STATE LICENSE
ConditionalNew Mexico Regulation & Licensing Departm…
CID's GS-25 Swimming Pools classification (two years of experience) covers constructing and repairing swimming pools — excavation, reinforcing steel or mesh, concrete, and special coatings — but not any plumbing, mechanical, electrical, or LP gas work. Swimming pools and spas are expressly within the MM-1 plumbing scope, and pool electrical work needs an EE-98 or ER-1 electrical contractor with certified journeymen.
Routine cleaning and water-chemistry service has no CID classification. The 2024 New Mexico Swimming Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Code took effect August 1, 2026, and CID charges a $50 mechanical inspection fee per swimming pool. Prefabricated above-ground pools at one- and two-family homes with no permanent water or power connections are exempt from building permits.
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.
Cleaning and balancing water has no CID classification; constructing or repairing a pool is GS-25 work.
Pool and spa plumbing is MM-1 work and wiring is electrical work; the handyman exemption never covers either.
The 2024 New Mexico Swimming Pool, Spa, and Hot Tub Code (14.8.3 NMAC) took effect August 1, 2026.
A practical sequence for a new pool service 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 · Whether NMDA treats for-hire application of pool algaecides as commercial pesticide application requiring a license (category 5 aquatic covers algae in standing or running water, but pools are not addressed) · Whether New Mexico Environment Department public-pool rules require a certified pool operator for companies servicing public or semi-public pools
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.