New Mexico's Self-Service Storage Lien Act lets you deny access after 5 days of default and enter the unit after 30 days. No sale action may be taken until 90 days of continuous default. The notice gives at least 15 days to pay, and the sale follows the first newspaper ad by 15 days (NMSA 48-11-7).
Verified on October 25, 2026 against the official NMSA 1978 compilation of Chapter 48, compiled August 2026, on the New Mexico Compilation Commission's site.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Review your notices and sale plan with your attorney before you act.
New Mexico lien timeline at a glance
New Mexico calls the renter the "occupant." The Act is NMSA 48-11-1 to 48-11-9. It requires a written rental agreement that tells the occupant the stored articles will be sold if the occupant is in default and names any lienholder with an interest in the property (48-11-3). A court has held that an oral rental did not give rise to a self-service storage lien (Bird v. Lankford, 1993-NMCA-128, cited in the annotations to 48-11-3). The lien attaches on the date of default and lasts while you hold the property (48-11-5). A self-service storage facility is not a warehouse under the UCC sections 55-7-209 and 55-7-210 (48-11-4).
| Step | Earliest timing | What the law requires | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Default | Day 0 | The occupant fails to perform in a timely manner any obligation under the Act or the rental agreement. The lien attaches. | 48-11-2(A); 48-11-5 |
| 2. Deny access | Day 5 | After 5 days of continuous default you may deny the occupant access to the space. | 48-11-7(A)(1) |
| 3. Enter the space | Day 30 | After 30 days of continuous default you may enter and move the property to a safe place, if you send the notice of intent to enforce a lien within 5 days of entering. Also notify the lienholders listed in the rental agreement. | 48-11-7(A)(2) |
| 4. Notice of intent to enforce | Day 30 or later | Itemized claim, a general description of the property, denial of access with your contact information, a demand for payment within at least 15 days after delivery, and a conspicuous sale warning. | 48-11-7(B) |
| 5. Advertisement | After the notice period, and not before day 91 on our conservative reading | Once a week for two consecutive weeks in a county newspaper. | 48-11-7(A)(3), (E) |
| 6. Sale | At least 15 days after the first ad (day 106 on our conservative reading) | At the facility, the nearest suitable place in the county, or on a publicly accessible online website. | 48-11-7(E) to (G) |
Worked example: rent was due and unpaid on January 1, and you count default from that day. Day 5 is January 6, when you may deny access. Day 30 is January 31, when you may enter the space, and you send the notice of intent that day with a pay-by date at least 15 days out. The Act says no action to sell may be taken until 90 days of continuous default, which is April 1. If you treat the first ad as an action to sell, it runs April 2 (day 91) and the earliest sale is April 17 (day 106), 15 days later. If the ad may run before day 91, the earliest sale is day 91. This page uses the later date so you never sell early. The Act does not say which reading is right, so ask your attorney.
What the New Mexico notice must say and how to send it
The notice of intent to enforce a lien must include:
- An itemized statement of your claim, showing the sum due at the time of the notice and the date when the sum became due.
- A brief and general statement of the personal property subject to the lien, enough for the person to identify it. A locked or sealed container may be described without describing its contents.
- Notice of denial of access, with the name, street address and telephone number of you or your designated agent whom the occupant may contact.
- A demand for payment within a specified time, not less than 15 days after delivery of the notice.
- A conspicuous statement that unless the claim is paid in the time stated, the property will be advertised for sale or other disposition and will be sold or otherwise disposed of to satisfy your lien.
All notices go by verified mail or email, as the occupant chose when entering the current rental agreement. Verified mail is any method offered by the United States Postal Service or a private delivery service that provides evidence of mailing. If you send the notice by email and get no response, return receipt or delivery confirmation within three business days, you must send a one-time notice by verified mail to the last known address (48-11-7(C), (D)). The last known address is the postal or electronic address the occupant gave for the latest rental agreement or in a later written or electronic change notice (48-11-2(C)).
You must also post a notice in a prominent place in your office at all times: "All articles stored under a rental agreement, which have incurred unpaid charges for thirty days, will be sold or otherwise disposed of to pay charges at the end of ninety days." (48-11-8).
