New Mexico · plumber licensing · verified July 2026
New Mexico plumber license requirements
The short answer
As of July 2026, New Mexico licenses the plumbing trade at the state level through the Regulation and Licensing Department's Construction Industries Division (CID). Every individual performing plumbing work must hold a journeyman certificate of competence (JP) or work as an apprentice under a certified journeyman, and businesses must hold a CID contractor license (MM-1 Plumbing or MM-98 Mechanical). Journeyman certification requires two years of experience and a 75%-passing exam; certificates renew every three years with 16 hours of continuing education.
Do you need a license to work as a plumber in New Mexico?
New Mexico licenses plumbers statewide, so one credential is valid across the whole state.
PSI's role as exam administrator comes from CID-hosted candidate bulletins.
What licenses does New Mexico issue?
The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID) issues the credentials below for this trade. Boards often list further classes for specialties and business licenses; these are the ones this page covers.
Hours are what each class asks for on its own terms. Where a senior class shows fewer than a journeyman, the board is counting time served after the earlier license rather than from the start; the prerequisite column says which.
| License | On-the-job hours | Classroom hours | Exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | not published | not published | No |
| Journeyman Plumber (JP) Certificate of Competence | not published | not published | Yes |
| MM-1 Plumbing Contractor License | not published | not published | Yes |
| MM-98 Mechanical Contractor License | not published | not published | Yes |
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID) (srca.nm.gov). Verified July 2026.
What exam does New Mexico require?
Journeyman Plumber (JP) examination (75% passing score; retake limited to twice in any 30-day period). Administered by CID's contracted testing vendor (PSI per CID candidate bulletins).
Source: examination page (rld.nm.gov). Verified July 2026.
How often do you renew, and what continuing education is required?
Renewal period: 3 years (14.6.4.8 G NMAC)
Continuing education: 16 hours of approved course work per 3-year renewal cycle, of which a minimum of 8 hours must cover current CID code changes/updates (14.6.4.8 H NMAC; CID Continuing Education page)
Source: renewal requirements (rld.nm.gov). Verified July 2026.
How does the apprenticeship route work?
Apprentices may work immediately under a certified journeyman (ratios 1:2 commercial, 1:3 residential). Training by an accredited apprenticeship program, college, or technical-vocational institute counts in lieu of work experience at one-half year of credit per year of training, but may not exceed one-half of the total experience requirement (14.6.4.8 C(1) NMAC).
Which states does New Mexico have license reciprocity with?
No published agreement for this trade names New Mexico. That is not the same as a closed door: states without a published list usually take out-of-state applicants through an endorsement or equivalency review instead, decided case by case on the requirements set out above.
How does New Mexico compare to neighboring states?
Requirements stop at the state line, which matters if you live near one or expect to move. Here is what the neighboring states ask of the same trade.
| State | Journeyman hours | Licensing model |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | not published | Statewide |
| Arizona | not published | Contractor level only |
| Colorado | 6,800 | Statewide |
| Oklahoma | not published | Statewide |
| Texas | 8,000 | Statewide |
| Utah | not published | Statewide |
Source: state licensing boards. Verified July 2026.
Sources and verification
Every fact on this page traces to one of these
- 14.6.4 NMAC - Certificates of Competence (NM State Records Center and Archives)
- 14.6.6 NMAC - Classifications and Scopes (NM RLD/CID)
- RLD - Continuing Education for Construction Industries Bureau
Last verified July 2026. Found an error? Report it and it will be corrected and logged on the corrections page.
Other states with published requirements for this trade: North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio.
Price the whole path with the license cost estimator, or weigh earning against paying for school with the apprenticeship comparison. Back to plumbers overview.
Licensing requirements change between our verification sweeps. This page is informational only, so confirm current requirements with New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID) before making decisions. Not legal advice.