Plumbing License New Mexico: There Is No Master Plumber, and What You Actually Need (2026)

Search for a New Mexico plumbing license and you will be told, repeatedly and confidently, that the state has an apprentice, journeyman and master plumber ladder, and that a plumbing company must designate a master plumber as its qualifier. New Mexico does not issue a master plumber license, and it never has.

At a glance

• New Mexico has no master plumber license. The top credentials are the journeyman plumber certificate (JP) and the MM-1 or MM-98 contractor license.
• JP requires two years of experience, a written exam, and a separate hands-on practical exam.
• MM-1 requires four years of experience, the Business and Law exam, and the 100-question MM-1 trade exam.
• Every contractor license carries the same $10,000 code bond, regardless of classification.
• There is no separate New Mexico license for water conditioning work, and no water conditioning plumbing board.

NMSA 1978 § 60-13-38(B) lists the statutory certificate categories, "journeyman electrician, journeyman plumber, journeyman gas fitter, journeyman pipe fitter, journeyman sheet metal worker, journeyman boiler operator, residential wireman and journeyman welder," and master plumber is not among them. There is no master plumber exam in PSI's New Mexico bulletins. There is no master plumber application at the Construction Industries Division.

If a guide tells you to get one, it has never read New Mexico law, and everything downstream of that claim on the page is suspect too. Here is how plumbing licensing in New Mexico actually works: two credentials, one agency, a four-year experience rule for contractors and a two-year rule for journeymen, and a hands-on practical exam most guides do not mention at all.

All fees, classifications and statutory cites below were verified against the New Mexico Administrative Code, the Construction Industries Licensing Act, and PSI's New Mexico candidate bulletins current as of this writing. Board and vendor fees change, verify before paying.

New to licensing in New Mexico? Start with the New Mexico contractor license requirements, and for every other state see how to get a contractor license in each state.

The Agency Chain

New Mexico regulates plumbing through a single chain, and knowing it saves you from being routed in circles.

• Department: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (RLD)
• Division: Construction Industries Division (CID)
• Bureau: the statutory mechanical bureau, created by NMSA 1978 § 60-13-31 alongside the electrical, general construction and liquefied petroleum gas bureaus. CID calls it the Mechanical Plumbing Bureau in practice, based in Albuquerque.
• Policy body: the Construction Industries Commission, created within the division by § 60-13-6, nine voting members serving at the pleasure of the governor, meeting bimonthly. The Commission "shall establish policy for the division" and "define and establish all license classifications." Its seats include one licensed mechanical contractor.

Under 14.8.2.10(A) NMAC, "the authority having jurisdiction is the CID and the mechanical-plumbing trade bureau chief for adoption, enactment, interpretation and enforcement of the state adopted plumbing code."

There is no separate New Mexico plumbing board. No "State Board of Plumbing Examiners," no "New Mexico State Plumbing Board." Everything runs through CID.

PSI is CID's designated contractor for applications, experience review, exams and fee collection. You will deal with PSI far more than with CID.

The Two Credentials

New Mexico separates the individual from the business, and both are required to run a plumbing company.

1. The journeyman certificate of competence (JP)

This is the individual working credential. It authorizes you to perform plumbing work under a licensed contractor and to supervise apprentices.

2. The contractor license (MM-1) plus a certificate of qualification

The license is issued to a business entity. The certificate of qualification is issued to an individual, the qualifying party, who sits the exam and carries responsibility for the company's code compliance. A company cannot hold a license without a qualifying party attached to it.

There is no third tier. No master, no apprentice license, no "contractor registration."

MM-1 Is Plumbing. MM-98 Is Everything.

The classification codes are where competing guides go wrong most often, so here they are from 14.6.6.11 NMAC directly. In the CID symbol system, "M indicates Mechanical/Plumbing."

Notes on the table:

• MM-98 is the broadest mechanical license in New Mexico, not a residential or restricted one. Guides that describe MM-98 as "residential" and MM-1 as "unlimited mechanical" have it exactly backwards.
• MM-1 authorizes hot water heating systems not exceeding 30 p.s.i. or 400,000 BTU/hour input, pneumatic or electric controls not greater than 24 volts, potable water irrigation sprinklers, swimming pools and spas, and incidental concrete supports and excavating.
• MS-12 (fire protection sprinklers) and MS-14 (dry chemical fire protection) both require four years, not two.

