Doña Ana County, NM Ordinances (2026)

Owners intending to use property in unincorporated Doña Ana County as a short-term rental must first get a business registration certificate from the County Clerk under Chapter 154…

A short-term rental in unincorporated Doña Ana County may sleep no more than twice its bed-and-sleeping-sofa count, minors must have an adult with them at all times, and gatherings are…

Doña Ana County does not require an on-site host, but every short-term rental owner must name an owner, operator or agent reachable by phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week to handle…

Every short-term rental owner in unincorporated Doña Ana County must carry property and liability insurance covering the rental, with at least $1,000,000 in liability coverage, and…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Doña Ana County must provide off-street parking on-site via a garage, carport or driveway; when that is not possible the owner must direct guests…

The CDD short-term rental permit costs a one-time $50 fee on top of any Chapter 179 fee owed, and owners must pay all applicable local, state and federal taxes, including gross…

Noise or disturbance from a short-term rental in unincorporated Doña Ana County is prohibited between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under the County Noise Ordinance, and the owner may set…

Doña Ana County's short-term rental ordinance punishes repeat violations with escalating strikes. A first conviction draws a $50 to $300 fine that a judge may suspend, defer or take…

Doña Ana County requires a special permit before anyone keeps an outdoor rehabilitation aviary, and the County will not issue one without proof of a federal license plus a New Mexico…

Doña Ana County requires every animal to be under humane restraint at all times, on or off the owner's property. Off-property, an animal must be on a leash under immediate control…

Doña Ana County outlaws operating a puppy mill outright, defining the term as a commercial dog-breeding operation run for profit over animal welfare. Sellers also cannot offer unweaned…

Doña Ana County outright bans keeping wolves, big cats, bears, primates, venomous snakes, gila monsters, alligators and other listed wild or exotic species as pets anywhere in the…

Doña Ana County has no breed ban: it regulates dogs by proven behavior under the state Dangerous Dog Act, requiring court-backed seizure petitions and annual registration fees of $250…

Doña Ana County requires every dog and cat owner in the unincorporated county to keep the animal microchipped and to produce proof of a working, current microchip whenever an Animal…

Unincorporated Doña Ana County lets residents keep chickens and other fowl as "very small animals" once their lot is larger than 0.50 acre, per Unified Development Code § 350-511.C…

Doña Ana County exempts trap-neuter-return colonies from its ownership and abandonment rules but bans returning feral cats within 2,000 feet of schools, day cares, nursing homes, parks…

Doña Ana County does not ban unaltered pets outright but requires an annual intact animal permit for every unspayed or unneutered dog or cat, with the fee refunded if the owner…

Doña Ana County caps any premises in the unincorporated county at 15 adult dogs and cats combined; a site with more than six needs a multiple-animal site permit and must meet…

Doña Ana County requires a special animal permit before anyone can keep an outdoor rehabilitation aviary, a bird of prey, or a pigeon loft, and will not issue the aviary or raptor…

Veterinary clinics, animal hospitals and kennels are classified as "Civic Support" uses in the County's Unified Development Code zoning matrix. Table 5.1 permits the use by right in…

Doña Ana County can order removal of ruined, damaged or dilapidated buildings and debris-covered premises by Board resolution, with a 10-day window to comply or object before the…

Doña Ana County's solid waste code bars anyone from letting solid waste, a term that by definition covers weeds, briars and brush, accumulate on any premises they own or control…

Doña Ana County bars nighttime construction, repair, demolition or excavation and grading work that disturbs neighbors or exceeds the noise ordinance's decibel table. Nighttime runs…

Doña Ana County bars nighttime live music, radios, stereos or other sound amplifying equipment from exceeding the Code § 261-11 decibel limits on neighboring noise-sensitive property…

Doña Ana County bars running leaf blowers, power mowers, rototillers and similar outdoor power equipment at nighttime if the noise exceeds the Code § 261-11 decibel table on…

Doña Ana County bans any unreasonably loud noise between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weeknights (midnight to 6 a.m. on weekends) that disturbs a neighbor's peace, comfort or sleep. Under…

Doña Ana County bans unmuffled engine retarders and straight pipes on public roadways at any time in residential areas, and separately makes nighttime use of a defective or bypassed…

Doña Ana County caps nighttime sound at 50 dB(A) on residential and noise-sensitive property, 60 dB(A) on office/commercial property, and 70 dB(A) on industrial property, measured on…

Doña Ana County bans letting a dog or other animal persistently or continuously bark, howl or make species-typical noise that disturbs the peace of anyone in the county. Code § 261-17…

Secondhand dealers in unincorporated Doña Ana County are certificate holders under Chapter 268: they must file a daily report of goods received to the Sheriff and LeadsOnline, tag…

Pawnbrokers in unincorporated Doña Ana County must register under the Business Registration Fee Ordinance, post a $5,000 corporate surety bond, and report every transaction daily to…

