New Mexico GB-2 License: Exams, Bond, and Experience

The New Mexico GB-2 license is a residential general building classification issued by the Construction Industries Division (CID) that lets you construct, alter, repair, or demolish homes and apartment buildings of up to four family units. To get one, you need two years of foreman-level experience, a $10,000 surety bond, active business and tax registrations, workers’ compensation insurance, and passing scores on two exams administered through PSI.¹

What the GB-2 Lets You Build

Under NMAC 14.6.6.9, the GB-2 is classified as “Residential.” It covers residences and apartment houses of no more than four family units, which sit in occupancy Groups R-1, R-2, and R-3 under the New Mexico building code. It also covers Group U structures like detached garages and storage sheds when they’re built alongside a qualifying residential project.²

The GB-2 also picks up the work described under the GS specialty classifications when that work stays inside residential construction, so a holder can self-perform things like finish carpentry, concrete, or insulation on their own jobs. Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work is different: those trades must be performed by someone licensed in the specific classification. In practice, you run the residential project and hire licensed subs for wiring, plumbing, and HVAC.²

Commercial work is outside the GB-2. Offices, retail, restaurants, and other non-residential buildings fall under the GB-98 general building classification, which requires four years of foreman-level experience rather than two. Many contractors start on the GB-2 and add the broader classification later as their experience accumulates. Working outside your classification is a violation of the Construction Industries Licensing Act and grounds for disciplinary action.

Subcontractors Have to Be Licensed Too

Any work you subcontract must go to an entity licensed in the appropriate classification.² The stakes are real. Under NMSA 60-13-30, a contractor cannot sue to collect payment for work that required a license without proving they were properly licensed when the work was performed, and New Mexico courts have applied that bar to general contractors who fail to check on their subs.³ The CID keeps an online license lookup. Use it before you sign.

Experience and the Qualifying Party

The GB-2 requires two years of foreman-level practical or related trade experience.² “Foreman level” means you were supervising or directing construction, not just performing labor under someone else’s direction. Document the time on a Work Experience Affidavit and file it with PSI, the testing service the CID uses to process applications.⁴

Describe the work in terms that match the GB-2 scope: residential framing, foundations for single-family homes, roofing on residential structures, site management for housing projects. Vague descriptions slow the review. A validator with direct knowledge of your work, usually a licensed contractor or former employer, has to sign the affidavit to confirm hours and responsibilities.

Every licensed business needs at least one qualifying party, an individual who holds a valid CID certificate in the classification. The qualifier must be an owner or employee of the business and is personally responsible for supervising the work. They must be at least 18. A single qualifying party cannot certify more than one licensed entity unless there is at least 30 percent common ownership among those businesses.⁵

Bond, Tax ID, and Business Registration

Before the CID will issue the license, you have to post a $10,000 surety bond written by a corporate surety authorized to do business in New Mexico. The bond is narrower than most people expect: it pays only to cure code violations that the licensee caused, that the CID certified, and that the licensee failed to correct. It is not a general contract or warranty bond.⁶

If the bond is cancelled or expires, the CID will notify you and give you 40 days to provide proof of a replacement. Miss that window and the license faces revocation.⁶

You also need a New Mexico Business Tax Identification Number from the Taxation and Revenue Department. If your business is a corporation or LLC, register it with the Secretary of State.⁷ Make sure the business name matches exactly across the tax registration, Secretary of State filing, and license application. Mismatches create delays.

Applying Through PSI

Applications route through PSI. You submit the qualifying party application and Work Experience Affidavit with a $36 processing fee, plus the initial contractor license application with a separate $30 fee. Both reference the fee schedule in 14.5.5 NMAC.⁴

Mailed applications take up to 10 business days to process. Faxed applications take up to four. Once PSI accepts your experience affidavit, you get an approval notice authorizing you to schedule your exams. Take those exams within six months of becoming eligible; if you don’t, the approval expires and you start over with the CID.

The Two Exams

Licensure requires passing a Business and Law exam covering New Mexico’s construction statutes and business regulations, and a trade exam for the GB-2 classification. Instead of the Business and Law exam, the CID allows applicants to complete a Business and Law course through an approved vendor.⁴

Most CID construction exams are open-book. Bring your own references bound in a three-ring binder or a folder with brads. Highlighting, underlining, and permanent index tabs are fine. Loose papers, writing in references during the exam, and temporary tabs like Post-Its are not. A silent, non-programmable calculator is allowed. Your score appears on screen when you finish, and a passing score is valid for one year.

Schedule at public.psiexams.com or by phone. If there’s space at your preferred site, you can book as late as the day before. Cancel at least two days out to reschedule without losing the fee; inside that window, the fee is forfeited.

Workers’ Compensation

Every business licensed under the Construction Industries Licensing Act must carry workers’ compensation insurance, regardless of how many employees it has.⁸ There is no small-employer exemption for construction in New Mexico. General liability insurance is not required for licensure, but most project owners and general contractors will require it before letting you on site.

What Happens If You Work Without a License

Unlicensed contracting is a misdemeanor under NMSA 60-13-52, with penalties that scale by project value:

Projects worth $5,000 or less: up to 90 days in county jail, a fine between $300 and $500, or both.
Projects worth more than $5,000: up to six months in county jail, a fine equal to 10 percent of the project’s dollar value, or both.
Second conviction: double the applicable first-offense penalty.

For a first offense, the court may impose a deferred sentence on the condition that the person gets properly licensed.⁹ On top of the criminal side, an unlicensed contractor cannot file a mechanic’s lien or sue to collect payment for the work, even if the job was finished perfectly.³

Keeping the License Active

New Mexico contractor licenses renew on a two-year cycle. Your $10,000 bond has to stay in force through the entire period; a lapse is grounds for revocation even before the license expires on its own.⁶ The CID requires continuing education for most license categories, and your Secretary of State and Taxation and Revenue registrations need to be active at renewal. Check the current CID fee schedule and continuing education hours when your renewal window opens, since both can change between cycles.

1
New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Construction Industries Division
2
New Mexico Compilation Commission. New Mexico Administrative Code 14.6.6 – Classifications and Scopes
3
Justia. New Mexico Code 60-13-30 – Suit by Contractor for Compensation; Pleading and Proof of License
4
New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Apply for a Construction Industries License
5
Legal Information Institute. New Mexico Administrative Code 14.6.3.8 – License and Qualifying Party Requirements
6
New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Construction Industries Licensing Act – Section 60-13-49
7
New Mexico Business Portal. Obtain Tax ID Numbers and Register a Business
8
New Mexico Legislature. Workers’ Compensation – Employer Requirements
9
FindLaw. New Mexico Statutes 60-13-52 – Penalties