on September 10, 2026

New Mexico Dog Poop Laws

Quick answer: New Mexico has no statewide pooper scooper law. Picking up after your dog is regulated city by city, and all three of the largest cities we checked have an ordinance requiring it. None of them uses a set ticket amount. Fines are set by a judge within a range the code allows.

Why New Mexico leaves it to cities

New Mexico has no statewide statute requiring dog-waste pickup; cities regulate it. Municipal ordinance violations in New Mexico are petty misdemeanors; Las Cruces' general penalty caps them at $500 and/or 90 days and cites NMSA 1978 30-1-6 and State v. Luna (1980) for that limit.

  • Petty misdemeanor limit for municipal ordinance violations (as cited in Las Cruces Code 1-10): NMSA 1978, 30-1-6 (read it)

Pooper scooper laws in New Mexico's largest cities

Each row comes from the city's own municipal code. "Up to" is the most a court can impose, not a standard ticket. Where a city publishes no amount, we say so rather than estimate one.

City Ordinance Fine Must carry a bag
Albuquerque Albuquerque Code of Ordinances (ROA 1994) 9-2-4-3(E) (Defecation), Chapter 9, Article 2 (Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment) Set by the court No
Las Cruces Las Cruces Municipal Code Sec. 7-18(e) (Nuisance prohibitions: public defecation), Chapter 7 re-enacted by Ord. No. 3091 (4-7-2025); penalties Secs. 7-45, 7-46 and 1-10 Up to $500 No
Rio Rancho Rio Rancho Municipal Code Chapter 90 (Animals); specific section not verified Could not verify Not stated

The rule people miss: carrying the bag

None of the cities we checked in New Mexico spell out a separate duty to carry a bag, but the pickup duty applies the moment your dog goes, and "I did not have a bag" is not a defense in any of them.

A bag holder on the leash solves that for good. Ours is the Walk Dispenser, which clips on and holds a full roll.

Worth knowing about New Mexico

  • Albuquerque's city pet-waste page states the city has 80,000 registered dogs producing 20 tons of waste per day, and ties the cleanup rule to Rio Grande water quality.
  • Las Cruces rewrote its animal chapter in April 2025 (Ord. No. 3091). The new defecation rule expressly exempts community cats, and the code leaves the actual penalty amounts to a separate council resolution.
  • Rio Rancho's code sits behind a bot-verification wall on eCode360, so its rule could not be confirmed for this page.

Common questions

Is it illegal to not pick up dog poop in New Mexico?

There is no statewide law, but every one of the largest cities we checked has a pickup rule, and most smaller towns have similar ordinances. Check your own city or county code.

How much is the fine for not picking up dog poop in New Mexico?

It depends on the city. Albuquerque: Set by the court. Las Cruces: Up to $500. Rio Rancho does not publish an amount.

Do I have to carry a poop bag in New Mexico?

Not as a separate rule in the cities we checked. You still have to pick up, so in practice you need one.

Other states in the West

California · Washington · Arizona · Colorado · Oregon · Utah · Nevada · Idaho

See all 50 states · How scoop laws work in general

Sources

Checked 2026-09-10. Ordinances change, so if you are dealing with an actual citation, read the current code at the link rather than relying on this page.

This page is general information, not legal advice.