And then the sentence that catches plumbers out: MM-1 "does not include installation of natural gas fired appliances or natural gas piping." MM-2 also "may not install LP Gas systems", propane is a separate statutory regime entirely (NMSA Ch. 70 Art. 5) with its own LP01 through LP10 licenses.

There are no dollar ceilings

This one is worth stating plainly because it is asserted constantly and it is false. No MM or MS classification in New Mexico carries a project-value cap. The only numbers inside the classification scopes are engineering limits: 30 p.s.i., 400,000 BTU/hour, 24 volts. Anyone telling you an MM class is limited to projects under a dollar threshold is inventing it, and you will notice they never print the figure.

The Gas Trap

The single most common licensing gap for a New Mexico plumbing company is this: an MM-1 plumber cannot touch natural gas.

Not the piping, not the appliances. Water heaters are the flashpoint. MM-1 covers hot water heating systems under 30 p.s.i. and 400,000 BTU/hour, but installing a gas-fired appliance or the gas piping serving it is MM-2 work. A residential plumbing company doing gas water heater changeouts on an MM-1 alone is performing unlicensed work in that classification.

Three ways to fix it: hold MM-2 in addition to MM-1, hold MM-98 (which rolls both up), or sub the gas work to an appropriately licensed contractor.

Water Conditioners: No Separate License

Several guides written for other states describe a "water conditioning principal," a credential one named person at a water-treatment company must hold before the firm can touch water softeners. That title belongs to Colorado's plumbing statute. New Mexico has nothing like it.

New Mexico has no classification named water conditioning, water softener installer, or anything similar. Read 14.6.6.11 NMAC in full, the rule that lists every mechanical and plumbing classification CID issues, and the words "water conditioner" never appear. "Water conditioners" does show up one place: the older statutory list of what counts as "contracting" under NMSA 1978 § 60-13-3(A), alongside electrical wiring, plumbing or plumbing fixture, consumers' gas piping, and gas appliances. That makes installing or servicing a water conditioner contracting work that needs a CID license. It does not create a standalone water conditioning license or a named-principal requirement.

Most water conditioner installation ties into the potable water piping already covered by MM-1 plumbing, since a softener or filter sits inline on an existing water supply. Work that does not fit cleanly into an existing classification can be licensed under the general specialty catch-all, GS-29, which CID assigns case by case under 14.6.6.9(D)(20) NMAC. If you are unsure which classification your water treatment work needs, CID's Classification Determination Request form, submitted through PSI, returns a written answer before you bid.

The Journeyman Plumber Certificate (JP), and the Exam Nobody Mentions

Experience

Two years, per NMSA § 60-13-38(G) and 14.6.4.8.F, and that experience must have been gained within the ten years immediately prior to application (14.6.4.8.C(1)). The statute also allows "the equivalent thereof as determined by the commission, or ... a course in the trade approved by the vocational education division."

Two years is the journeyman number. Several widely-read guides publish four years / 8,000 hours for the New Mexico journeyman plumber. That is the contractor qualifying party requirement for MM-1. They have swapped the tiers, which will cost a candidate two years of unnecessary waiting.

The written exam and the practical exam

The JP Journeyman Plumber written exam is 70 questions, 185 minutes, with a 75% cutscore (53 points). Drainage, waste and vents is the largest content area at 21 of the 70 items, followed by general knowledge and regulations at 10. Water supply, backflow prevention, storm drainage, plumbing fixtures, isometric analysis, interceptors and traps, and septic and sewer fill out the rest.

And then there is the part most guides omit entirely: New Mexico requires a separate hands-on PRACTICAL exam for the JP. It is scored out of 100 points, also at 75% to pass, with a 120-minute time limit. Candidates solder copper pipe and assemble PEX fittings, set and water-test a tub drain, build a complete washer box assembly, identify fittings and tools by sight, measure and ream pipe for an island vent, and calculate and set the minimum rise on a drainage run.

At $68.88 each, that is $137.76 for the combination. Any budget or timeline built on "one exam" is wrong by half.

JP is not alone in this. JG (Journeyman Natural Gas Fitter) and JSM (Journeyman Sheet Metal) also require both a written and a practical exam, at the same $137.76 combined. The JG practical covers a natural gas project (light a burner, derate for altitude, make final adjustments), a steel pipe project, fitting and tool identification, a gas vent sizing project, and a polyethylene pipe riser assembly. The JSM practical scores a field sketch and a physical duct mock-up.

