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Regulation · Other

New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9)

New Mexico has NO enacted comprehensive autonomous-vehicle statute; two legislative attempts failed (2021 HB270 and 2025 HB148, which would have required a human operator until 2036 but stalled in committee). AV operation is instead governed by a narrow testing statute (NMSA 66-7-12, autonomous motor vehicles; notification and regulation of testing) and the operative NMDOT administrative rule, NMAC 18.24.1.9 (Autonomous Motor Vehicle Testing and Operation, effective April 19, 2022), which permits human-supervised testing and, on certification (FMVSS compliance, minimal-risk condition, insurance, registration, law-enforcement interaction protocol), driverless operation. This agency-rule regime is the basis for Kodiak Robotics' autonomous Class 8 truck runs in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin. Applies to autonomous vehicles including trucks. EDITORIAL NOTE: the thin source base reflects genuinely thin underlying law (no comprehensive statute), not a sourcing gap.

Jurisdiction: United States/New Mexico · Effective 2022-04-19

Machine-readable surfaces

Sources (10)

  1. https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/chapter-66/article-7/part-1/section-66-7-12/
  2. https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-mexico/N-M-Admin-Code-SS-18.24.1.9
  3. https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/25%20Regular/bills/house/HB0148.HTML
  4. https://www.roadrunnercapitol.com/legislation_pdfs/firs/2025/HB0148.PDF
  5. https://www.nmlegis.gov/Sessions/21%20Regular/bills/house/HB0270.html
  6. https://www.nmlegis.gov/handouts/TIRS%20070522%20Item%207%20DOT%20Autonomous%20Vehicles.pdf
  7. https://nmpoliticalreport.com/2025/03/14/autonomous-vehicle-bill-stalls-before-passing-committee/
  8. https://www.ttnews.com/articles/new-mexico-takes-steps-toward-embracing-autonomous-vehicles
  9. https://www.mvd.newmexico.gov/chapter-18-other-vehicles/
  10. https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/autonomous-vehicles-legislation-database

Status history

  • In effect · 2022-04-19 · editor:DEPLOY content-agent (Sprint 5b-1 AV-truck state laws)

    New Mexico AV operation governed by NMDOT rule NMAC 18.24.1.9 (effective Apr 19, 2022) + narrow testing statute NMSA 66-7-12; no comprehensive AV statute (2021 HB270 and 2025 HB148 failed). Allows certified driverless testing/operation; basis for Kodiak's NM Permian runs.

Common questions

What does New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) cover?
New Mexico has NO enacted comprehensive autonomous-vehicle statute; two legislative attempts failed (2021 HB270 and 2025 HB148, which would have required a human operator until 2036 but stalled in committee). AV operation is instead governed by a narrow testing statute (NMSA 66-7-12, autonomous motor vehicles; notification and regulation of testing) and the operative NMDOT administrative rule, NMAC 18.24.1.9 (Autonomous Motor Vehicle Testing and Operation, effective April 19, 2022), which permits human-supervised testing and, on certification (FMVSS compliance, minimal-risk condition, insurance, registration, law-enforcement interaction protocol), driverless operation. This agency-rule regime is the basis for Kodiak Robotics' autonomous Class 8 truck runs in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin. Applies to autonomous vehicles including trucks. EDITORIAL NOTE: the thin source base reflects genuinely thin underlying law (no comprehensive statute), not a sourcing gap.
Where does New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) apply?
New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) is recorded as a other applying in New Mexico on the DEPLOY registry.
When did New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) take effect?
New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) is recorded as effective April 19, 2022 on the DEPLOY registry.
Is New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) still in effect?
New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) is currently in effect and applies to covered operators in the named jurisdiction.
What types of robots does New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) apply to?
New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9) is recorded as applying to autonomous vehicles, truck on the DEPLOY registry.
Methodology: Verified · 10 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-05-31

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-05-31

Architectural position

Cohort: av

Sources by quality tier

10
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for New Mexico autonomous vehicle testing/operation rule (NMDOT 18.24.1.9).

Canonical ID 033d0f84-2679-413d-b584-03500343de3a