The DWI Stop and the Test
Section 66-8-111 — a refusal revokes the license for one year; a result over the limit, six months at twenty-one and older
Anyone who drives in New Mexico is deemed to have consented, under the Implied Consent Act, to chemical tests of breath or blood or both, given at the direction of an officer with reasonable grounds to believe the person was driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or a drug.
Who handles this in New Mexico: Enlace Comunitario; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the New Mexico directory.
| What the officer reports | License revoked for |
|---|---|
| What the officer reportsA refusal to be tested, after being told a refusal could revoke the privilege to drive | License revoked forOne year, or until reinstatement conditions are met, whichever is later |
| What the officer reportsA result of eight one hundredths or more, at age 21 or older | License revoked forSix months, or until reinstatement conditions are met, whichever is later |
| What the officer reportsA result of two one hundredths or more, under age 21 | License revoked forOne year, or until reinstatement conditions are met, whichever is later |
| What the officer reportsA result over the limit after an earlier revocation under the section | License revoked forOne year, or until reinstatement conditions are met, whichever is later |
A revocation takes effect twenty days after the notice of revocation, or, if the driver asks for a hearing, on the date the administrative hearings office issues its order after the hearing.
Ten days to ask for a hearing. Within ten days after receiving the notice of revocation, the driver or the driver's agent may ask for a hearing, in writing, with a payment of $25 or a sworn statement of indigency on the department's form.
A person adversely affected by the hearing office's order may seek review in the district court of the county where the offense took place within thirty days.
Testing is also limited by the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that a breath test may be taken without a warrant as part of a lawful arrest for drunk driving and a blood test may not; that a driver may not be criminally punished for refusing a blood test where no warrant was obtained; and that the natural fall of alcohol in the blood does not by itself create an emergency excusing a warrant in every case, which is decided case by case on all the circumstances. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (6)
- NMSA 1978, § 66-8-107 — Implied consent to submit to chemical test
- NMSA 1978, § 66-8-111 — Refusal to submit to chemical tests; testing; grounds for revocation of license or privilege to drive
- NMSA 1978, § 66-8-112 — Revocation of license or privilege to drive; notice; effective date; hearing; hearing costs; review
- NMSA 1978, § 66-8-105 — Implied Consent Act; short title
- Birchfield v. North Dakota, 579 U.S. 438 (2016) — A breath test may be taken incident to arrest, a blood draw needs a warrant
- Missouri v. McNeely, 569 U.S. 141 (2013) — The natural fall of blood alcohol is not by itself an emergency justifying a warrantless draw
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of November 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Mexico attorney.