STATE LICENSE
RequiredNew Mexico Regulation & Licensing Departm…
GS-13 Framing authorizes cutting, joining, and installing wood, metal, or other approved products to frame a structure — bearing and non-bearing walls, rafters, headers, trusses, joists, studs, rough door and window openings, and roof decks — including repairs to any of them. The qualifying party needs two years of foreman-level practical or related trade experience.
GB-2 Residential and GB-98 General Building licensees may frame within their scopes, since both include all GS specialty work. Non-structural stud systems for drywall fall under GS-7, and plaster lath systems under GS-30.
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.
Load-bearing and structural framing is GS-13; non-structural studs installed as a drywall base are GS-7.
Qualifying experience must fall within the 10 years before application; accredited training counts at half a year per year, up to half the requirement (14.6.3.8(G) NMAC).
A specialty licensee may prime a project only if its classification covers the major portion of the work by dollar amount (14.6.6.8(B) NMAC).
A practical sequence for a new framing 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) · Current form name and any fee for the annual handyman declaration CID requires under § 60-13-3(D)(14)(c)
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.