New Mexico gun laws let most adults openly carry a firearm without a permit, but a concealed handgun license is required to carry a hidden loaded firearm on foot. Nearly every sale, including private transactions, has to run through a background check. Certain people cannot possess firearms at all, and guns are banned from schools, bars, courthouses, and a handful of other places. The rules below apply statewide, because New Mexico does not allow cities or counties to add their own firearm restrictions.
Who Can Legally Possess a Firearm
There is no minimum age for possessing a rifle or shotgun under state law. Handguns are different. Anyone under nineteen is generally barred from possessing or transporting a handgun.1Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-2.2 – Unlawful Possession of a Handgun by a Person; Exceptions; Penalty
Narrow exceptions let a person under nineteen have a handgun while taking a safety course, target shooting at an authorized range, competing in an organized shooting event, lawfully hunting or trapping, or on private property under the supervision of a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian. Traveling to or from those activities with an unloaded handgun is also allowed. Violating the age rule is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000.1Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-2.2 – Unlawful Possession of a Handgun by a Person; Exceptions; Penalty2Justia. New Mexico Code 31-19-1 – Sentencing Authority; Misdemeanors and Petty Misdemeanors
Age aside, several categories of adults cannot legally have a firearm. The prohibited list includes felons, people subject to a domestic violence protection order, and anyone convicted of certain domestic violence offenses such as battery against a household member, criminal damage to a household member’s property, or a first offense of stalking.3Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-16 – Firearms or Destructive Devices; Receipt, Transportation or Possession by Certain Persons; Penalty
The felon ban is not always permanent. It applies only if less than ten years have passed since the person finished serving their sentence or probation, whichever ended later. A pardoned felony, or one that resulted in a deferred sentence, does not count. A felon caught with a firearm faces a third-degree felony; the domestic violence prohibitions carry misdemeanor penalties instead.3Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-16 – Firearms or Destructive Devices; Receipt, Transportation or Possession by Certain Persons; Penalty
Background Checks on Sales and Transfers
Since July 2019, almost every firearm sale in New Mexico has to go through a background check, including sales between private individuals. A private seller is required to route the transaction through a federal firearms licensee, who runs the buyer through the same background check system used at a gun store and handles the paperwork.4New Mexico Legislature. New Mexico Legislature – SB 8
Two exceptions matter in daily life. Transfers between immediate family members are exempt, and New Mexico defines that term broadly: spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandchild, niece, nephew, first cousin, aunt, or uncle. Antique firearms are also exempt.
Open Carry
Open carry of a loaded firearm is legal in New Mexico without any permit. The state’s concealed carry statute reaches only firearms carried out of sight, so a handgun carried visibly in a holster is not covered by that prohibition.5Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-2 – Unlawful Carrying of a Deadly Weapon You still have to be legally eligible to possess a firearm, and the location restrictions below still apply. There is no state registration requirement for openly carried firearms.
Concealed Carry Without a License
Carrying a concealed, loaded firearm on foot without a valid concealed handgun license is a petty misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.5Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-2 – Unlawful Carrying of a Deadly Weapon2Justia. New Mexico Code 31-19-1 – Sentencing Authority; Misdemeanors and Petty Misdemeanors
Three built-in exceptions let you carry concealed with no license at all. You can carry a concealed loaded firearm in your own home or on property you own. You can carry one in a private vehicle for lawful protection of yourself or another person’s property. And carrying any unloaded firearm is legal regardless of whether it is concealed.5Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-2 – Unlawful Carrying of a Deadly Weapon
The vehicle exception covers private automobiles and other private means of conveyance, not commercial or public transportation. Location restrictions still apply once you park. Pulling into a public school lot, for example, can put you in violation of the school premises law even though the gun is in your own car.
New Mexico does not impose a duty to tell a law enforcement officer that you are carrying. A license holder who is carrying does have to keep the license on their person and show it on request.
