LOCAL RULES

New Mexico incident report requirements

Your New Mexico incident report has 5 rules to meet. ReportDraft puts every one on your checklist and checks your draft before you sign.

  • More than seven days of lost time: the report within 10 days, with a copy to the worker
  • The Notice of Accident form, signed by the worker and the supervisor, a copy each
  • The accident notice poster with Notice of Accident forms attached
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New Mexico employers follow federal OSHA recordkeeping and add the Workers' Compensation Act's own steps (NMSA 1978, 52-1-29 and 52-1-58, with 11.4.2 NMAC): a Notice of Accident form that the worker and the supervisor both sign, and a report to the Workers' Compensation Administration once lost time passes seven days. Here is each New Mexico rule with a link to the statutes or the WCA's rules, and what a New Mexico incident report should record.

Last reviewed October 15, 2026 against the official sources listed below.

Incident reportNEW MEXICO / SAMPLE

Sample notes, 140 words

Company: Northgate Fabrication
Site: 1840 Industrial Pkwy, shipping dock 2
Date: 10/08/2026, about 2:15pm
Injured: Luis Romero, material handler, warehouse crew
Supervisor: Tom Reilly
...
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We sorted 5 items into 4 sections and flagged 1 to fix first.

5 New Mexico rules on your checklist, including more than seven days of lost time: the report within 10 days, with a copy to the worker.

Still to add

  • NeededType of incident
  • NeededCompleted by
  • RecommendedNotes for damage to property, equipment or the environment

Filled in for you

Company or organizationNorthgate Fabrication
Site address or location1840 Industrial Pkwy, shipping dock 2
Date of the incidentOct 8, 2026
Employee or person involved (full name)Luis Romero, material handler, warehouse crew
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What New Mexico requires

  • Every employer under the Act, or its workers' compensation carrier, makes a written report to the director of every injury or occupational disease in the course of employment that results in more than seven days of lost time, within ten days after the injury or after the employer is notified of the disability, and the employer sends the worker a copyNMSA 1978, 52-1-58 (A)
  • First report of injury data reaches the WCA within 10 days of notification for every injury or occupational disease resulting in more than seven cumulative days of lost time or death, on time even if the claim is disputed; the claim administrator gives the worker and the employer a copy at submission, and an uninsured employer gives the worker a copy11.4.2.8 (F) (1), (7), (8) NMAC (eff. 2025-11-07)
  • The worker notes, briefly describes and signs the director-approved Notice of Accident form; the employer, superintendent, foreman or agent in charge of the work also signs it, which only acknowledges receipt and concedes no rights or defenses; the form is in duplicate so worker and employer each keep a copyNMSA 1978, 52-1-29 (C)
  • The employer keeps the director-approved accident notice poster up in conspicuous places where employee notices are posted, telling workers to give written notice of an accident within fifteen days, with an adequate supply of Notice of Accident forms attached; without the poster, the worker's time to give notice runs to the sixty-day maximumNMSA 1978, 52-1-29 (B) ยท 11.4.2.10 NMAC (eff. 2025-11-07)
  • The worker gives the employer written notice of the accident within fifteen days after knowing or having reason to know of it, or, if the injury or another cause beyond their control prevents that, as soon as reasonably possible and no later than sixty days; no written notice is needed when the employer or the supervisor in charge of the work knew of the accidentNMSA 1978, 52-1-29 (A)
  • No compensation claim is barred before the report is filed or within thirty days after itNMSA 1978, 52-1-59
  • The director fines anyone who fails to file a required report or breaks the Act or its rules 25 to 1,000 dollars for each occurrence, unless the Act sets another penaltyNMSA 1978, 52-1-61

The Notice of Accident form and the poster

Keep the WCA's accident notice poster up where employee notices are posted, with a supply of Notice of Accident forms attached. Workers give written notice within fifteen days, or up to sixty days when the injury prevents it. Without the poster, workers get the full sixty days.

The worker describes the accident briefly on the form and signs it, and you or the supervisor in charge also sign. Your signature only acknowledges receipt and concedes nothing. The form is in duplicate, so you and the worker each keep a copy.

The report once lost time passes seven days

When an injury or occupational disease causes more than seven days of lost time, you or your carrier report it to the WCA within ten days after the injury or after you learn of the disability, and the worker gets a copy. The WCA's rules count cumulative days and add deaths, and the report is due even if the claim is disputed. Insured employers' claim administrators file it electronically.

Penalties and the claim period

Each failure to file a required report can bring a fine of 25 to 1,000 dollars. No claim is barred before the report is filed or within thirty days after it.

From field notes to a finished New Mexico report

Note the time, place and cause, the date the Notice of Accident form was signed, and each day of lost time. ReportDraft writes the incident up and keeps fields for the form, the lost time, the report to the WCA and the worker's copy.

Common mistakes

  • No Notice of Accident forms attached to the poster.
  • The supervisor refusing to sign the form, as if signing conceded the claim.
  • Not reporting once lost time passes seven days in total.
  • Not giving the worker a copy of the report.
  • Holding the report back because the claim is disputed.

Sources

Last reviewed October 15, 2026. Next review due January 15, 2027. This page explains published rules to help you write your report. It is not legal advice; the official text linked above governs.