What the JP lets you work under

Here New Mexico's own code contradicts itself, and it is worth knowing about before an inspector raises it. 14.6.6.11.D(1) says a JP "can work under a MM-1 or MM-98 license." 14.6.4.8.F(1) says "can work under an MM-1, MS-3, MS-6 or MM-98 license." Two parts of Title 14, two different scopes. If you are relying on the broader reading for septic or sprinkler work, get it in writing from the bureau.

The other mechanical journeyman certificates

New Mexico issues a long list, and several have prerequisites rather than exams:

• JPF, pipe fitter. JG, natural gas fitter. JPG, plumber and natural gas fitter.
• JR, refrigeration. Must show EPA recovery compliance before the certificate issues, not after.
• JS, sprinkler. JSM, sheet metal.
• JW, welder. Must first hold JP, JG, JPG, JPF or JSM and ASME Section IX certification. Per 14.6.4.8.F(8), the holder "is not required to test separately for this certificate of competence."
• JMG, medical gas installer. Must first hold JP, JG, JPG or JPF plus medical gas certification under 14.9.5 NMAC.
• MS-12J and MS-14J, fire protection journeymen, four years.
• BO1 / BO2, boiler operators, six months, institutional employment only.

Apprentice ratios

There is no apprentice license in New Mexico. Apprentices work unregistered under a certified journeyman, and 14.6.6.11.A(2) sets the ratio: one journeyman to two apprentices on commercial and industrial work, one to three on residential.

The MM-1 Contractor License

Experience

Four years within the ten years immediately prior to application (NMSA § 60-13-14(B)(8)), which CID and PSI express as 8,000 hours. Every MM classification, MM-1 through MM-4 and MM-98, sits in the four-year tier. Only MS-3 and MS-6 are two years / 4,000 hours.

Experience is proven with a notarized Mechanical/Plumbing Work Experience Affidavit, one form per employer or affiant. Affiants may be employers past or present, supervisors, foremen or other contractors. The experience must have been gained "while employed by a contractor licensed in the trade being applied for, or considered legal work in the state in which the work was performed."

Education substitution

Per 14.6.3.8.G(1) NMAC: technical training from an accredited college, university, manufacturer's accredited training program, technical vocational institute or accredited apprenticeship program counts, but "each year of equivalent training shall be applied as one-half year of experience, but in no case shall accredited training exceed one-half of the total work experience requirement."

Two things follow. Training is worth half its length. And for a four-year classification, at most two years can come from training, which takes four years of accredited training to buy. New Mexico's substitution is markedly less generous than states that count a degree as a straight two years.

The exams

Both are open book and both require 75%, a notably higher bar than the 70% common elsewhere.

• Business and Law, 50 questions, 130 minutes, 38 points to pass. Required of all new candidates. May alternatively be satisfied by an approved Business and Law course.
• MM-1 Plumbing, 100 questions, 250 minutes, 75 points to pass. Content: Drainage Waste and Vents 25; Water Supply Systems 10; Backflow Prevention 9; Storm Drainage 6; Plumbing Fixtures including Water Heaters and Accessibility 10; General Knowledge and General Regulations 15; Interceptors and Traps 9; Isometric Analysis 10; Septic and Sewer 6.

Note Isometric Analysis at 10 items, a full tenth of the exam is reading and drawing isometric piping diagrams.

Three procedural gates matter more than the content:

1. "Candidates must be pre-approved to take any examination." Your experience is verified before you can register.
2. You must pass both the Business and Law exam and the trade exam within one year.
3. All licensing requirements must be met within six months of CID receiving your application (14.6.3.8.D(3)), "any application not completed within the six month period shall expire and any fees paid ... shall automatically forfeit." Six months to finish, one year of score validity, and the shorter clock governs.

You may not repeat an exam more than twice in any 30-day period.

The NASCLA waiver does not help you. CID's exam waiver at 14.6.3.8.G(2)(f) reaches general construction and electrical only; PSI states it plainly, applicable to GB98 and EE98 only. A plumbing contractor arriving from another state sits the full New Mexico MM-1 exam.

Fees

From the current CID/PSI licensing fee schedule. The fee rule in the code, 14.5.5 NMAC, still carries a 2004 effective date and is written around a one- or two-year license; the license is now three years, so use the PSI schedule for what you actually pay.

