New Mexico School Immunization Requirements for Grandparent Caregivers

Immunizations Are Required, and the Records Matter

New Mexico requires satisfactory evidence that a student has completed required immunizations or started the series and is following the schedule. A student who has begun immunization has one month after enrollment to complete the required doses or show continued progress. A child experiencing homelessness under McKinney-Vento must be enrolled immediately even without immunization records; the school then refers the caregiver to its homeless-education liaison for help.

This is especially important in kinship care, where a child may arrive overnight with nothing — no medical file, no shot records, no pediatrician's name.

What New Mexico Requires

The New Mexico Department of Health requirements vary by age and grade. The 2026–2027 schedule includes DTaP, polio, MMR, hepatitis B, and varicella; it also phases in two Hepatitis A doses through fifth grade. Check the current school and daycare chart for the child's grade and age.

You do not need to memorize the list. The school nurse or registrar will tell you exactly which vaccinations the child needs based on their grade and age. What you need is proof that the child received them.

Finding the Child's Immunization Records

Step 1: Check the New Mexico Immunization Information System (NMSIIS). This is the state's electronic immunization registry. Your pediatrician or local health department can pull the child's record from NMSIIS. If the child was vaccinated in New Mexico, the shots are likely in the system.

Step 2: Contact the previous pediatrician. If you know which doctor the child saw before coming to you, call the office and request immunization records. With a completed Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit, ask the office what documentation it needs before releasing the child's medical records.

Step 3: Contact the previous school. If the child was enrolled in school before, the school nurse has immunization records in the student file. Request a records transfer from the previous school to the new school.

Step 4: Start fresh if necessary. If you genuinely cannot find any records and no one can pull them from NMSIIS, the child's new pediatrician can start a catch-up immunization schedule. This is not ideal — the child may get duplicate vaccinations — but it ensures they meet school requirements.

Consent for Vaccinations

Items 1–4 of the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit authorize the caregiver to consent to immunizations. A relative who completes the additional medical-care items can authorize other medical care as well.

Walk-in vaccination clinics, the county health department, and the child's pediatrician all accept the affidavit as consent documentation. Bring a copy.

Exemptions

New Mexico allows medical and religious exemptions, but not philosophical or personal-belief exemptions. A licensed physician, physician assistant, or certified nurse practitioner can certify that a required immunization would seriously endanger the child's life or health. Religious exemptions must be approved by the New Mexico Department of Health.

The provider's medical certification is part of an exemption request; it is not itself the approved exemption. Submit the required exemption request to the New Mexico Department of Health and give the school the approved form.

The School Physical

Most New Mexico school districts require a health examination form on file, especially for sports participation. This is separate from immunization records. Schedule a well-child visit with a pediatrician who accepts the affidavit, and ask them to complete the school health form during the visit.

If the child needs a sports physical for athletics, that is typically a separate form available from the school's athletic office. The affidavit gives you authority to consent to the exam and sign the participation waiver.

Our New Mexico School and Medical Consent Guide includes a checklist of every document the school needs — immunization records, proof of residence, the affidavit, and the health form — so you can arrive prepared and get the enrollment done in a single visit.

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