Getting a New Mexico plumbing license means dealing with one agency, and it is not a plumbing board. New Mexico does not have one. Everything runs through the Construction Industries Division.
Here is how the state actually works, what you need, and the one assumption that trips up almost everybody who moves here.
Who runs plumbing licensing in New Mexico
The Construction Industries Division (CID), inside the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Plumbing sits under its Mechanical Plumbing Bureau.
RLD Construction Industries Division, Mechanical Plumbing Bureau
The law behind it is the Construction Industries Licensing Act, NMSA 1978 section 60-13-1 and following. The rules are in Title 14 of the New Mexico Administrative Code.
There is no master plumber license in New Mexico
This is the big one. If you are coming from Texas, Arizona or almost anywhere else, you are looking for a master license that does not exist here.
New Mexico runs a two track system instead:
- Journeyman certificate of competence. This says you are qualified to do the work.
- Contractor license. This lets a business contract for the work. It is held by the company and backed by a certified Qualifying Party.
The step up from journeyman is not “master.” It is becoming a Qualifying Party on a contractor license. That is the path to running your own shop.
There is also no apprentice license. Apprentices work under a certified journeyman employed by a licensed company. The ratio is one journeyman to two apprentices on commercial and industrial work, and one to three on residential.
The journeyman certificates that exist
CID issues separate certificates by trade, each with its own code:
- JP, journeyman plumber
- JG, journeyman natural gas fitter
- JPG, journeyman plumber and natural gas fitter
- JPF, journeyman pipe fitter
- JMG, journeyman medical gas installer, added on top of a JP, JG, JPG or JPF
Most plumbers want the JPG. Gas work follows plumbing work around constantly in this state, and holding both on one certificate saves you turning down jobs.
A journeyman certificate on its own does not let you contract. You have to be employed by a company that holds the matching license.
The contractor license classifications
On the business side, the mechanical classifications you care about are:
- MM-1, plumbing
- MM-2, natural gas fitting
- MM-98, mechanical, which covers MM-1 through MM-4 plus septic, lawn sprinklers and fire protection
- MS-3, septic tanks and sewer
- MS-6, lawn sprinklers
MM-98 is the wide one. It costs more per year but it stops you from having to add classifications one at a time as your work broadens.
Experience you need
Journeyman plumber: two years of experience, and it has to fall within the 10 years right before you apply. Not four years. A lot of third party sites publish four, because an old marked up draft of the rule said so. The current rule and the statute both say two.
Qualifying Party for an MM-1 or MM-98 contractor license: four years, also within the preceding 10 years.
Schooling counts. Accredited college, technical vocational institute, manufacturer training or a registered apprenticeship credits at half a year of experience per year of training, capped at half your total requirement. So a two year program knocks a year off the journeyman requirement.
You have to be 18.
Exams
PSI administers every CID exam. You cannot just book one. CID has to approve your work experience documentation first, and once approved you have six months to use that eligibility or you start over.
Passing score is 75 percent on every part, journeyman and Qualifying Party alike.
The journeyman plumber exam is two pieces:
- Written, 70 questions, open book, 185 minutes
- Practical, hands on, 120 minutes, scored out of 100
The practical is a real bench test. Copper and PEX assembly with an air test, a tub drain assembly with a water test, a washer box, an island vent, fitting and tool identification. Guys who have only done service work sometimes get surprised by it.
You cannot repeat the same exam more than twice in any 30 day window. A passing score stays good for one year.
Fees
- Journeyman certificate: $75, which covers the three year cycle
- Contractor application: $30 per rule, though CID’s own instructions currently say $36
- MM-98 license: $100 per year or $200 for two years
- MM-1 and the other single classifications: $50 per year or $100 for two years
- Replacement certificate: $6
PSI charges its own exam fees on top. Check the current amount with PSI rather than trusting a number you read somewhere, including here.
Veterans and service members pay nothing for the first three years under the expedited certification path. That includes spouses and dependent children. It is one of the better military provisions in the country and almost nobody uses it.
Bond and insurance
Journeyman: none. No bond, no insurance required by CID.
Contractor: a $10,000 surety bond, required at licensing and again at every renewal, and it has to stay in force the whole time you are licensed. Workers’ compensation coverage is required for every licensed entity.
CID publishes no general liability minimum. Your customers and general contractors will still want to see a certificate, so carry it anyway.
Continuing education
16 hours every three years. At least 8 of those have to cover the current CID enforced code for your classification. The other 8 can be other approved industry coursework.
Proof has to come in with the renewal application. Send the renewal without it and CID treats the application as incomplete and will not process it. Courses and instructors have to be approved by the Construction Industries Commission, and CID publishes the approved course list on its continuing education page.
Renewal
Certificates run up to three years from the month they were issued. File the renewal before it expires.
Miss it and you have six months to renew without retesting, at double the fee. Past six months the certificate is cancelled and you are back to the exam. CID mails a reminder at least 30 days out but the responsibility is yours whether it shows up or not.
Reciprocity: there is none for plumbers
CID is blunt about this. It runs a banner on its own site saying the only journeyman classification New Mexico reciprocates is EE-98J, which is electrical.
If you hold a plumbing license in another state, New Mexico does not recognize it. You apply, you document your experience, you take the exam like everyone else.
The one real shortcut is the military path. If you are currently licensed and in good standing in another jurisdiction with substantially equivalent requirements and you are a service member, veteran, or the spouse or dependent child of one, CID issues within 30 days without the usual work experience verification.
What changed recently
The 2024 New Mexico Plumbing Code took effect August 1, 2026. Until January 1, 2027 permits can be issued under either the old rule or the new one. After that date it is the 2024 code only.
Two things follow from that. Your 8 code hours of continuing education will key to the 2024 code going forward. And if you are studying for the exam, confirm the current allowed open book references directly with PSI, because the candidate bulletin still lists older code editions.
Common questions
Can I pull permits with just a JP? No. Permits go with the contractor license. The JP lets you do the work under a licensed company.
Do I need a separate certificate for gas? Yes, unless you hold the JPG, which covers both.
How long does it take? Budget a few months. All certification requirements have to be met within six months of CID receiving your application or it expires and you forfeit the fees.
Next steps
Compare states on the plumbing license by state hub, or read the full plumbing license guide for how licensing fits into launching.
Once the license is sorted, the real work starts. Here is how to start a plumbing business from scratch.
