Any and every legal notice or advertisement shall be published in a daily, tri-weekly, a semi-weekly or a weekly newspaper of general circulation that can be obtained by single copy and that is entered under the second class postage privilege in the county in which the notice or advertisement is required to be published; which newspaper, if published tri-weekly, semi-weekly or weekly, shall have been so published in the county continuously and uninterruptedly during the period of at least twenty-six consecutive weeks next prior to the first issue thereof containing any such notice or advertisement, and which newspaper, if published daily, shall have been so published in the county uninterruptedly and continuously during the period of at least six months next prior to the first issue thereof containing any such notice or advertisement; provided that the mere change in the name of any newspaper or the removal of the principal business office or seat of publication of any newspaper from one place to another in the same county shall not break or affect the continuity in the publication of any such newspaper if the newspaper is in fact continuously and uninterruptedly printed and published within the county as provided in this section; provided further that a newspaper shall not lose its rights as a legal publication if it fails to publish one or more of its issues by reason of fire, flood, accident, transportation embargo or tie-up or other casualty beyond the control of the publisher; provided further that any legal notice which fails of publication for the required number of insertions by reasons beyond the control of the publisher shall not be declared illegal if the publication has been made in one issue of the publication; and provided further that if in any county in this state there has not been published any newspaper for the prescribed period at the time when any such notice or advertisement is required to be published, the notice or advertisement may be published in any newspaper having a general circulation or published and printed in whole or in part in that county and that can be obtained by single copy in that county.

History: Laws 1937, ch. 167, § 2; 1941 Comp., § 12-202; 1953 Comp., § 10-2-2; 1999, ch. 63, § 1.

The 1999 amendment, effective June 18, 1999, added the section heading; deleted "only" following "be published", deleted "paid" preceding "circulation" in two places; inserted "can be purchased by single copy and that"; added "and that can be obtained by single copy in that county"; and made minor stylistic changes.

Purpose. — The primary purpose of this section is to give notice to the citizens, with provisions relating to publication, printing and mailing privileges referring merely to the method of carrying out the intent of the statute, i.e., notice. State ex rel. Sun Co. v. Vigil, 1965-NMSC-012, 74 N.M. 766, 398 P.2d 987.

"Published." — The proper and correct meaning of the word "published" is that the notice must be inserted for the required time in a newspaper that will make the matter thereof a public matter or known to the people in the place affected. State ex rel. Sun Co. v. Vigil, 1965-NMSC-012, 74 N.M. 766, 398 P.2d 987.

"Publication." — Any means which would give notice to the public of any matter desired to be brought to their knowledge would be classed as publication. State ex rel. Sun Co. v. Vigil, 1965-NMSC-012, 74 N.M. 766, 398 P.2d 987.

Publication and printing distinguished. — Publication means to make known, a notification to the public at large, either by words, writing or printing. Printing means the impress of letters or characters upon paper or upon other substance; printing implies the mechanical art by which type is imprinted upon the paper, whereas publishing means the conveying of knowledge of notices. State ex rel. Sun Co. v. Vigil, 1965-NMSC-012, 74 N.M. 766, 398 P.2d 987.

Requirement of second-class postal privilege. — Among other requirements for a legal newspaper is that the newspaper must be entered under the second-class postal privilege in the county in which said notice or advertisement is required to be published. 1960 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 60-46.

The provision relating to second-class mailing privilege is merely directory and the absence of the privilege will not defeat legal publication. 1981 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 81-13.

Use of newspaper having general paid circulation, etc. — Only where no newspaper is published within the county meeting the requirements of this section may items be published in any newspaper having a general paid circulation and/or printed in whole or in part in said county. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-12.

Publication in New Mexico register. — A notice published in the New Mexico register would not fulfill the requirements for legal publication under 14-11-1 to 14-11-8 NMSA 1978 because the register is not a newspaper of general paid circulation. 1993 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 93-02.

Legislative intent. — It was the intention of the legislature that legal notices be published in newspapers located within the county. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-12.

Only publishing required. — In order for a newspaper to be "legal" for publication of notices, it does not have to be both published and printed within the county, but only published within the county. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-12.

A newspaper may be published within a county and thus be a legal newspaper though its actual printing is done outside the county. 1948 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 48-5146.

A newspaper published in Window Rock, Arizona, and mailed to subscribers in San Juan and McKinley counties in New Mexico, is not "published" in these counties for purposes of this section even though it is the chief newspaper within the Navajo tribe. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-12.

"Publication" contemplates that the paper issue to its subscribers from the county. 1964 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 64-12.

Law reviews. — For article, "Approaching Statutory Interpretation in New Mexico," see 8 Nat. Resources J. 689 (1968).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 58 Am. Jur. 2d Newspapers, Periodicals, and Press Associations §§ 33 to 38, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 49.

Rights and duties of parties to conditional sales contract as to resale of repossessed property, 49 A.L.R.2d 15.

Application of requirement that newspaper be locally published for official notice publication, 85 A.L.R.4th 581.

66 C.J.S. Newspapers § 3.