20+$10+$3+$3+$5+$1+$5+$10 = $57; Bernalillo County $10+$3+$3+$5+$1+$5+$24 = $51.
- The point schedule's limit-conditioned rows (15/30/75 mph limits, or 76+ mph actual speed) are reproduced as the MVD document prints them.
Sources
Every figure above was compiled from these sources, with a verbatim quote of the sentence carrying each number stored in the dataset so any row can be re-checked against its origin.
- NMSA 1978, §66-8-116 — Penalty assessment misdemeanors; definition; schedule of assessments (as amended through 2018 ch. 74)
retrieved 2026-07-17 · 2018 New Mexico Statutes (effective July 1, 2018) · effective 2018-07-01
https://web.archive.org/web/20240428203031id_/https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2018/chapter-66/article-8/section-66-8-116/ - NMSA 1978, §66-8-116.3 — Penalty assessment misdemeanors; additional fees
retrieved 2026-07-17
https://codes.findlaw.com/nm/chapter-66-motor-vehicles/nm-st-sect-66-8-116-3/ - NMSA 1978, §66-7-301 — Speed regulation (2018 edition)
retrieved 2026-07-17 · 2018 New Mexico Statutes (last amended 2015)
https://web.archive.org/web/2024id_/https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/2018/chapter-66/article-7/section-66-7-301/ - New Mexico MVD — Point System Regulations and Schedule (MVD-11011, rev. 01/16; reproducing 18.19.5 NMAC)
retrieved 2026-07-17
https://realfile.tax.newmexico.gov/mvd11011.pdf
This is not legal advice This page republishes what New Mexico's statutes, court fine schedules, and driver-licensing publications print, for reference. Amounts change on legislative cycles, and the court named on a citation is the authority on what is owed in that court. Nothing here is advice about any citation or case.