Getting a Concealed Handgun License
The New Mexico Department of Public Safety issues concealed handgun licenses to applicants who meet every one of these qualifications:
- At least twenty-one years old
- United States citizen
- New Mexico resident, or an active-duty military member stationed in New Mexico, or a dependent of one
- No felony conviction in any jurisdiction, no pending felony indictment, and not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm under state or federal law
- Not adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution
- Not addicted to alcohol or controlled substances
- Completed a department-approved firearms training course for the category and caliber of handgun the applicant intends to carry
The application asks for name, current address, date of birth, Social Security number, and other identifying information. Submit it with two complete sets of fingerprints, a certified copy of your training certificate, two color photographs, proof of New Mexico residency, and proof of citizenship if you were not born in the United States. The nonrefundable application fee is up to $100.7New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Concealed Handgun Carry Act Booklet
Once the department has a complete application and the results of your national background check, it has thirty days to issue or deny the license. The clock does not start until both pieces are in hand, so slow fingerprint processing can push the real wait beyond thirty days.7New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Concealed Handgun Carry Act Booklet
Keeping the License Current
A civilian license is valid for four years. Military members, law enforcement officers, and retired law enforcement officers get a five-year license.8New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Concealed Carry Licenses
At the two-year mark, every license holder has to complete a two-hour refresher course approved by the department. The refresher must be taken between twenty-two and twenty-six months after the license was issued, and the completion certificate has to be submitted within thirty days. Missing this step can jeopardize the license.7New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Concealed Handgun Carry Act Booklet
Renewal requires a four-hour renewal course, a renewal application, and a $75 fee. You can file as early as sixty days before expiration and as late as sixty days after. During any gap between expiration and arrival of the renewed license, you cannot legally carry concealed.7New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Concealed Handgun Carry Act Booklet
Where Firearms Are Off-Limits
Schools. Carrying a deadly weapon on school premises is a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to eighteen months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. “School premises” means the buildings, grounds, parking areas, and school buses of any public elementary, secondary, junior high, or high school during school activities, along with other public buildings or grounds where school-related activities take place. The statute as written reaches public school facilities, not private schools.9Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-2.1 – Unlawful Carrying of a Deadly Weapon on School Premises10Justia. New Mexico Code 31-18-15 – Sentencing Authority
Liquor establishments. Carrying a loaded or unloaded firearm on premises licensed to dispense alcohol is generally prohibited, and the details catch people off guard. A concealed handgun license holder can carry in a store that sells alcohol only for off-premises consumption, like a liquor store. A license holder can also carry in a restaurant licensed to sell only beer and wine if at least sixty percent of the restaurant’s revenue comes from food, as long as the restaurant has not posted a sign prohibiting firearms and the manager has not told you guns are not allowed. Bars and full-liquor restaurants stay off-limits for everyone.11Justia. New Mexico Code 30-7-3 – Unlawful Carrying of a Firearm in Licensed Liquor Establishments
Courthouses. A concealed handgun license is not valid in a courthouse or court facility unless the presiding judicial officer authorizes it.
Tribal land. A New Mexico license is not valid on tribal land unless the governing body of the nation, tribe, or pueblo specifically authorizes it. Each tribe sets its own rules, and many prohibit firearms outright.
Polling places. A 2024 law prohibits firearms within 100 feet of a polling place during an election. Exemptions cover certified peace officers, concealed handgun license holders, people conducting lawful non-election business nearby, and anyone seated in a private vehicle near the polling place. Violations are a misdemeanor.
Safe Storage Around Minors
The Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act, enacted in 2023, created criminal liability for adults who store firearms negligently in a way that lets a minor get hold of them. The law applies when a person stores a firearm with disregard for a minor’s ability to reach it and the minor then uses the firearm to threaten someone or causes injury.12New Mexico Legislature. HB0009
If a minor accesses the firearm and brandishes it threateningly or causes an injury short of great bodily harm, the storage offense is a misdemeanor. If the minor causes great bodily harm or death, it rises to a fourth-degree felony carrying up to eighteen months in prison.
Several safe harbors keep ordinary storage out of trouble. You are not liable if the firearm was in a locked container a reasonable person would consider secure, kept on your person or within close reach, or locked with a safety device that made it inoperable. You are also protected if the minor got access through illegal entry to your property, or used the firearm in self-defense or defense of another.12New Mexico Legislature. HB0009
Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Orders
New Mexico has a red flag law, formally the extreme risk firearm protection order, that lets a district court temporarily remove firearms from a person who poses a significant danger. Only a law enforcement officer or an attorney with the District Attorney’s office can file the petition. Family members, employers, and school administrators cannot file directly, but they can submit a notarized affidavit to law enforcement, who then decide whether to go to court. A judge can issue a temporary order requiring immediate surrender of firearms before the full hearing, and after a hearing, the court can issue a one-year order.13New Mexico Courts. Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order (ERFPO)
Out-of-State Permits and Local Rules
New Mexico recognizes concealed carry permits from roughly twenty other states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Virginia. Some of those agreements require the permit holder to be at least twenty-one. A permit from a state New Mexico does not recognize has no legal effect here, and you cannot carry concealed on foot with it.8New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Concealed Carry Licenses
New Mexico does not issue concealed handgun licenses to non-residents. The only exception is active-duty military permanently stationed in the state and their dependents. If you move to New Mexico with an out-of-state permit, you can transfer it to a New Mexico license rather than starting the application process from scratch.
Local governments cannot add firearm restrictions on top of state law. The New Mexico Constitution bars any municipality or county from regulating any aspect of the right to keep and bear arms. The one carve-out lets local governments regulate the location and construction of sport shooting ranges. The rules above apply the same way in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, or anywhere else in the state.