Contractor license

• Application fee (new), non-refundable, $30
• Certificate fee (license certificate plus two cards), $6
• Classification fee, new and renewal, MM-98, $300 per classification, covering the full three-year term
• Classification fee, new and renewal, all other single classifications including MM-1, $150
• Maximum for multiple classifications within a category, $300

Qualifying party certificate

• Application fee per submittal, non-refundable, $30
• Certificate fee, $6 per classification
• Adding a qualifying party to an existing license, $30 application plus $6 certificate per classification plus a prorated classification fee

Journeyman

• New, $75 application per classification, plus certificate fee, one card issued
• Renewal, $75 per classification
• Duplicate card, $6
• Late, up to six months, $25. After six months the certificate is cancelled.

Exams (PSI), $68.88 for Business and Law and for each MM or MS trade exam. JP written $68.88, JP practical $68.88, combined $137.76. Journeyman boiler, electrical and sheet metal exams run on the same per-exam structure, some split into a code exam, a theory exam and a practical.

Late renewal penalties (contractor), 1 to 30 days, $1 per day; 30 to 90 days, an amount equivalent to one year's fee; after 90 days the license is cancelled. NMSA § 60-13-18(G) phrases the second tier as "twice the amount of the renewal fee", cite the statute for the rule and PSI for the number you are billed.

Fees are set by the Construction Industries Division and by PSI and are subject to change. Verify with CID and PSI before submitting payment.

The $10,000 Bond, and What It Actually Covers

Every New Mexico contractor licensee posts a $10,000 bond, fixed by statute at NMSA § 60-13-49(B) and repeated at 14.6.3.8.C(1) NMAC: "a bond in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico."

It is the same $10,000 for every classification. MM-1, MM-3, MM-98, a two-year specialty, all identical. There is no tiered or classification-scaled bond in New Mexico, despite what several guides claim.

What it is for is narrower than most people assume. Per § 60-13-49(B)(1), "payments from a bond required pursuant to this section shall only be used to cure code violations caused by a licensee, certified by the division and not corrected by the licensee." This is a code bond. It is not a payment bond, not a performance bond, and not a consumer recovery fund.

Four conditions worth knowing:

• Claim window: within two years following final inspection, or within two years of issuance of a certificate of occupancy, whichever is earlier.
• Aggregate cap: total surety liability for all claims is limited to the face amount of the bond.
• The 40-day cliff. A carrier cancelling the bond gives 30 days' written notice, and § 60-13-49(B)(5) is unforgiving: "if the licensee has not provided proof of a new bond before the fortieth day ... the license shall be subject to revocation." This is a shorter and separate clock from the 90-day renewal cliff, and it is the one people miss.
• Term coverage. 14.6.3.8.C(2): "the date of effectiveness of the bond shall cover the entire period of licensure." The application packet is explicit that the bond must be issued in the exact name on the application and cover the entire three-year period.

One useful protection: under § 60-13-51, "no municipality shall require any person or corporation licensed under the provisions of the Construction Industries Licensing Act to file or obtain ... any additional license bond as proof of responsibility." A New Mexico city cannot make you post a second bond.

Insurance. Workers' compensation is the state-mandated coverage: "Workers' Compensation Insurance is required of all licensees," with a sole-proprietor-with-no-employees exemption. Proof is filed with the New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration, not with CID. Non-compliance is grounds for the license to be invalid under 14.6.3.8.K(1)(c). No CID-mandated general liability minimum was found in the Act, in 14.6.3 NMAC, or on the application.

Renewal, and the CE Question

The contractor license runs three years, expiring "on the last day of the month in which it was issued." The statute at § 60-13-18(B) still says two years "or as determined by the division"; the division has set three.

The renewal itself has requirements that trip companies up:

• It must be notarized.
• It must be signed by someone with authority to sign for the licensee and by the qualifying party or parties on the license for each classification (14.6.3.8.I(3)).
• A new code bond is required at each renewal.
• Originals only, no fax, no email.
• Cancelled after 90 days.

That second requirement has a consequence people do not anticipate. If your qualifying party has left, or is simply unreachable, you cannot renew. The renewal form requires their signature.

