New Mexico · Remodeling licensing · official-source guide
Yes. New Mexico licenses remodelers at state level through the Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department. Residential remodeling needs a GB-2 or GB-98 contractor license held by a business entity and qualified by a certified qualifying party who passed a trade exam and a business and law exam. Every license also requires a $10,000 surety bond.
State-level license
Yes
Public lookup
Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-05. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
The Construction Industries Division, part of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, licenses remodeling contractors for the whole state. CID describes its own work as licensing contractors, enforcing licensing laws, and requiring licensure for any person practicing or offering to practice construction contracting. The authority comes from the Construction Industries Licensing Act, NMSA 1978 Chapter 60, Article 13, and the operating rules sit in Title 14 of the New Mexico Administrative Code. CID runs three offices: Santa Fe at 2550 Cerrillos Road, Albuquerque at 5500 San Antonio Drive, and Las Cruces at 505 South Main Street. Licensing paperwork and exam scheduling are processed by PSI under contract with the division, while permitting and inspections stay with the department. For a remodeler this structure matters in a practical way. You hold one state license, not a separate permission slip for each town you work in. Section 60-13-51 goes further and bars any municipality from making a licensee file or obtain an extra license bond as a condition of doing business inside city limits. Cities still run their own business license programs and their own building safety offices, so a remodeler working in Albuquerque deals with CID for the contractor license and with the city for the business license and many permits. The license itself is issued to a business entity, not to a person. The individual who carries the trade credential is called the qualifying party.
Rule 14.6.6 NMAC sets the classifications and their scopes. Two general building classifications carry most remodeling work. GB-2, titled Residential, lets the licensee erect, alter, repair or demolish residences and apartment houses accommodating not more than four family units in occupancy Groups R-1, R-2 and R-3, plus incidental Group U items. GB-2 also includes all work described by the GS specialty classifications, provided the work stays residential. GB-98, titled General Building, covers residential and commercial buildings and includes everything authorized by GB-2, GF-5, GF-7 and the GS classifications, plus seal coating and striping of driveways and parking lots. A remodeler who only touches houses and small multifamily buildings can work under GB-2. A remodeler who wants commercial tenant improvement work needs GB-98. The GS specialty list is where single-trade remodelers live: GS-7 drywall installation and texture, GS-13 framing, GS-14 windows, doors and skylights, GS-16 masonry, GS-21 roofing, GS-30 plastering, stucco and lathing, GS-31 siding, GS-4 concrete, cement, walkways and driveways, and GS-5 demolition. Electrical, mechanical and plumbing work is carved out. Section 60-13-12 states that work coming under the jurisdiction of the mechanical bureau or the electrical bureau must be performed by a contractor licensed to perform that work. Rule 14.6.6 NMAC adds that all work a prime contractor subcontracts shall be performed by an entity validly licensed in the classification of the work performed.
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Section 60-13-12 states that no person shall act as a contractor without a license classified to cover the type of work to be undertaken, and that no bid shall be submitted unless the contractor holds a valid license to bid and perform that work. Section 60-13-3 defines contracting broadly enough to catch almost every remodel: constructing, altering, repairing, installing or demolishing a building or other structure, and similar work covered by codes adopted under the act. Subcontractors and specialty contractors are included by name. The exemptions are narrow, and customers quote them back at you, so know the text. An individual who works on one project at a time that does not exceed $7,200 compensation a year is exempt, but only if the work is casual, minor or inconsequential such as handyman repairs, is not part of a larger or major operation, and the individual does not advertise or maintain a sign, card or other device indicating to the public that he is qualified to engage in the business of contracting. That individual must also file an annual declaration with the division. The exemption never covers electrical wiring, plumbing or gas fitting. A person acting on his own account to build or improve a single-family residence for personal use is exempt if he does not engage in commercial construction. Short-term depreciable improvements to commercial property are exempt up to $5,000 on a single undertaking.