Adult bookstores and adult entertainment uses in unincorporated Doña Ana County must sit at least 1,000 feet from any church, school, public park or recreational facility, residential…

In unincorporated Doña Ana County, tattoo and body-piercing parlors cannot operate as a home occupation. Unified Development Code § 350-510.L flatly bars them alongside auto repair and…

Doña Ana County has no standalone massage establishment license; it regulates massage therapy only as a home occupation under UDC § 350-510K(2), requiring state licensure and limiting…

Short-term rentals in unincorporated Doña Ana County must meet residential fire life-safety code, including working smoke detectors serviced with fresh batteries at least once a year…

Doña Ana County limits unincorporated-area fireworks use to ground and handheld sparkling devices like fountains, sparklers, and wheels; aerial and audible fireworks, from bottle…

Doña Ana County exempts recreational fires from the Fire Code's open-burning notification system: unlike a brush pile, a backyard fire pit doesn't require calling Mesilla Valley…

Doña Ana County caps residential propane storage at 2,000 gallons of water capacity per installation under its Fire Code amendments. Bigger multi-container dispensing stations and bulk…

Doña Ana County's Fire Code bans open burning of trash, tires, plastics, and paper products outright and requires every other open burn to sit at least 300 feet from any structure…

Doña Ana County requires a building permit under its adopted 2021 International Building and Residential Codes for construction, alteration and repair in the unincorporated county…

Doña Ana County ties electrical permits to the 2020 National Electrical Code and generally bars issuing one without a validly issued building permit, with narrow exceptions for service…

Doña Ana County requires a certificate of occupancy before any building may be used, issued only after Building Services completes its inspections. Partial inspections at intermittent…

In unincorporated Doña Ana County, weekly trash collection is mandatory: private haulers or self-service commercial users must pick up or dispose of solid waste at least once a week…

Doña Ana County has no mandatory curbside recycling program for the unincorporated area; the only County-level recycling rule is that single-stream recyclables dropped at a County…

Every residence and business in unincorporated Doña Ana County must receive solid waste collection at least once a week. Section 287-4(B)(1) lets a private sanitation company collect…

Unincorporated Doña Ana County requires every solid-waste container, whether it sits at a house or is hauled to disposal, to fully enclose and contain the waste and stay leakproof…

Construction sites in unincorporated Doña Ana County must contain debris in approved roll-off or overhead-dump containers under § 287-5. Lids stay closed except while loading, and…

Doña Ana County does not run curbside recycling; residents haul single-stream recyclables to the County's solid waste convenience stations, where § 179-43 accepts them free of charge…

Doña Ana County fines illegal dumping up to $1,000 for ordinary refuse, litter or garbage disposed of outside an authorized landfill, and up to $5,000 for illegally dumped hazardous…

Doña Ana County's subdivision code requires developers to disclose New Mexico's Right to Farm Act to every lot buyer. Under that law, an agricultural operation that wasn't a nuisance…

Doña Ana County requires subdividers to disclose New Mexico's Right to Farm Act to buyers under UDC § 350-407, and the same nuisance-immunity standard is carried into the County's…

In unincorporated Doña Ana County, leaving an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle on public or private property for more than 72 hours is a declared public nuisance…

In unincorporated Doña Ana County, recreational vehicles and travel trailers must sit in a licensed RV park by default. The Unified Development Code allows only narrow exceptions: a…

In unincorporated Doña Ana County, businesses must provide off-street loading docks and can only load or unload trucks between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. The Unified Development Code…

Commercial vehicles with more than six wheels, plus semitrucks and semitrailers, cannot park in residential areas of unincorporated Doña Ana County except briefly for loading and…

Doña Ana County adopts FEMA's Flood Insurance Study and rate maps by reference, and any development inside a mapped special flood hazard area needs a floodplain development permit…

Any grading, construction, demolition or development that needs a county permit must have an approved erosion control plan (ECP) in place first, under § 350-605D of the Doña Ana County…

Doña Ana County's grading and drainage rules, § 350-605G, require developed sites to hold post-development stormwater runoff to no more than pre-development levels and size drainage…

Doña Ana County requires new and substantially improved structures in FEMA-mapped special flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor one foot above the base flood elevation. A…

No cannabis establishment, consumption area, or courier can locate within 300 feet of a residential area, a K-12 school, or a day care in Doña Ana County's unincorporated area, and…

Doña Ana County confines new cannabis retailers to the T4 zone, and only where an established retail business already held a County business registration there when the rule took…

Doña Ana County imposes a 5% occupancy (lodgers') tax on gross taxable rent for hotels, motels and other short-term lodging in the unincorporated County, and every vendor, including…

Street trees planted in Doña Ana County's public rights-of-way must measure at least a 24-inch box, 1½-inch caliper, or 6 feet tall with a 2-foot canopy at installation, and cannot be…

