Chaves County Clerk: Recording, and the State’s Free Discharge Recording

The Chaves County Clerk records documents for the statutory $25 fee under 14-8-15 NMSA and publishes no DD-214 line of its own; New Mexico's soldier-discharge recording is free under 14-8-17 and restricted under 14-8-9.1, both carried by the State entry.

Also called: County Clerk, recording, $25, 14-8-15, 14-8-17, 14-8-9.1, DD-214, discharge, restricted, public document search, Roswell, Roswell, Dexter, Hagerman, Lake Arthur.

For: Veteran or service member, survivor.

Where it applies

Written for the jurisdictions listed here.

Chaves County, NMCounty

The fee. The Clerk's Recording and Filing page: "Pursuant to 14-8-15 NMSA, a County Clerk shall collect a recording fee of $25.00 for each document filed or recorded by the County Clerk", with $25 more for each additional block of ten index entries; grantor and grantee, lots and blocks all count as entries. The page's fee list prices no military-discharge filing. The state route. New Mexico's 14-8-17 makes the county clerk record "free of charge the discharge papers of any soldier, sailor, marine or nurse who served in the armed forces of the United States" on presentation, and 14-8-9.1 segregates the recorded discharge papers from public records - available only to the veteran who filed them, the veteran's next of kin, or a person holding the veteran's general power of attorney. The NMDVS benefits page states the same restriction. Both statutes are carried by the State entry; a veteran asked to pay for a DD-214 filing cites 14-8-17. The records. The clerk's Public Document Search serves the recorded documents online; the clerk's office is in the Chaves County Administrative Center at 1 St. Mary's Place, Roswell.

Thresholds

Thresholds for Chaves County Clerk: Recording, and the State’s Free Discharge Recording
Gate	Rule
Any veteran with a discharge	Discharge recording is free under the State statute and the record is restricted. No rating is needed.

Sources

Updated

Last updated 2026-10-30.

What changed then:

First published.

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Disclaimer

VetTOC is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the Department of Defense. Information is for reference only and is not an eligibility determination. Verify with VA, the relevant state or territory, or an accredited VSO.