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CID issues licenses to business entities that employ or are owned by at least one qualifying party certified to perform the scope of work the licensee intends to do. Experience is counted in years at a defined level. Rule 14.6.6 NMAC sets GB-2 at two years of foreman level practical or related trade experience. GB-98 requires four years of foreman level practical or related trade experience, of which two years must be commercial. Most GS specialty classifications require two years of experience, with GS-13 framing, GS-21 roofing and GS-24 structural steel erection written at the foreman level. CID requires the experience to fall within the ten years immediately preceding the application, and Rule 14.6.3 NMAC states that no applicant is eligible to sit a qualifying examination until satisfactory work experience documentation has been provided to the division. Accredited technical training can substitute in part: each year of equivalent training counts as one-half year of experience, and accredited training may never exceed one-half of the total work experience requirement. Experience is proved with notarized work experience affidavits. Each person attesting to your experience completes a separate affidavit, fills in the affiant portion, and has the signature notarized, and you use as many affidavits as the required period needs. One limit matters for companies that grow by adding entities: no individual may qualify more than one licensed entity unless there is at least thirty percent common ownership among the qualified entities.
Section 60-13-16 requires a passing score on an examination approved and adopted by the division before a certificate of qualification is issued. The exam has two parts. One part tests general business knowledge, division rules and the provisions of the Construction Industries Licensing Act. Applicants for a GB classification also take a test on technical knowledge and familiarity with the prescribed codes and minimum standards of the classification sought. The statute requires the division to provide examinations in both English and Spanish. The business and law requirement can be satisfied another way. In place of that exam, an applicant may submit a certificate of completion of a business and law course of study offered by an accredited education institute approved by the commission, and the course and its materials must also be available in English and Spanish. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC sets the passing score at seventy-five percent or higher. An applicant who fails may retest after reapplying and paying the fee, but may not repeat the exam more than twice in any thirty-day period. If the division determines an applicant cheated, the exam is invalid, all fees are forfeited, and any license issued on that basis is void. Exams are scheduled through PSI and applicants must be preapproved before scheduling. CID states that a passing score is valid for one year, and Rule 14.6.3 NMAC expires a new qualifying party certificate that does not qualify a valid license within twelve months of the reported score.
CID publishes the sequence in order. First the qualifying party gets certified. Submit a completed qualifying party application and work experience affidavit to PSI with a $36 fee and a notarized signature. CID states that complete submissions must reach the PSI Albuquerque office by hand or by mail, and that faxed or emailed forms are not accepted. If the affidavit and work experience are acceptable, an approval notice is sent and you may schedule exams. Then the company applies. The company submits a completed license application to PSI with a $36 application fee plus the applicable license fees, the license bond, a tax registration certificate from the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, a certificate from the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission for a corporation or LLC, a certificate from the Secretary of State for a limited liability partnership or limited partnership, and a copy of the qualifying party certificate or test scores plus the business and law exam score or course certificate. CID states that workers compensation coverage is required for all licensed entities. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC requires corporations, LLCs, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships to be legally authorized to do business in New Mexico in order to apply for, renew or retain a license, and cancels the license automatically if the entity ceases to exist under New Mexico law. That rule also gives you six months to meet every licensing requirement and returns incomplete applications with a written reason.
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Two primary sources carry license fee numbers and they do not match, so budget from both. Rule 14.5.5 NMAC, the division fee rule, sets a non-refundable license application fee of $30 for an initial contractor license, and a further non-refundable $30 application fee for an initial license or any additional classification. The same rule sets the basic fee for an initial license or renewal in the GB-2 and GB-98 classifications, along with GA-98, GF-98, EE-98 and MM-98, at $100 per year or $200 for two years for each such classification. Any other classification, which includes the GS specialties, carries a basic fee of $50 per year or $100 for two years. If you take and fail a GB-2 or GB-98 examination, or the business and law examination for any classification, you may request a review for a non-refundable $25 each time. After failing an examination twice in a classification, a special review costs $40. The rule also authorizes the division to increase examination fees by a multiplier of up to three for each classification with commission approval. The current CID application page states a $36 fee with the qualifying party application and a $36 application fee with the company license application, both payable to PSI. CID lists all journeyman certificate fees at $75. Permit fees are separate. CID tells general building applicants that permit fees depend on construction type, square footage, materials and construction cost, and to call one of its three offices.
