How to fill out New Mexico MVD-10008

The shortest affidavit in the New Mexico set: one sworn sentence that two names - on two lines, joined by 'and' - are in fact one and the same person, business or company. It exists for the title printed with a full middle name against a licence that abbreviates it, the maiden name against the married one, the trading name against the registered company - any case where the division's rule against name discrepancies would otherwise stop a transfer over a person who was never actually two people.

Written against MVD-10008 (Rev 10/14), issued under Vehicle Procedures Manual, Chapter 5 Section A (Prescreen Documents). The division's prescreen treats a discrepancy in the names of sellers or purchasers as grounds to reject the document outright, with this affidavit - sometimes alongside manager approval - as the accepted cure. Bring it sworn and ready if you know your title spells you differently than your licence does; discovering the mismatch at the counter costs the buyer the trip.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVD-10008 from the realfile.tax.newmexico.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MVD-10008 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Print the name making the affidavit

   You, in the fullest form you actually use - this is the identity the two variants both point at.

   Watch out: Use the version on your identification here, since that is the document the notary will check you against.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   The two name lines

   One spelling per line: the title's version and the licence's version, copied character for character from each document.

   Watch out: Copy, do not remember. Half the failed affidavits introduce a third spelling that matches neither document, and the clerk is comparing all of them.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Sign and date before the notary

   The signature goes on in the notary's presence; the acknowledgement, commission expiry and seal complete the page.

   Watch out: The opening words are 'under penalty of perjury' - in New Mexico's motor-vehicle context that is a fourth degree felony, which is a lot of weight for a middle initial, so make sure both names really are you.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   File it with the transfer

   The affidavit rides with the title packet, answering the mismatch before it is asked.

   Watch out: Keep a copy for the next transaction - if the title is not being reissued in the corrected name now, the same mismatch will greet the next clerk too.

What gets this one rejected

• •Unnotarized. Unlike the sale documents, this affidavit carries a full acknowledgement block, and it is not optional.
• •Two names that belong to two people. The affidavit reconciles spellings of one identity - it cannot merge a parent and a child who share a name, and using it that way is the perjury the opening clause names.
• •A third spelling left unexplained. If the title, the licence and the signature each differ, the affidavit should name the pair the clerk is actually comparing - or two affidavits should.
• •Filed to dodge a real name change. Marriage, divorce and court-ordered changes are proven with the licence, decree or certificate under the division's name-change requirements - this form covers variation, not transformation.
• •Sworn by someone else on your behalf. The person making the affidavit is the person the names belong to; an agent needs a power of attorney to swear anything for you.
• •Written after the counter rejected the packet, in a hurry, with a new mismatch. Copy both spellings character for character from the documents themselves - a third variant makes the problem worse.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It also serves businesses. The printed sentence ends 'person, business or company' - a van titled to a trading name and sold by the LLC behind it is this affidavit's corporate case.
• •Prevention is spelled identically. Sign new documents the way the title spells you, and the affidavit never becomes necessary. It repairs history; it does not license future inconsistency.

Every line here was read off MVD-10008 (Rev 10/14) itself — the PDF is here — and off the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, Motor Vehicle Division pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all New Mexico seller paperwork, or what selling a car in New Mexico involves.