Doña Ana County requires every outdoor lighting fixture in new development to be fully shielded, and caps commercial lamps at 250 watts HID, about 1,600 lumens. Residential lighting…

On-site lighting for buildings, lawns, and parking areas in unincorporated Doña Ana County must be designed so it does not shine or cause glare onto a neighboring property, building…

Doña Ana County caps garage and yard sales at three per year for each street or unit address, and every sale is limited to three consecutive days. The address-based count means every…

Doña Ana County's Noise Control Ordinance caps nighttime sound from stationary equipment, including generators, at 50 decibels on residential land, 60 on office/commercial, and 70 on…

Doña Ana County bars nighttime operation of any stationary air conditioner, fan or other permanently installed mechanical equipment that exceeds the Code § 261-11 decibel table on…

Doña Ana County requires a home occupation permit before running any business from a residential dwelling, per UDC § 350-510. The use is capped at 600 square feet, must stay incidental…

A home occupation in unincorporated Doña Ana County may display exactly one sign, capped at one square foot and nonilluminated, under UDC § 350-510F. It must be freestanding or mounted…

Doña Ana County caps home occupation client traffic at two customer or client vehicles parked at or near the home at any one time under UDC § 350-510J(2), with exceptions for…

Home day-care and child-care businesses in unincorporated Doña Ana County need a home occupation permit and must follow state licensing rules under UDC § 350-510K(6). Once more than…

Doña Ana County treats rainwater harvesting as a voluntary water-conservation best practice, not a mandate. Subdivision design guidelines at § 350-606B(4) recommend passive systems…

Developers in unincorporated Doña Ana County can meet landscaping requirements by preserving natural areas with at least 50% native plants, earning a 1:1 credit against the required…

Doña Ana County's Unified Development Code blocks prohibited plants from every landscaped area in the unincorporated county. Section 350-507D(10) sends every commercial, industrial…

Doña Ana County's landscaping appendix names Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima, in its official 'Plants, Prohibited or Not Recommended' table at § 350-825, flagging it for invasive…

The D1 Low Density Residential zone allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot, capped at 1,800 square feet, but only with an approved special use permit under UDC Table 5.8; the D3…

Sheds and other accessory buildings in the D1 Low Density Residential zone are capped at 5,000 square feet or 10% of the lot, whichever is less, must sit at least 10 feet from any…

Doña Ana County caps residential screening walls and fences at four feet in a required front yard and six feet along side or rear setbacks under UDC Table 5.22 at § 350-507R. Livestock…

Inside Doña Ana County's New Urbanism zoning district, the master-planned area built around the Santa Teresa community, a retaining wall that holds back more than 30 inches of soil or…

Doña Ana County's fencing rules keep barbed wire and razor wire out of residential settings. Under the Unified Development Code, barbed wire and razor fencing are permitted only in the…

Any screening wall or fence over six feet tall in unincorporated Doña Ana County needs a building permit with plans sealed by a New Mexico-licensed professional engineer. Even shorter…

Doña Ana County bans smoking and vaping inside and within fifty feet of every public place in the unincorporated county, from county buildings and restaurants to gyms, bowling alleys…

Doña Ana County's solid waste code bars any accumulation of building materials, lumber or waste on unincorporated county property from becoming a feeding or breeding ground for…

Mobile food vendors operating in unincorporated Doña Ana County must obtain a State of New Mexico Food Handler's Card and follow every applicable fire, zoning, and occupational tax…

Doña Ana County's landscaping code requires property owners with an approved landscape plan to fix irrigation leaks under UDC § 350-507L(4). The rule sits inside the county's broader…

Doña Ana County bans turf, regardless of irrigation method, from required landscaping in public right-of-way planters and vehicular use areas of new commercial, industrial…

A mobile food vendor may set up wherever Table 5.1 permits the use, but the vehicle cannot park within 20 feet of a roadway and needs the property owner's written approval, under UDC §…

Doña Ana County requires mobile food vendors in the unincorporated area to register as a business, submit an approved site plan, and carry a New Mexico Environment Department Food…

In the D1 Low Density Residential zone, homes must sit back 20 feet from the primary frontage, 5 feet from a secondary frontage, and 10 feet from both side and rear property lines…

On rural R5 and R5L lots (5+ acres), Doña Ana County caps total lot coverage at 12,500 square feet or 10% of the lot size, whichever is greater, excluding the driveway, under UDC Table…

In the D1 Low Density Residential zone, the County's default single-family district, both principal and accessory buildings are capped at 35 feet under UDC Table 5.8. Height caps vary…

Any residential swimming pool built in unincorporated Doña Ana County needs a Building Code permit under the county's adopted 2012 New Mexico Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code. The…

Anyone who wants to use, dig into, or place something within a Doña Ana County right-of-way, including the space behind the curb where sidewalks sit, needs a permit first. Chapter 274…