Find Quay County Marriage and Divorce Records

Getting a Marriage License in Quay County

Marriage licenses are issued by the Quay County Clerk. The clerk's office is the local office that permanently files Quay County marriage license applications and marriage records, separate from the New Mexico court system. The office is at 300 S. Third Street, P.O. Box 1225, Tucumcari, NM 88401. The phone number is 575-461-0510, the fax number is 575-461-0513, and the listed public hours are Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., including the lunch hour.

Both applicants must appear. Quay County lists the applicant requirements as current legal pictured identification or a birth certificate, proof of Social Security number, and age eligibility. Applicants must be at least 18 unless a special rule applies. A person who is 16 or 17 needs parental consent, and a person who is 15 needs a court order. Blood tests are not required. The county states that a license is issued and valid immediately and does not expire.

The Quay County marriage license page is the county source for local license requirements. That page still shows the older fee language, so use the later clerk fee notice and current state law for the amount due.

The county license page shows the local application requirements and confirms that the clerk is the issuing office.

How to Apply for a Marriage License

Prepare before going to the clerk counter because both applicants must be present and the form asks for personal identifying information. The county's application form includes Social Security number fields, so applicants should not assume a name-only visit will be enough. If either applicant is under 18, call the clerk first to confirm the parental-consent or court-order path before appearing.

1. Contact or visit the Quay County Clerk at 300 S. Third Street in Tucumcari during the listed Monday through Thursday office hours.
2. Have both applicants appear with current legal pictured ID or a birth certificate and proof of Social Security number.
3. Complete the marriage license application with each applicant's legal name, birth information, address, Social Security number, and signatures.
4. Pay the current marriage license fee. The current researched fee is $55, not the older $25 amount still visible on the county license page.
5. Use the license after issuance. Quay County states the license is valid immediately and does not expire.
6. Return the completed marriage certificate for recording after the ceremony so the clerk's office can permanently file the record.

Marriage License Application Fields

The Quay County marriage license application is a one-page form with matching applicant sections and office-use recording fields. The application is not a court filing. It becomes part of the county clerk's marriage-record system after issuance and recording.

Quay County Marriage and Divorce Fees

Marriage fees come from the county clerk and state marriage-license law. Divorce fees come from the Tenth Judicial District fee schedule because divorce is a District Court domestic case. The Tenth Judicial District also lists payment limits: personal checks are not accepted, money orders should be payable to the 10th Judicial District Court, and exact cash is required if paying in cash because change is not provided.

The fee conflict matters. The older Quay County marriage page lists $25, but a later official Quay County Clerk notice says the marriage license fee increased from $25 to $55 effective June 20, 2025. New Mexico SB 290 also sets a $55 fee for issuing, acknowledging, and recording a marriage license and certificate.

How to Look Up Quay County Marriage Records

Marriage records are county-recorded documents. The researched sources did not locate an official Quay County online marriage record search portal, so the practical access channels are in person, phone, mail, or clerk contact. Start with the Quay County Clerk rather than New Mexico Case Lookup because the judiciary portal handles court case information, not county marriage licenses.

Useful search details include the spouses' full names, approximate marriage date, and whether the record was issued in Quay County. The clerk's public-record notice cites New Mexico Statute Section 14-8-9.1 and states that documents filed and recorded in the county clerk's office are public records subject to inspection and disclosure except as provided by that section. Protected personal identifiers may still be handled under New Mexico public-record and redaction rules.

How to Find Quay County Divorce Records

Divorce files are District Court records. Quay divorce filings go through Quay District Court at 300 S. Third St., 2nd Floor, Room 200, Tucumcari, NM 88401. The court phone number is 575-461-2764, and the public email listed by the Tenth Judicial District is tenthjdcpublic@nmcourts.gov. The District Court counter is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

New Mexico divorce case information may be searched in New Mexico Case Lookup after accepting the disclaimer. For Quay District Court searches, the researched Case Lookup location value is District Court 1010 - TUCUMCARI. Public Case Lookup provides case information, not document images. For divorce decrees, pleadings, certified copies, older files, or records missing online, use the filing court, re:SearchNM if registered access applies, or the New Mexico Courts IPRA request form.

The New Mexico Courts divorce self-help page explains the filing framework for dissolution cases, including the six-month New Mexico residency rule and filing in the District Court county where one spouse resides.

The state divorce self-help page is the official starting point for divorce filing requirements and self-represented litigant information.

Getting Certified Copies

Certified copies must come from the office that holds the original record. For a marriage license or recorded marriage certificate, contact the Quay County Clerk. For a divorce decree, final order, or other court-filed divorce document, contact Quay District Court. Public Case Lookup is useful for locating case numbers and confirming that a case exists, but it does not provide official document images or certified copies.

For court records, be ready to give the case number if known, party names, document type, approximate filing date, number of copies, and whether certification is needed. If the request is made through the New Mexico Courts IPRA portal, choose Tenth District and the Quay District Court location for District Court divorce documents. New Mexico IPRA request rules require enough detail to identify records with reasonable particularity; no reason for the request is required.

New Mexico Vital Records Office

For Quay County marriage records, use the county clerk first because the county clerk issues and records local marriage licenses. State vital-record offices do not replace the Quay County Clerk's local marriage-record function in the researched materials. Divorce records are not county vital records; they are District Court case records.

The New Mexico divorce and family forms library provides statewide court forms that can be filtered and used for self-represented divorce and family filings.

The New Mexico Courts forms library is the state source for divorce and family forms used in District Court filings.