Outdoor Lighting in New Mexico (2026)
18 rules on the books across New Mexico, 7 cities and counties. Select a rule to read the full details.
Severity: Few Restrictions · Light Restrictions · Some Restrictions · Significant Restrictions · Heavy Restrictions
Dark Sky Rules
Ordinances designed to reduce light pollution, including requirements for shielded fixtures, limits on brightness, and curfews for decorative lighting.
New Mexico: statewide
StatewideSome RestrictionsNew Mexico's Night Sky Protection Act (NMSA 74-12-1 to 74-12-11) requires most outdoor lighting fixtures installed…
Read full rule →Las Cruces
Heavy RestrictionsLas Cruces's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance (Chapter 39) requires new residential fixtures to be fully shielded and…
Read full rule →Albuquerque
Significant RestrictionsAlbuquerque's Integrated Development Ordinance bans mercury-vapor lights and inefficient bulbs outright, caps every…
Read full rule →Bernalillo County
Some RestrictionsIn North Albuquerque Acres and Sandia Heights, outdoor light fixtures must be cutoff or shielded, run on timers or…
Read full rule →Dona Ana County
Some RestrictionsDoña Ana County requires every outdoor lighting fixture in new development to be fully shielded, and caps commercial…
Read full rule →Rio Rancho
Some RestrictionsEvery outdoor fixture installed in Rio Rancho since 2014 must be hooded, shielded, and aimed downward under the city's…
Read full rule →Sandoval County
Some RestrictionsFor non-residential development in the La Cueva Design Overlay Zone, Sandoval County's zoning code requires every…
Read full rule →Santa Fe
Some RestrictionsSanta Fe's outdoor lighting code requires shielded fixtures on most lamp types, bans glare that disables neighbors or…
Read full rule →Light Trespass & Shielding
Rules preventing outdoor lights from shining onto neighboring homes, shielding and full-cutoff fixture requirements, aiming standards, and footcandle caps at the property line.
Las Cruces
Heavy RestrictionsLas Cruces's Outdoor Lighting Ordinance bars light trespass, defined as light falling beyond the property it is meant…
Read full rule →Albuquerque
Some RestrictionsAlbuquerque caps how much light can spill from one property onto its neighbor. IDO § 14-16-5-8(G) sets numeric light…
Read full rule →Bernalillo County
Some RestrictionsUnincorporated North Albuquerque Acres, Sandia Heights, and the East Mountain Area must use shielded, cutoff outdoor…
Read full rule →Dona Ana County
Some RestrictionsOn-site lighting for buildings, lawns, and parking areas in unincorporated Doña Ana County must be designed so it does…
Read full rule →Rio Rancho
Some RestrictionsRio Rancho bans upward-escaping light from outdoor fixtures. Every light must be hooded and aimed straight down at the…
Read full rule →Sandoval County
Some RestrictionsNew non-residential lighting in the La Cueva Design Overlay Zone can't spill past the property line. Section…
Read full rule →Santa Fe
Some RestrictionsSanta Fe's outdoor lighting code makes light trespass a hard numeric standard, not a nuisance complaint. Section 14-8.9…
Read full rule →Billboard Lighting
Lighting standards for outdoor advertising, luminance limits, dwell time, sky-glow mitigation, and curfew hours after which billboards must dim or shut off.
Bernalillo County
Significant RestrictionsIn the unincorporated East Mountain Area, Bernalillo County bans electrical illumination of off-premise billboards…
Read full rule →Albuquerque
Some RestrictionsElectronic signs in Albuquerque, including off-premises billboards converted to electronic display, must carry…
Read full rule →Las Cruces
Some RestrictionsLas Cruces caps illuminated signs and billboards at 150 nits of luminance under outdoor-lighting Sec. 39-13, with…
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