STATE LICENSE
RequiredNew Mexico Regulation & Licensing Departm…
The Construction Industries Licensing Act (NMSA 1978 § 60-13-12) bars anyone from acting as a contractor or bidding without a CID license classified for the work. GB-2 Residential covers homes and apartment buildings of up to four units and every GS specialty when done on residential work; its qualifying party needs two years of foreman-level experience. GB-98 General Building covers residential and commercial buildings and requires four years of foreman-level experience, two of them commercial.
Licenses go to business entities qualified by a qualifying party who has passed a trade exam and the Business & Law exam (or an approved course). Every licensee posts a $10,000 surety bond, carries workers' compensation, prints its license number on bids and permit applications, and gives residential clients CID's written disclosure. Electrical and mechanical work inside a general contract must be performed by contractors licensed in those trades.
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.
Below $7,200 a year in casual, minor work — one project at a time, no advertising, annual CID declaration — no license is needed. Electrical, plumbing, and gas fitting are never exempt.
You may prime a project only if the major portion of the work by dollar amount falls in your classification; everything outside it must be subcontracted to a licensed entity (14.6.6.8(B)–(C) NMAC).
CID states that its General Building Bureau has no continuing education requirement for contractors.
A practical sequence for a new general contracting 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.