New Mexico does not set a liability insurance minimum as a condition of contractor licensure. It requires a bond. Section 60-13-49 states that no applicant for a contractor license or for renewal shall be issued a license until the director determines that the applicant furnishes proof of responsibility, and that proof of responsibility shall be a bond of $10,000 acceptable to the director and underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC repeats the $10,000 figure and requires the bond to cover the entire period of licensure. Read what the bond does, because it is narrower than most homeowners assume. Payments from the bond may only be used to cure code violations caused by the licensee, certified by the division, and not corrected by the licensee. Claims must be made within two years following final inspection by the governmental entity having jurisdiction over code enforcement, or within two years of issuance of a certificate of occupancy, whichever is earlier. Total aggregate surety liability for all claims is limited to the face amount of the bond. The carrier must give the division and the licensee thirty days prior written notice of intent to cancel. If the bond lapses and you have not provided proof of a new bond before the fortieth day, the license is subject to revocation. Section 60-13-23 lists failure to maintain proof of responsibility as a cause for revocation or suspension.
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The New Mexico Workers Compensation Administration lists contractors engaged in contracting or licensed under the Construction Industries Licensing Act among the businesses that need workers compensation insurance. That listing sits beside two other triggers: any business registered as an LLC or incorporated, and any business that employs three or more employees. The practical reading for a remodeler is that the three-employee threshold other industries rely on does not release you once you hold a CID license. CID states on its application page that the Workers Compensation Administration requires all licensees to obtain coverage, and Section 60-13-23 lists failure to maintain workers compensation insurance as a cause for revocation or suspension. New Mexico does not run a consumer recovery or restitution fund behind a remodeling license, and the statute is blunt about the gap. Section 60-13-19 requires the contractor to disclose in writing to the owner, on a form approved by the division, that the license issued and the bond or other proof of responsibility required under the act does not protect the consumer if the contractor defaults. A remodeler can use that honestly in a sales conversation. The state bond is a code-violation remedy with a two-year claim window and a $10,000 cap. Your own general liability policy, your workers compensation coverage and your written warranty are what stand behind the finished job, so put all three in the proposal instead of hiding behind the license.
Section 60-13-18 states that contractor licenses expire two years after the issuance date, or as determined by the division but in no instance less than one year, and are renewable upon application and payment of the prescribed renewal fee. The division may run a staggered expiration system and prorate fees. The director must notify the licensee by mail at least thirty days before expiration and include a renewal application form. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC adds that renewing is the licensee's responsibility whether or not the form arrives, and that the signatures of all current qualifying parties must appear on the renewal form. Missing the date has mechanical consequences. Failure to apply by the last working day before expiration suspends the license by operation of law. A suspended license may then be renewed only after payment of a fee equal to $1 for each day elapsed since the expiration date, up to thirty days, and after that a fee equal to twice the renewal amount. Unless the license is renewed within three months it is canceled. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC warns that work performed while a license is invalid is unlicensed activity subject to prosecution under Section 60-13-52. On continuing education, the statute says licensees may be required to submit proof as a prerequisite for renewal, and when required by rule the applicant must submit proof of eight hours of code change instruction and eight hours of other division-approved industry subjects completed within the prior three years.
New Mexico does not hand a general building contractor a license because another state issued one. CID posts a direct statement on its division page: the only journeyman classification reciprocated in New Mexico is EE-98J, residential and commercial electrical with 8,000 hours of experience, and that reciprocity is accepted from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. The CID continuing education page repeats the same state list and states that New Mexico reciprocal licensing agreements are for a journeyman certificate or license only. A remodeler moving in from Texas, Colorado or Arizona therefore starts where everyone starts: document experience at the required level within the last ten years, pass the trade examination and the business and law examination or complete the approved course, bond the company, and register the entity. One shortcut exists and it is tied to military service rather than geography. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC allows expedited certification for military service members, spouses, dependents and veterans. In place of work experience verification, the applicant shows current licensure or certification in good standing in another jurisdiction, including a branch of the United States armed forces, and shows that the minimum licensing or certification requirements were met there. The same rule states that military service members and veterans shall not be charged a fee for the first three years for a license or certificate, excluding charges for document copies and replacement licenses.
