New Mexico contractor license bond: $10,000 (2026)
By Sami Chicha, EditorUpdated Checked against primary sources · not yet reviewed by a licensed professionalFact-checked
Quick answer
Each applicant for a New Mexico contractor's license furnishes the Construction Industries Division a $10,000 bond underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico, at initial licensure and again as a condition of each renewal. The $10,000 figure is stated in 14.6.3.8(C)(1) NMAC, the rule that implements NMSA 1978, § 60-13-49.
New Mexico · License bondVerified 2026-09-22
Bond amount
$10,000
$10,000, furnished at initial licensure and as a condition of each renewal (14.6.3.8(C)(1) NMAC).
Applies to
Each applicant for a contractor's license issued by the Construction Industries Division, at initial licensure and at each renewal.
Upon initial licensure and as a condition of renewal each applicant shall furnish to the division a bond in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) underwritten by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in New Mexico.
NMSA 1978, § 60-13-49; implemented by 14.6.3.8(C)(1) NMAC · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-22
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].
A license bond is bought from a surety, not paid in full: the surety charges a yearly premium, a percentage of the bond amount set by its own underwriting. Run through the premium ranges published by 8 surety agencies, the $10,000 contractor's license bond comes to:
Credit
Published premium rate
Premium a year
Excellent credit (700+)
0.4% to 3%
$40 to $300
Good credit (650–699)
0.4% to 5%
$40 to $500
Fair credit (600–649)
0.9% to 15%
$90 to $1,500
Poor credit (below 600)
2% to 15%
$200 to $1,500
Who the bond binds: Each applicant for a contractor's license issued by the Construction Industries Division, at initial licensure and at each renewal. These are ranges of published pricing, retrieved , not a quote; credit is one input among several a surety weighs. Put your own figures through the bond cost calculator.
