Who this applies to
New Mexico requires a contractor's license statewide, issued by the Construction Industries Division (CID) of the Regulation and Licensing Department, and it attaches the bond to that license itself. Anyone applying for the license furnishes a bond, and every licensee furnishes one again at renewal [1]. The rule names one amount for each applicant: $10,000 [1]. That figure is the same at first licensure and at every renewal [1].
What the rule says
The requirement sits in 14.6.3.8(C)(1) NMAC, the rule that implements NMSA 1978, § 60-13-49, and the $10,000 figure is written into the rule text itself [1]. The provision ties the bond to two moments, the first licensure and each renewal, and asks for the same sum at both. Each time, the bond goes to the division and has to come from a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico [1].
How to comply
- Surety. The bond is underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico; a surety without that authorization does not meet the rule's wording.
- Obligee and acceptance. The bond is written in favor of CID, the same division that issues the license, and has to be acceptable to the division's director, whatever surety writes it.
- Timing. It is furnished to CID at initial licensure and again as a condition of every renewal, which makes each renewal depend on a bond being in place.
- Other bonds. Whether a particular license classification carries any other bond is for CID to confirm before filing.
CID's construction pages are at rld.nm.gov/construction. The division confirms the current bond form and filing steps for a given application or renewal.
What changed recently
The rule provision that holds the bond requirement was replaced effective March 10, 2022 [1]. The $10,000 figure, the corporate-surety condition and the two filing points described above are those of the provision as replaced [1].
Related
Estimate the cost of New Mexico's flat bond with the contractor license bond cost calculator, or look up all states' bond requirements in one place.