(a) Except as provided in Subsections (b) and (d) of this section, the fee for filing and indexing a record pursuant to Sections 55-9-501 through 55-9-526 NMSA 1978 in the office of the secretary of state is:

(1) if the record is communicated in writing in a form prescribed by the secretary of state:

(i) twenty dollars ($20.00) if the record consists of one, two or three pages;

(ii) forty dollars ($40.00) if the record consists of at least four pages, but no more than twenty-five pages; and

(iii) one hundred dollars ($100) if the record consists of more than twenty-five pages, plus five dollars ($5.00) for each page;

(2) if the record is communicated in writing, but not in a form prescribed by the secretary of state, double the amount specified in Paragraph (1) of this subsection for a record of the same length;

(3) if the record is communicated by facsimile or a similar medium and the use of that medium is authorized by filing-office rule, the amount specified in Paragraph (1) of this subsection for a record of the same length; and

(4) if the record is communicated in any other medium authorized by filing-office rule:

(i) ten dollars ($10.00) if the record consists of fifteen thousand or fewer bytes; and

(ii) twenty dollars ($20.00) if the record consists of more than fifteen thousand bytes.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in Subsection (d) of this section, the fee for filing and indexing an initial financing statement of the following kind is the amount specified in Subsection (a) of this section plus:

(1) one hundred dollars ($100) if the financing statement states that a debtor is a transmitting utility; and

(2) one hundred dollars ($100) if the financing statement indicates that it is filed in connection with a manufactured-home transaction.

(c) The number of names required to be indexed does not affect the amount of the fee set forth in Subsections (a) and (b) of this section.

(d) This section does not require a fee with respect to a record of a mortgage that is effective as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut under Subsection (c) of Section 55-9-502 NMSA 1978. However, the recording fees that otherwise would be applicable to the record of the mortgage apply.

(e) The secretary of state is authorized to establish additional fees for sale of data or records by adopting and publishing rules, pursuant to Section 55-9-526 NMSA 1978, to implement the requirements set forth in Chapter 55, Article 9 NMSA 1978.

(f) The fee for filing and indexing a record pursuant to Sections 55-9-501 through 55-9-526 NMSA 1978 in the office of the county clerk is as provided in Section 14-8-15 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 2001, ch. 139, § 96; 2002, ch. 50, § 2; 2005, ch. 144, § 108; 2013, ch. 214, § 13.

OFFICIAL COMMENTS

UCC Official Comments by ALI & the NCCUSL. Reproduced with permission of the PEB for the UCC. All rights reserved.

1. Source. Various sections of former part 4.

2. Fees. This section contains all fee requirements for filing, indexing, and responding to requests for information. Uniformity in the fee structure (but not necessarily in the amount of fees) makes this article easier for secured parties to use and reduces the likelihood that a filed record will be rejected for failure to pay at least the correct amount of the fee. See section 9-516(b)(2).

The costs of processing electronic records are less than those with respect to written records. Accordingly, this section mandates a lower fee as an incentive to file electronically and imposes the additional charge (if any) for multiple debtors only with respect to written records. When written records are used, this article encourages the use of the uniform forms in section 9-521. The fee for filing these forms should be no greater than the fee for other written records.

To make the relevant information included in a filed record more accessible once the record is found, this section mandates a higher fee for longer written records than for shorter ones. Finally, recognizing that financing statements naming more than one debtor are most often filed against a husband and wife, any additional charge for multiple debtors applies to records filed with respect to more than two debtors, rather than with respect to more than one.

The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, provided fees for filing documents in the offices of the secretary of state and county clerks; in Subsection (a), in the introductory sentence, after "55-9-526 NMSA 1978", added "in the office of the secretary of state"; and added Subsection (f).

The 2005 amendment, effective January 1, 2006, deletes fee for filing a financing statement in connection with a public-finance transaction in former Subsection (b)(1).

The 2002 amendment, effective July 1, 2002, deleted Subsection (a)(4)(iii), which set out fees for records consisting of more than 30,000 bytes; and added Subsection (e).

Decisions under former Sections 55-9-403 and 55-9-409 NMSA 1978. — In light of the similarity of this section and former Sections 55-9-403 and 55-9-409 NMSA 1978, annotations decided under former Sections 55-9-403 and 55-9-409 NMSA 1978 have been included in the annotations in this section.

Fee for mortgage executed before but filed after effective date of code. — When a chattel mortgage was entered into by the parties and executed prior to the date of January 1, 1962, but was offered for filing with the county clerk for secretary of state after the effective date of the Uniform Commercial Code, the proper filing fee for such instruments was the fee specified under the provisions of former 61-8-6, 1953 Comp. 1962 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 62-12 (decided under former law).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — Federal government or agencies of federal government as subject to payment of tax or fee imposed upon or for recording or filing instrument, 124 A.L.R. 1267.