New Mexico contractor license requirements

New Mexico regulates contracting through a state-level general contractor license. This page lays out exactly what New Mexico requires: the licensing agency, who must be licensed, experience, exams, fees, the financial responsibility mechanism, and reciprocity, every figure sourced and dated below.

Who must be licensed in New Mexico

New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID) is the licensing authority. State license required for construction contracting, issued to a Qualifying Party per classification.

Experience and qualification

The Qualifying Party needs 2 to 4 years of verified experience, depending on classification.

License classes

• GB-98 (General Building Contractor): Renews every 3 years, $360 renewal fee.

Exam

Applicants submit a Classification Determination Request to PSI, then pass both the PSI trade exam and the PSI New Mexico Business and Law exam.

Fees

• GB-98 renewal (every 3 years): $360

Financial responsibility

New Mexico uses surety bond ($10,000) as its financial-responsibility mechanism. A $10,000 license bond (or equivalent cash deposit) is required per classification, plus a current financial statement.

Reciprocity and the NASCLA exam

New Mexico accepts the NASCLA Accredited Examination for the commercial building classification, confirmed against NASCLA’s own participating-agencies list. If you already hold a NASCLA credential from another participating state, it can satisfy New Mexico’s trade exam requirement (any state-specific business and law exam is still required). See the NASCLA exam explained and contractor license reciprocity for the full picture, and the 50-state comparison for which other states accept it.

Official source

Verify everything at the source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID), www.rld.nm.gov. The NASCLA participating-agencies determination above is drawn from NASCLA’s own list, nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24.

Sources: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID) (www.rld.nm.gov, reviewed 2026-07-28); NASCLA participating state agencies list (nascla.org, confirmed 2026-07-24). Fee, bond, and experience figures are compiled from the agency's published requirements and current industry compliance guides as of 2026-07-28; treat any figure not independently reconfirmed against a fetched primary-source page as reported pending the next freshness review, per this site's standard practice.