CID states plainly that contracting without a license in New Mexico is against the law, that the division may stop the construction project and file a criminal charge of unlicensed contracting in Metropolitan or Magistrate Court, and that violators become eligible for licensure one year from the date of conviction. Section 60-13-52 sets the sentence. Where the dollar value of the contracting work is $5,000 or less, the court shall sentence the person to ninety days in the county jail or to a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500, or both. Where the dollar value exceeds $5,000, the sentence is six months in the county jail or a fine of ten percent of the dollar value of the contracting work, or both. A second conviction doubles the applicable penalty. Holding yourself out as the sales representative of an unlicensed contractor carries the same misdemeanor exposure. Two civil consequences hurt a remodeling business harder than the fine. Section 60-13-30 states that no contractor shall bring or maintain any action in any New Mexico court for collection of compensation for work requiring a license without alleging and proving that the contractor was duly licensed when the cause of action arose. The same section states that a contractor operating without a license has no right to file or claim a mechanic's lien. Section 60-13-23.1 also lets the commission assess an administrative penalty computed the same way.
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This is the part most remodelers get wrong. The Construction Industries Licensing Act does not impose a broad advertising display rule on signs, vehicles or websites. What it does require is specific and enforced with a fee. Section 60-13-19 states that the licensee shall exhibit satisfactory evidence of possession of a license on demand, and shall clearly indicate the contractor license number on all written bids and when applying for a building permit. A contractor who fails to indicate the license number clearly on all written bids and when applying for a building permit shall be assessed a penalty fee of $150 by the division, payable to the code jurisdiction or political subdivision that issued the permit or in which the work would be permitted. Treat every written estimate as a written bid and print the classification and number on it. Two name rules shape what you may call yourself. Section 60-13-23 makes acting in the capacity of a licensee under any name other than the one set forth on the license a cause for revocation or suspension, so the name on the truck, the website and the contract should match the licensed name. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC sets the name change process: a written request with an amended Taxation and Revenue registration certificate, a rider from the bonding company, and the state amendment document for an entity, effective only once approved. Section 60-13-13.2 blocks confusingly similar names.
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New Mexico puts one written disclosure in front of every residential remodeling contract, and the fee for skipping it is larger than the fee for leaving your license number off a bid. Section 60-13-19 states that before work is commenced, a contract is signed, or funds are paid for any residential contracting, the contractor shall disclose in writing to the owner, on a form approved by the division, that the license issued and the bond or other proof of responsibility required pursuant to the Construction Industries Licensing Act does not protect the consumer if the contractor defaults. Any contractor who fails to make that disclosure shall be assessed a fee by the division of not less than $500 and not more than $1,500 as the division determines, payable to the division. Note the three separate triggers. Start of work, signature, and first payment each independently require the disclosure to have been made already, so the division-approved form belongs in the signing packet rather than the closeout file. Two related obligations round out the paperwork side. Section 60-13-23 lists unjustified abandonment of any contract, as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, and conversion of funds received for the prosecution or completion of a specific contract, also as determined by a court, among the causes for revocation or suspension. Deposits collected for one remodel are therefore not general operating cash. Departure from plans or specifications resulting in code violations is a separate listed cause.
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Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces do not issue remodeling licenses. They issue business licenses and they run building safety offices. The City of Albuquerque Planning Department states that its Business License Ordinance requires all businesses to apply for and pay a business license fee for each outlet, branch, location or place of business within the municipal limits of the city prior to engaging in business. Albuquerque also requires every business license application and renewal to include a current dated copy of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department registration certificate showing the physical business address, and the city has moved the whole licensing and renewal process online. The City of Santa Fe business license application goes a step further for trades. The form asks whether the applicant is a contractor, asks for the license number and expiration date, and tells contractors to attach a copy of the New Mexico Construction Industries card with its expiration date. The city checks your CID standing before it licenses your business. On permits, CID states that a New Mexico licensed contractor must pull the permit, perform the work and call for the required inspections on jobs such as running ductwork or replacing a water heater or furnace. The Albuquerque Building Safety Division states that when the contractor has pulled the permit, that contractor is required to schedule the inspection, and that city staff work with the contractor rather than the property owner.
