Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
New Mexico County
Roosevelt County, New Mexico
Portales - the peanut capital of New Mexico and home of Blackwater Draw - from Portales's peanut farming heritage (the Llano Estacado's sandy soils and irrigation water from the Ogallala Aquifer produce Valencia peanuts in Roosevelt County - the county is the leading peanut-producing county in New Mexico, and the annual Peanut Valley Festival celebrates the crop that defines the local agricultural economy) to Blackwater Draw (the archaeological site near Portales where some of the earliest evidence of human habitation in the Americas was discovered - the Clovis culture artifacts found at Blackwater Draw push human presence in North America back at least 11,500 years, and the Blackwater Draw Museum preserves the discoveries).
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Portales/Roosevelt County Office of Emergency Management – Portales, NM 88130 | (575) 356-6662; Emergency Manager Johnny Montiel, (575) 359-2869 | Cell (575) 607-5700, [email protected]. Operational area covers Portales, Elida, Floyd, Dora, Causey, Arch, and Milnesand.
Sheriff: Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office – 1700 N. Boston, Portales, NM 88130 | (575) 356-4408 | Fax: (575) 356-6471. Detention Center located adjacent.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-70 and US-60/84 serve Portales, the county seat and largest city, in eastern New Mexico near the Texas border.
Notes: Roosevelt County, created 1903 from Chaves and Guadalupe counties, is named for then-President Theodore Roosevelt.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Roosevelt County Courthouse – Portales, NM 88130; a genuine 1930s WPA-era building, NRHP-listed alongside the Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU) Administration Building and the downtown Portales Post Office from the same construction era.
Notes: Roosevelt County is genuinely, archaeologically world-renowned as home to Blackwater Draw – the actual type-site for the Clovis culture, one of the earliest well-documented Paleoindian cultures in North America. Discovered in 1929 by local resident Ridgley Whiteman during gravel quarrying, the National Historic Landmark (designated 1961) preserves evidence of human activity spanning roughly 13,500 years, including the first archaeological proof that early humans hunted mammoth in the New World. The Blackwater Draw Museum, now on the ENMU campus, displays Clovis points and mammoth/bison remains excavated from the site; the archaeological site itself remains open to visitors (Sat-Sun 9 AM-4 PM).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Roosevelt County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via rooseveltcounty.com.
Federal: Albuquerque VA Medical Center (long distance).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Confirm current library address/hours via rooseveltcounty.com or portalesnm.gov. ENMU’s Golden Library serves the university community and often the wider public.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Blackwater Draw National Historic Landmark and Museum, ENMU’s Dr. Antonio “Tony” Gennaro Natural History Museum, and historic downtown Portales are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Clovis culture type-site status of Blackwater Draw is one of the most archaeologically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Roosevelt County Assessor – confirm current contact via rooseveltcounty.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Confirm current animal shelter/control contact via rooseveltcounty.com or portalesnm.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Roosevelt County Water Coop – (575) 356-6808. Roosevelt County Electric Coop – (575) 356-4492.
NOTES: Roosevelt County is the second county in the New Mexico v3 A+ sourced redo’s fourth batch (Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, San Juan, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra). The genuine Clovis culture type-site status of Blackwater Draw – proof of the first humans in the Americas hunting mammoth – is one of the most archaeologically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Roosevelt County
Roosevelt County is eastern New Mexico’s peanut capital and Clovis culture archaeological county – the Llano Estacado’s peanut fields and the Blackwater Draw site’s 11,500-year-old evidence of the earliest Americans define a community where agriculture and archaeology intersect.
Portales (the county seat, population ~12,000) is anchored by Eastern New Mexico University and the peanut processing industry that makes the county New Mexico’s leading peanut producer.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Roosevelt County Assessor at 109 W. 1st Street, Suite 1, Portales, NM 88130, phone 575-356-4589. NM assessed at one-third of market value.
Courts & Legal
Roosevelt County District Court at 109 W. 1st Street, Portales, NM 88130, phone 575-356-4017, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
109 W. 1st St., Portales, NM 88130
(575) 356-5934
COUNTY CLERK — ELECTIONS
109 W. 1st St., Portales, NM 88130
(575) 356-5934
Genealogy
PRIMARY STATEWIDE RESEARCH CENTERS (same across all New Mexico counties)
New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, 1205 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87507.
New Mexico Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 8283, Albuquerque, NM 87198.
County-level record sources
Roosevelt County Probate Court, Portales (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Roosevelt County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Roosevelt County Probate Court 109 West 1st Street, Portales, NM 88130 (575) 356-8562 Roosevelt County is in eastern New Mexico, seated in Portales, near Cannon Air Force Base.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
New Mexico adopted the Uniform Probate Code. New Mexico has a dual court system: the county PROBATE COURT handles informal, uncontested probate matters with minimal court involvement, and has concurrent jurisdiction with the DISTRICT COURT over informal proceedings. The District Court alone handles formal probate – contested cases, determinations of heirship, and trust matters.
Small Estate Affidavit / Affidavit of Successor in Interest (N.M. Stat. § 45-3-1201) – available when the value of the entire estate (after liens and encumbrances) does not exceed $50,000 and does NOT include any real property. At least 30 days must have passed since death. This skips probate court entirely – the affidavit is presented directly to banks, the DMV, or other institutions holding the property.
Homestead Transfer Affidavit for Surviving Spouse (N.M. Stat. § 45-3-1205) – available 6 months after death, when the surviving spouse and decedent owned a homestead as community property valued at $500,000 or less (for property tax purposes). The affidavit is recorded with the county clerk and can avoid formal probate for the residence, but only if funeral expenses, expenses of last illness, and all unsecured debts have already been paid.
Informal Probate – the most common path for uncontested estates, filed with either the Probate Court or the District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. No hearing required.
Formal Probate – required for contested cases, disputes over heirship, or trust matters. Only the District Court can hear these.
Step 2: filing for informal or formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Court or District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled. A probate may be started up to 3 years after death.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative notifies creditors; New Mexico’s creditor claim period is 2 months from notice to creditors – one of the shortest in the country.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes the remaining assets according to the will or New Mexico’s intestacy statute.
The estate is closed, typically within 6 to 12 months for straightforward, uncontested cases.
What it costs
The filing fee for probate in Probate Court is generally around $30 – notably lower than in most states. District Court filing fees run higher, commonly $100–$232 depending on the county and complexity.
New Mexico does not set a fixed statutory percentage for personal representative compensation; courts typically look to a reasonable guideline of about 2–4% of the estate’s value.
New Mexico has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
109 W. 1st St., Portales, NM 88130
(575) 356-5753
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK — ELECTIONS
109 W. 1st St., Portales, NM 88130
(575) 356-5934
ELECTIONS
109 W. 1st St., Portales, NM 88130
(575) 356-5934
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NM HSD — Roosevelt
(575) 356-5536
Roosevelt General Hospital
rooseveltgeneral.com (Portales — quality community hospital)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: NM Health Department, Portales – (575) 356-4453.
Hospital: Roosevelt General Hospital – (575) 359-1800.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Portales
Population: 19,000
Area: 2,449 sq mi
Established: 1903
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Roosevelt County residents.