Continuing education: contractor licenses currently have none. NMSA § 60-13-18(D) is permissive, licensees "may be required" to complete CE, and the sixteen-hour requirement it describes applies "when required by rule adopted by the division." 14.6.3.8.I, as amended January 2023, imposes no CE condition on contractor renewal. Guides asserting a contractor CE requirement are reading the enabling statute as though it were the rule.

Journeyman certificates do have CE, and it is real. Per 14.6.4.8.H, renewal requires a minimum of 16 hours of approved coursework, of which at least 8 hours must cover the current CID code enforced by that journeyman classification. The requirement applies to JP, JPF, JG, JPG, JSM, JS, JR, MS-12J and MS-14J. It does not apply to JW, JMG, BO1 or BO2. Certificates expire "not more than three years from the month of issuance" (§ 60-13-39(A)), are renewable within six months of expiry at double the renewal fee, and are cancelled after that.

The Code: UPC, Not IPC

New Mexico adopts the Uniform Plumbing Code. 14.8.2.8(A) NMAC: "this rule adopts by reference the 2021 UPC and all appendices, as amended by this rule." Since September 10, 2022, permits may be issued only under the current rule. Mechanical work runs on the 2021 UMC under 14.9.2 NMAC.

New Mexico's amendments to the UPC are specific and testable:

• 906.1 Roof Termination, air admittance valves permitted by exception "when approved by the authority having jurisdiction ... when conventional venting termination methods are not available."
• 1208.6.3.2, for fuel gas, "copper and brass pipe shall not be used." This deletes and replaces the UPC section.
• 1213.3, existing gas piping may be tested at 1.5x operating pressure, "but in no case shall it be tested at less than 3 psi."
• 704.3 Commercial Sinks, rewritten for indirect waste through an air gap into an open floor sink, with food waste disposal units connected directly.
• Fixture counts are deleted from UPC Table 422.1 and pushed to the building code at 14.7.2.37 NMAC.

One warning if you are buying reference books. PSI's own candidate bulletin, updated in 2026, lists the "New Mexico Plumbing Code (NMAC 14.8.2), 2015" in its reference list while simultaneously listing the 2021 UPC, even though 14.8.2 has been the 2021 New Mexico code since March 2022. Buy the current amendment book.

The Qualifying Party: Who Can Qualify Your License

This is the part of New Mexico licensing that determines whether a company can exist at all, and it is where the published guidance is worst.

The statutory definition

NMSA 1978 § 60-13-2(E): a qualifying party is "an individual who submits to the examination for a license to be issued under the Construction Industries Licensing Act and who is responsible for the licensee's compliance with the requirements of that act and with the rules, regulations, codes and standards adopted and promulgated in accordance with that act."

Who may serve

14.6.3.8.A(3)(a) NMAC: contractor licenses "are issued only to qualified business entities which employ or are owned by one or more qualifying parties validly certified by CID." NMSA § 60-13-14(A) restates it: no license issues "unless the director is satisfied that the applicant is or has in his employ a qualifying party."

On the CID contractor application itself, the qualifying party relationship field prints as a single choice:

Choose One: [ ] Owner [ ] Corp Officer [ ] LLC Member [ ] Employee [ ] Partner [ ] Other (Specify) ______

New Mexico is therefore more permissive than states like Alabama, North Carolina or Mississippi, which name the W-2 or ban the 1099 outright. Owner, corporate officer, LLC member, partner and employee are all available, and there is an open "Other" field. There is no ownership-percentage threshold to qualify a single license.

That does not make the role casual. 14.6.3.8.E(2) NMAC:

"While validly attached to, and qualifying a license, no qualifying party shall accept or engage in any employment that would conflict with his responsibilities as a qualifying party for, or conflict with his ability to adequately supervise the work performed by, the licensee."

A qualifying party who cannot adequately supervise the licensee's work is in violation, whatever box was ticked on the form.

The 30% rule

14.6.3.8.E(3) NMAC: "No individual may qualify more than one licensed entity, other than a joint venture, unless there is at least thirty percent common ownership among the qualified entities. CID may require evidence of such ownership that is satisfactory to the director."

In practice, qualifying two or more licenses simultaneously requires 30% common ownership across all of them plus a filed Declaration of Common Ownership Form. This is the rule that stops one individual from being spread across unrelated companies, and it is what a legitimate arrangement looks like on paper.

Related: 14.6.3.8.E(4), "a qualifying party may only perform work authorized by the qualifying party certificate while validly attached to a validly licensed entity."

