How to become a licensed plumber in New Mexico

Journeyman level 4,000 hours on the job + state exam What's a journeyman?

Licensing office New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division (CID), Mechanical Bureau · (505) 476-4700 [14][15]

The license pathway in New Mexico

1. 1

   Apprentice (no state card)

   You learn the trade while working for a licensed contractor under the direct supervision of a certified journeyman. The state issues no apprentice card. [1][2]

2. 2

   Journeyman Plumber (JP)

   • 4,000 hours on the job
   • 2 years of experience
   • Yes: written (70 questions, 185 minutes, open book) and practical (100 points, 120 minutes); 75% to pass each; $68.88 each, $137.76 combined (PSI)
   • $75 application
   • Every three years, $75; 16 hours CE

   Lets you do plumbing work for an MM-1, MS-3, MS-6 or MM-98 contractor. You need two years (4,000 hours) of experience. The combined plumber and gas fitter certificate (JPG) also covers natural gas piping. [1][3][4][8][9]

3. 3

   Plumbing contractor qualifying party (MM-1 or MM-98)

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: trade exam(s) ($68.88 each) plus the Business and Law exam ($68.88) or an approved course
   • $36 application (CID's page; the 2004 fee rule says $30) plus the license fee
   • Contractor licenses expire two years after issue, or as CID sets (never less than one year)

   New Mexico has no master plumber license. A contractor's license goes to a business that employs or is owned by a qualifying party (QP). Since August 1, 2026, MM-1 covers plumbing and fuel gas piping systems and MM-98 covers all mechanical work; both require four years of experience. [1][5][7][16][17]

Who needs a certificate in New Mexico

New Mexico's rule says a journeyman certificate of competence "is required of all individuals performing mechanical and plumbing work." The exception is an apprentice working "under the direct supervision of a validly certified journeyman." A journeyman may work only for a business licensed for that type of work.

Homeowners may do the plumbing on their own home. CID requires an isometric drawing and a $25 plan review fee. Replacing a water heater or furnace needs a permit pulled by a licensed contractor. [1][6]

The license ladder

• Apprentice: no state card; work under a certified journeyman.
• Journeyman Plumber (JP): two years of experience plus a written and a practical exam.
• Journeyman Plumber and Natural Gas Fitter (JPG): one certificate covering both plumbing and gas fitting.
• Contractor qualifying party: MM-1 or MM-98, four years of experience, plus the trade and Business and Law exams.

Related journeyman certificates include pipe fitter (JPF), natural gas fitter (JG), sprinkler (JS) and welder (JW). A rule change effective August 1, 2026, dropped the old MM-2 (natural gas fitting) and MM-4 (heating, cooling and process piping) contractor classes and broadened MM-1 (now plumbing and fuel gas piping) and MM-3 (now including hydronics, fuel gas and process piping).

CID counts each year of accredited technical training as half a year of experience, up to half the requirement. Compare states on the plumber hub. [1][3]

The journeyman plumber exams

PSI runs the exams at centers in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Roswell and Farmington, plus Durango, Colorado, and four Texas cities.

PSI's bulletin lists a written exam of 70 questions in 185 minutes, open book, covering drainage, waste and vents, water supply, backflow prevention, storm drainage, fixtures and water heaters, and septic and sewer. The practical, scored out of 100 points in 120 minutes, has you solder copper, assemble PEX (cross-linked polyethylene), assemble a tub drain and washer box, set a drain to minimum rise and identify fittings and tools. You need 75% on each. Each part is $68.88.

The bulletin (updated April 2023) lists the 2015 New Mexico Plumbing Code and the 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code as references; New Mexico adopted a 2024 plumbing code effective August 1, 2026, so check PSI's current bulletin before you buy books. [1][4][7]

Fees, renewal and continuing education

The journeyman application fee is $75 per classification, paid to PSI. Certificates last three years; renewal is $75, plus $25 if late, according to PSI's renewal form (the statute says late renewal within six months costs twice the renewal fee). Under state law an expired certificate is canceled if not renewed within six months.

Plumbing and mechanical journeymen (JP, JPF, JG, JPG and others) need 16 hours of approved continuing education each three-year cycle, at least eight on code changes. CID posts the approved course list. [3][5][8][9]

Union and open-shop apprenticeships

The state's plumber apprenticeship page lists three sponsors: ABC New Mexico, Albuquerque Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling, and the Southwest Piping Institute (UA Local 412). It lists age 18 and a diploma or GED as minimums and says programs may add a placement exam, a driver's license, references, a drug screen or a physical.

UA Local 412 interviews applicants and places them on a ranking list; when contractors call for apprentices, the union calls down the list. You can keep your current job until you're called. More on choosing: union vs. non-union and how to get an apprenticeship. [10][11]

If you're licensed in another state

CID publishes reciprocal agreements only for journeyman electricians, so out-of-state plumbers normally apply like new applicants, with work experience affidavits and the PSI exams.

Military service members, spouses, dependent children and veterans who hold a substantially equivalent license elsewhere can get an expedited certificate within 30 days, with no certificate fee for the first three years.

New Mexico's Uniform Licensing Act (61-1-31.1 NMSA) also lists CID among the boards that must process an out-of-state licensee's complete application within 30 days and issue a one-year provisional "expedited license" if your license is current and in good standing and you have practiced for the period New Mexico law requires; CID may make you pass its exam before renewal if your state didn't require one. CID's own notice says EE-98J is the only journeyman classification it reciprocates, so confirm with CID or PSI how it applies this law before you rely on it. See our reciprocity guide. [1][3][5][9][12][13]

Steps to get licensed in New Mexico

1. Get hired as an apprentice

   Join a registered program or a licensed plumbing contractor. No state card is needed; you work under a certified journeyman's direct supervision. [1][2][10]

2. Build two years of experience

   The JP needs two years (4,000 hours), within the 10 years before you apply, gained with a licensed contractor (or legally in another state). [1][3]

3. Apply through PSI

   Send the notarized Journeyman Certificate Application, a notarized mechanical/plumbing work experience affidavit from each employer, and $75 per classification to PSI in Albuquerque. [3]

4. Pass the written and practical exams

   Once approved, schedule both exams with PSI. You have six months from approval to submit passing scores. [3][4]

5. Renew every three years

   Renew for $75 with proof of 16 hours of approved continuing education, eight of them on code changes. [8][9]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train plumbers in or for New Mexico, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  Southwest Piping Institute (UA Local 412 JATC)

  The plumbers and pipefitters union program in Albuquerque, registered in New Mexico and Texas. Five years, working for union contractors by day with classes two nights a week; jobs can be anywhere in New Mexico or nine Texas counties including El Paso. [10][11]

• Open shop

  ABC New Mexico

  Associated Builders and Contractors runs a registered plumbing apprenticeship from Albuquerque. [10][18]

• Other

  Employer-sponsored programs

  The state's sponsor list also includes an employer program, Albuquerque Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling. [10]

• State program

  NM Department of Workforce Solutions State Apprenticeship Office

  The state apprenticeship agency registers programs, lists sponsors and contacts for each trade, and works with local workforce boards to help pay training costs. [19]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask