STATE LICENSE
RequiredNew Mexico Regulation & Licensing Departm…
GS-4 authorizes mixing, pouring, placing, and finishing concrete, including excavation, form work, and reinforcement, and curbs, gutters, sidewalks, and driveway culverts on private property. The qualifying party needs two years of practical trade experience, one of them at foreman level, and must pass the trade and Business & Law exams.
GS-4 licensees may not work in public rights-of-way unless that work is subcontracted to a GA licensee — GA-3 covers curbs, gutters, driveway culverts, and public sidewalks. Concrete coring, drilling, and slab sawing is its own GS-34 classification, and masonry walls are GS-16.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
CID licenses contractors statewide under the Construction Industries Licensing Act; the license is the trade credential everywhere in New Mexico. Permits and inspections are issued by CID or, where a city or county runs its own building department, by that jurisdiction under codes adopted pursuant to NMSA § 60-13-44. A municipality may not require a licensed contractor to post an additional license bond (§ 60-13-51).
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every New Mexico county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
GS-4 covers private-property flatwork; anything in a public right-of-way must go to a GA licensee (14.6.6.9(D)(3) NMAC).
Of the two years of qualifying experience, one must be at foreman level.
Qualifying experience must fall within the 10 years before application (CID; 14.6.3 NMAC).
A practical sequence for a new concrete contractor in New Mexico. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Acting as a contractor without the license the CILA requires is a misdemeanor prosecuted in magistrate or metropolitan court; a second conviction doubles the penalty, and CID says a violator becomes eligible for licensure one year after conviction.
A contractor may not sue to collect compensation for licensed work without alleging and proving it was licensed when the claim arose, and an unlicensed contractor has no right to file a mechanic's lien.
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: License application fee: CID's licensing page lists a $36 application fee paid to PSI, while 14.5.5.8 NMAC as posted by the State Records Center still lists $30; license-fee amounts here ($100 or $200 per two-year term) come from 14.5.5.8 NMAC and may have been changed by a later rule not retrieved · PSI trade and Business & Law exam fees (published only in PSI Candidate Information Bulletins, not on an official state page) · Whether CID requires general liability insurance for this classification — no such requirement was found in the CILA or 14.6.3 NMAC, which name the $10,000 bond and workers' compensation as the financial requirements · The renewal term and expiration date CID currently assigns (NMSA § 60-13-18(B) allows up to two years with staggered expirations; the current CID/PSI schedule was not retrieved) · Which jurisdiction permits private driveways and sidewalks — 14.5.2.9 NMAC exempts certain commercial sidewalks and driveways but deletes the matching IRC residential exemption
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.