The replacement clock: 30 days to notify, 120 days of runway

Search this question and you will find three different answers published as fact: a 30-day grace period, a 90-day replacement deadline, and a 120-day window. Only the last is close, and the structure is what actually matters.

NMSA 1978 § 60-13-25, in full:

"Qualifying party; termination of relationship. In the event the employment or business relationship between the qualifying party and the licensee is terminated, the licensee and the qualifying party shall notify the division within thirty days of that termination in relationship, and the license shall be suspended for one hundred twenty days from the date of the termination of employment or business relationship and then canceled unless another individual who is a properly certified qualifying party is approved as the qualifying party for the licensee."

Note that both parties owe the notice, the company and the departing individual. 14.6.3.8.A(5) requires it "in writing ... within 30 days."

And the rule is harsher than the statute. 14.6.3.8.K(2) NMAC:

"When a license ceases to be qualified by a qualifying party certificate, the license will be automatically cancelled and the licensee may not bid or commence any new work in that classification. Any bid or new work commenced after a license is cancelled pursuant to this rule shall be considered unlicensed and will subject the licensee to disciplinary action. Work in progress at the time of the cancellation may continue for not more than 120 days. After 120 days, any permit that was issued to the licensee for work in the affected classification shall be automatically cancelled, no inspection shall be conducted pursuant to any such cancelled permit, and any work continued or undertaken shall be deemed to be unlicensed activity."

Read those together and the practical answer is: the day your qualifying party leaves, you stop bidding and stop starting new work in that classification. You have 30 days to notify CID and 120 days to finish what is already underway. The 120 days is not a grace period for operating normally. It is a window to complete work in progress.

The statute says "suspended then cancelled"; the rule says "automatically cancelled" with 120 days for work in progress. Either way, no new work.

The temporary qualifying party, the provision nobody publishes

There is one safety valve, at NMSA § 60-13-16(D), and it is almost entirely absent from the published guidance:

"If a contractor's license is subject to suspension by the commission and if the suspension is based on the requirement that the licensee employ a qualifying party and the employment of the qualifying party is terminated without fault of the licensee, a member of that trade who is experienced in the classification for which the certificate of qualification was issued and has been employed for five or more years by the licensed contractor shall be issued without examination a temporary certificate of qualification."

The temporary qualifying party must then pass the regular examination within ninety days.

The conditions are narrow, the departure must be without the licensee's fault, and the replacement must be an experienced tradesperson already five or more years with the company. But if you have a long-tenured lead who has never sat the exam, this provision can keep your license alive while they do.

Certificate lifecycle

• 14.6.3.8.K(3)(a): a new qualifying party certificate that "does not qualify a valid license within 12 months from the date on which the exam score was reported to CID ... shall automatically expire."
• 14.6.3.8.K(3)(b): a qualifying party who does not qualify a valid license "for any consecutive two-year period shall lose eligibility ... and the certificate shall automatically expire." Recertifying means applying, retesting, and paying all fees again, though the director may waive the exam for an additional 12 months on documentation of equivalent work experience.
• § 60-13-16(E): the certificate of qualification is not transferable.
• § 60-13-16(F): a qualifying party whose certificate is revoked "shall not reapply for a certificate for one year."

The two-year rule is the one to watch if you are between placements. Sit unattached for two consecutive years and you retest.

The Business Question

New Mexico's structure comes down to one constraint: the individual earns a journeyman certificate or a certificate of qualification, but the company holds the license, and only for as long as a qualifying party is attached to it. A company with the crews, the trucks and the work but no qualifying party is not a plumbing contractor in New Mexico; it is an entity that cannot legally bid.

A qualifying agent qualifies the company as an owner or as a full time W-2 employee who actively supervises the licensed work, a genuine employment relationship, not a paper arrangement. Hire a qualifying agent explains how The Licensing Company places qualifying agents this way, what is a qualifying agent covers the role itself in more depth, and a company searching for a specific CID classification can also review contractor qualifier services. If you already hold an MM-1, MM-98 or another classification and want to understand what that certificate is worth inside a growing company, see becoming a qualifying agent.