Alternate contacts and lienholders
New Mexico has no alternate contact rule. Notice goes to the occupant and to every lienholder listed in the disclosure provision of the rental agreement (48-11-7(A)(2)). A person with a perfected security interest may claim the property by paying the total amount due as stated in the notice (48-11-6). Willfully failing to disclose a lienholder in the rental agreement is a petty misdemeanor (48-11-9).
Advertising the sale
After the time in the notice runs out, publish the ad once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the facility is located. The ad must include a brief general description of the property, the facility address, the occupant's name and last known address, and the time, place and manner of the sale. The sale may be held no sooner than 15 days after the first publication. If there is no newspaper of general circulation in the county, post the ad at least 10 days before the sale in at least six conspicuous places in the neighborhood of the facility (48-11-7(E)).
Late fee limits
The Act has no late fee provision or cap. Your rental agreement controls, so state the fee in writing and keep it reasonable. The lien covers rent, labor or other charges in relation to the property and the cost of preserving and selling it (48-11-5).
Sale rules, surplus and records
- Where. At the facility, at the nearest suitable place within the county, or on a publicly accessible online website (48-11-7(G)).
- Conform to the notice. The sale or disposition must match the terms of the notice (48-11-7(F)).
- Redemption. Before any sale the occupant may pay what is needed to satisfy the lien and the reasonable expenses and take the property back (48-11-7(H)).
- Buyer protection. A good-faith purchaser takes free of the rights of an unsecured lienholder and of a secured lienholder who received your notice (48-11-7(I)).
- Surplus. Satisfy the lien from the proceeds, subject to prior lienholders who did not receive notice, and hold the balance for the occupant, lienholder or other person in interest. If it is unclaimed within two years of the sale it becomes yours without further recourse (48-11-7(J)).
- Records. The Act sets no retention period. Keep the notice, proof of mailing or email confirmation, the ads and the sale results.
Vehicles and boats
If the property is a vehicle, watercraft or trailer, the occupant has been in default for a continuous 60-day period and you chose not to sell it, you may have it towed by an independent towing carrier licensed under the Motor Carrier Act. Within one day after the tow, send verified notice to the occupant's last known postal or electronic address stating the date of the tow and the address and telephone number of the towing company (48-11-7(K)).
Active-duty military (SCRA)
Federal law adds protections for servicemembers, and owners must check military status before a sale. See 50 U.S.C. 3958. We found no New Mexico-specific military rule in the Act.
Common mistakes checklist
- Using an oral rental or a lease without the lien notice and lienholder disclosure.
- Overlocking before 5 days of continuous default, or entering the space before day 30.
- Sending the notice of intent more than 5 days after entering the space.
- Giving fewer than 15 days to pay in the notice.
- Using a delivery method the occupant did not choose at move-in, or not following an unanswered email with verified mail.
- Taking any action to sell before 90 days of continuous default.
- Advertising online only, or running one ad instead of two weekly ads.
- Selling less than 15 days after the first ad.
- Leaving the office notice about the 30 and 90 day timeline off the wall.
- Skipping the servicemember status check.
Tools to help
Use the lien timeline calculator to count your dates, read about lien and auction management, and see all state lien laws. The self storage auction process guide covers the sale, and the lien notice template gives you a starting draft.
If you track New Mexico lien dates in a spreadsheet, the best self storage software roundup shows which tools build the notice timeline by state, and self storage software explains how Stitch handles it. Moving from a Storable system? Our Storable alternatives guide compares what else is available.
What the statute does not say
We read NMSA 48-11-1 to 48-11-9 in the Chapter 48 compilation on the New Mexico Compilation Commission's NMOneSource site on October 25, 2026. The section histories show Laws 1987, a 2015 amendment (SB 311, effective June 19, 2015, which added email notice, online sales and vehicle towing) and a 2023 change that only replaced an agency name in 48-11-7(K). SB 299 (2023) and SB 180 (2025), which proposed an alternate contact, a 45 day wait and late fees, are not in the compiled text. We did not research court decisions beyond the annotation to 48-11-3.
The Act says no action to sell may be taken until 90 days of continuous default, but not whether the ad counts as an action to sell. Day 106 is our conservative figure, and day 91 is possible if the ad may run earlier. The Act gives no day for the notice of intent other than within 5 days of entering the space, which cannot be before day 30.
Last reviewed: October 25, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Review every notice and sale with your attorney.
