New Mexico is not a permitless concealed carry state. To carry a concealed loaded handgun in public, a person must hold a New Mexico Concealed Handgun...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New Mexico is not a permitless concealed carry state. To carry a concealed loaded handgun in public, a person must hold a New Mexico Concealed Handgun License (CHL) issued under the Concealed Handgun Carry Act, NMSA 1978 Sections 29-19-1 through 29-19-15. Open carry of a loaded handgun is generally lawful without a license for a person who may lawfully possess a firearm, but concealed carry requires the license.
Applications for a New Mexico CHL are processed by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Concealed Handgun Carry Act assigns every licensing function to "the department," which the Act defines as the Department of Public Safety (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-2(E)). DPS receives the application, conducts the records check, forwards fingerprints to the FBI, and issues or denies the license (NMSA 1978 Sections 29-19-5 and 29-19-6).
An original or renewed New Mexico CHL is valid for four years from the date of issuance, unless it is suspended or revoked (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-3).
Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(A), DPS must issue a license to an applicant who:
Item 7 incorporates the federal prohibited-person categories. The federal list of persons barred from possessing firearms is found at 18 U.S.C. Section 922(g) (for example, persons convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, fugitives, unlawful drug users, persons adjudicated as mentally defective, and persons subject to certain domestic-violence orders or convictions). Being "under indictment" is a separate federal receipt bar under 18 U.S.C. Section 922(n); in New Mexico it is also an independent state disqualifier under Section 29-19-4(A)(6) above.
Separately, NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(B) requires DPS to deny a license to an applicant who has:
A deferred sentence does not erase the underlying conviction for purposes of the Concealed Handgun Carry Act. New Mexico courts have held that the adjudication of guilt remains even after a charge is dismissed at the end of a deferment, so a completed deferred sentence can still disqualify an applicant (Benns v. N.M. Dep't of Pub. Safety, 2022-NMCA-050). A pardoned felony conviction, by contrast, is not by itself a sufficient ground for denial if the applicant is otherwise qualified (2014 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 14-02).
Approved firearms training course instructors are not required to complete a training course themselves (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(C)).
Complete a department-approved concealed-handgun training course. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-7(A), the course must be at least fifteen hours in length, must include classroom and range instruction, and must require the applicant to demonstrate the ability to safely use a handgun of at least .32 caliber. The course covers safe handling and storage, shooting fundamentals, live fire on a range, applicable firearms laws, conflict avoidance, and nonviolent dispute resolution. Obtain a certificate of completion that identifies the category (semiautomatic or not semiautomatic) and the largest caliber for which you trained, because the license is issued only for what you demonstrated.
Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(B), the application packet submitted to DPS must include:
The application form asks for identifying information (name, current address, date of birth, place of birth, social security number, physical description, and driver's license or state ID number) and includes a conspicuous warning that a materially false answer or document may result in denial or revocation and may subject the applicant to prosecution for perjury under NMSA 1978 Section 30-25-1 (Section 29-19-5(A)).
Submit the completed packet to DPS as directed on the application form. A law enforcement agency may take an applicant's fingerprints and may charge a reasonable fee for doing so (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(C)).
Upon receiving the items in Section 29-19-5(B), DPS makes a reasonable effort to determine whether the applicant qualifies. DPS conducts an appropriate check of available records and forwards the applicant's fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal background check (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(D)). A state or local government agency must comply with a DPS records request within thirty days (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(E)).
Within thirty days after receiving a completed application and the results of the national criminal background check, DPS must either issue the license or deny the application on the ground that the applicant failed to qualify under the Concealed Handgun Carry Act (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(A)). The license itself must show a color photograph, the licensee's name, address, and date of birth, the expiration date, and the category and largest caliber the licensee may carry, together with a statement that the licensee may carry smaller-caliber handguns but only one concealed handgun at a time (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(C)).
The statutory window is thirty days, but it runs from the point at which DPS has both a completed application and the results of the national criminal background check (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(A)). Actual timing therefore depends on fingerprint and FBI turnaround. If DPS later receives information that would disqualify the applicant after the thirty-day period has run, it must suspend or revoke the license (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(D)).
DPS must suspend or revoke a concealed handgun license if the licensee provided false information on the application or renewal form, did not actually satisfy the issuance criteria when the license was issued, or violated a provision of the Concealed Handgun Carry Act after receiving the license (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(I)). DPS administers the licensing program and adopts the implementing rules, which include the detailed grounds for suspension and revocation and authority for an officer to confiscate a license on violation (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-12). An applicant or licensee who disagrees with a denial, suspension, or revocation should follow the review procedure described in the DPS notice and rules; relief in district court is generally pursued under New Mexico's general administrative-review procedures rather than a special appeal provision in the Concealed Handgun Carry Act.
If a license is lost, stolen, or destroyed, it is invalid. The licensee must notify DPS within ten days (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(D)). To obtain a duplicate, the licensee furnishes DPS a notarized statement that the original was lost, stolen, or destroyed and pays a reasonable fee; if the license was lost or stolen, the licensee must also file a police report and include the police case number in the notarized statement (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(E)).
A licensee must notify DPS within thirty days of any change in the licensee's name or permanent address (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(D)).
A New Mexico CHL holder is exempt from the seven-calendar-day waiting period that otherwise applies to firearm sales. New Mexico imposes a seven-calendar-day waiting period on firearm sales under NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-7.3(A), but that requirement does not apply to a sale to a buyer who holds a valid New Mexico concealed handgun license (NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-7.3(H)(2)). The buyer still completes the federally required NICS background check at the dealer; only the state seven-day hold is waived.
A licensee must have the concealed handgun license in his or her possession at all times while carrying a concealed handgun (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-9).
This page covers one part of our New Mexico concealed carry guide.
Read the complete New Mexico guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.