Related reading: our New Mexico electrician license guide covers the EE-98 and ER-1 classifications on the electrical side of CID, and our national guide to the plumbing contractor qualifying agent compares the requirement across states. Browse all state licensing guides for the requirements where you plan to work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Mexico have a master plumber license? No. NMSA § 60-13-38(B) lists the statutory certificate categories and master plumber is not among them. New Mexico issues a journeyman plumber certificate (JP) to individuals and a contractor license (MM-1 or MM-98) to businesses, with a certificate of qualification held by a qualifying party. Any guide describing a New Mexico master plumber license, exam or application is describing a credential that does not exist.

Does New Mexico have a licensed water conditioning principal, like Colorado? No. That title is specific to Colorado's plumbing statute. New Mexico's Construction Industries Licensing Act counts water conditioner work as contracting under NMSA 1978 § 60-13-3(A), but 14.6.6.11 NMAC, the rule listing every CID mechanical and plumbing classification, has no water conditioning or water softener category at all. Most water conditioner installation falls under MM-1 plumbing because it ties into potable water piping; work that does not fit an existing classification goes through CID's general specialty catch-all, GS-29, assigned case by case.

How long does it take to get a New Mexico plumbing license? For the journeyman certificate, two years of qualifying experience within the past ten years, plus a written exam and a practical exam. For the MM-1 contractor license, four years (8,000 hours) within the past ten, plus the Business and Law exam and the 100-question MM-1 exam. Accredited training can substitute at half value, capped at half the requirement, so at most two of the four years, requiring four years of training.

How much does a New Mexico plumbing license cost? Contractor: $30 application, $6 certificate, $150 classification fee for MM-1 covering three years (or $300 for MM-98), $68.88 per exam, and a $10,000 code bond. Journeyman: $75 per classification, plus $137.76 for the written and practical exams together. Fees are set by CID and PSI and change, verify before paying.

How much does it cost to hire a qualifying party for my company? There is no published rate, because there is no standard engagement. What a qualifying party is worth depends on the classification, the volume and value of work the license will carry, the personal responsibility that individual is accepting under § 60-13-2(E), and the length of the arrangement. An MS-6 lawn sprinkler license and an MM-98 carrying commercial mechanical work are not the same risk and should not carry the same cost. Talk to us about your specific situation.

What happens if my qualifying party quits? Both you and they must notify CID in writing within 30 days. Under 14.6.3.8.K(2) you may not bid or commence new work in that classification from the moment the license ceases to be qualified. Work already in progress may continue for not more than 120 days, after which the permits are automatically cancelled and continued work is unlicensed activity. If the departure was without your fault and you have an experienced tradesperson with five or more years at the company, § 60-13-16(D) allows a temporary certificate without examination, with 90 days to pass the real exam.

Can one person qualify two companies in New Mexico? Only with at least 30% common ownership among the entities, evidenced by a Declaration of Common Ownership Form, or in a joint venture. 14.6.3.8.E(3) NMAC.

Can an MM-1 plumber install a gas water heater? Not the gas piping or the gas-fired appliance. MM-1 expressly "does not include installation of natural gas fired appliances or natural gas piping." That is MM-2 work, or MM-98, or a licensed subcontractor. And neither MM-1 nor MM-2 covers LP gas, which is licensed separately under NMSA Ch. 70 Art. 5.

Is there a New Mexico plumbing board? No. Plumbing is regulated by the Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department, through its mechanical bureau, under policy set by the nine-member Construction Industries Commission. There is no separate plumbing board or board of plumbing examiners.

Ready to Hire a Qualifying Party

If your company needs a qualifying party for MM-1, MM-98 or another New Mexico classification, talk to us. Call 615-219-2110 to start the conversation.

Sources

• 14.6.6 NMAC, Classifications and Scopes, full current text (effective 3/10/2022), retrieved 2026-10-11
• PSI New Mexico Contractor Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (Updated 4/3/2026), retrieved 2026-10-11
• PSI New Mexico Journeyman Examinations Candidate Information Bulletin (Updated 4/13/2023), retrieved 2026-10-11
• PSI "How to Obtain a Journeyman Certificate" (Updated October 2023), retrieved 2026-10-11
• New Mexico State Records Center and Archives, NMAC Title 14 Housing and Construction , retrieved 2026-10-11
• NMSA 1978 § 60-13-3, Construction Industries Licensing Act, "contracting" definition, cross-referenced via law.justia.com and 1997/1999 New Mexico legislative bill text because the official compiler site (nmonesource.com) would not load during research, retrieved 2026-10-11

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