New Mexico publishes a public license lookup and points consumers at it. The Regulation and Licensing Department verify a license page directs anyone checking a Construction Industries Division license to the PSI licensee search at public.psiexams.com/search.jsp, the same search used for Manufactured Housing Division licenses. CID also links the PSI licensee search from its unlicensed violations page, directly beside the portal for requesting an investigation. For a remodeler that lookup is a sales asset rather than a compliance chore. A homeowner comparing three bids in Albuquerque can type your company name and see an active license in the classification that matches the work. Make that easy. Put the licensed entity name, the classification such as GB-2 or GB-98, and the license number on the estimate, which Section 60-13-19 already requires for written bids, then add one line telling the customer where to verify it. Two checks protect you as well. Rule 14.6.3 NMAC states that a qualifying party may only perform work authorized by the certificate while properly attached to a validly licensed entity, so confirm a subcontractor's qualifying party is still attached before you sign them. The department publishes enforcement actions and CID publishes disciplinary actions. Section 60-13-19 also lets anyone demand satisfactory evidence of your license on the spot, and that includes a homeowner standing at the door.
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These are common details other guides publish about New Mexico, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
GB-2, the Residential classification, covers altering, repairing and demolishing residences and apartment houses of not more than four family units, and it includes the GS specialty work when that work stays residential. GB-98, General Building, covers residential and commercial buildings and includes everything GB-2 authorizes. Pick GB-98 if you want commercial tenant improvement jobs.
Only inside a narrow exemption. Section 60-13-3 exempts an individual working one project at a time not exceeding $7,200 compensation a year, where the work is casual, minor or inconsequential, is not part of a larger operation, and the individual does not advertise or keep a sign or card implying contracting qualification. Electrical, plumbing and gas fitting are excluded.
Less than homeowners assume. Section 60-13-49 limits bond payments to curing code violations caused by the licensee, certified by the division, and left uncorrected. Claims must be filed within two years of final inspection or certificate of occupancy, whichever comes first, and total surety liability is capped at the face amount of the bond.
Section 60-13-19 requires the license number to appear clearly on all written bids and on building permit applications. Treat a written remodeling estimate as a written bid. Leaving it off draws a $150 penalty fee assessed by the division and payable to the code jurisdiction that issued the permit or where the work would be permitted.
Before work starts, a contract is signed, or any funds are paid for residential contracting, Section 60-13-19 requires written disclosure to the owner on a division-approved form stating that your license and bond do not protect the consumer if you default. Skipping it draws a division fee of not less than $500 and not more than $1,500.
Section 60-13-18 sets expiration at two years after the issuance date, or as the division determines but never less than one year, with renewal on application and payment of the prescribed fee. The director must mail notice at least thirty days before expiration. All current qualifying parties must sign the renewal form under Rule 14.6.3 NMAC.
The license is suspended by operation of law once the last working day before expiration passes. Renewal then costs $1 for each elapsed day up to thirty days, and after that twice the renewal fee. The license is canceled if not renewed within three months. Work done while the license is invalid counts as unlicensed contracting.
No. Section 60-13-30 bars a contractor from bringing or maintaining any action in a New Mexico court to collect compensation for work requiring a license without alleging and proving the contractor was duly licensed when the cause of action arose. The same section strips the right to file or claim a mechanic's lien.
No. CID states that the only journeyman classification reciprocated in New Mexico is EE-98J residential and commercial electrical with 8,000 hours, accepted from ten named states. The continuing education page confirms reciprocal agreements cover a journeyman certificate only. General building applicants document experience, pass the exams, bond the company and register the entity.
The New Mexico Workers Compensation Administration lists contractors engaged in contracting or licensed under the Construction Industries Licensing Act among businesses needing coverage, separately from the three-employee trigger. CID states the Workers Compensation Administration requires all licensees to obtain coverage, and Section 60-13-23 makes failure to maintain it a cause for revocation or suspension.
Through the PSI licensee search at public.psiexams.com/search.jsp. The Regulation and Licensing Department verify a license page sends anyone checking a Construction Industries Division license to that search, and CID links it from its unlicensed violations page. Put your licensed entity name, classification and license number on the estimate so the search matches on the first try.
Yes, a city business license. Albuquerque requires one for each outlet, branch or location inside city limits before engaging in business, with a current New Mexico Taxation and Revenue registration certificate attached. The Santa Fe application asks contractors for a license number, expiration date and a copy of the Construction Industries card.
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