New Mexico Concealed Carry Permit Fees and Costs

New Mexico Concealed Handgun License: Fees and Costs

New Mexico charges a nonrefundable application fee of $100 for a new concealed handgun license and $75 to renew, both payable to the Department of Public Safety Concealed Carry Unit. Those are the two numbers on the DPS civilian application checklist. Card replacements, added caliber endorsements, and reinstatement after a suspension carry their own smaller charges. The required firearms training course is paid to the approved instructor who teaches it, not to the department.

Two authorities set these numbers, and they do not say the same thing. The Concealed Handgun Carry Act caps the application fee and fixes the renewal fee. The department's rule, 10.8.2 NMAC, states the amounts DPS actually collects and adds several charges the Act leaves to the department.

What you pay the Department of Public Safety

Read the statute and the rule together on the first two rows. Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of Section 29-19-5 NMSA 1978 requires "a nonrefundable application fee in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100)," which is a ceiling rather than a set price. Subsection G of 10.8.2.12 NMAC is where the department sets the charge at the ceiling: "An applicant shall submit a non-refundable application fee of $100 for new applications and $75 for renewal applications." The renewal figure is not discretionary. Paragraph (2) of Subsection F of Section 29-19-6 NMSA 1978 requires "a payment of a seventy-five-dollar ($75.00) renewal fee," raised from fifty dollars by the 2005 amendment.

The replacement charge works the other way. Subsection E of Section 29-19-6 NMSA 1978 lets a licensee whose license was lost, stolen, or destroyed obtain a duplicate by furnishing a notarized statement and "paying a reasonable fee," without naming a number. The department supplies the number in 10.8.2.19 NMAC: a nonrefundable $10 processing fee. The same $10 applies to a name, address, or law enforcement status change, which Subsection A of that rule requires you to file within 30 days.

The $5 reinstatement fee also reaches a license suspended over a rule violation or a charge, on a two-page application filed with a final court disposition showing no conviction, and additional training is not required (Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of 10.8.2.21 NMAC). Subsection B of 10.8.2.17 NMAC has a transfer applicant file the items required by Paragraph (3) of Subsection A of the same section, including the nonrefundable $75 at Subparagraph (c). Transfer reaches only a license from a state with which New Mexico has reciprocity (Subsection U of 10.8.2.7 NMAC); a new resident arriving from any other state applies as a first-time applicant at the $100 fee.

How fees are paid, and why they are not returned

Accepted payment forms are listed in Subsection B of 10.8.2.11 NMAC: credit card, personal check, cashier's check, certified check, or money order payable to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. The DPS application instructions say credit and debit cards are accepted in person at the Albuquerque office, and applications may be filed in person, by mail, or online through the department's portal under Subsection A of the same rule.

Subsection B of 10.8.2.11 NMAC states that all fees are nonrefundable. The DPS application instructions repeat that, add that your fee will be deposited, and say you must meet the guidelines in Subsection C of the same rule.

That subsection runs on two branches. Under Paragraph (1), an incomplete application draws a written notice outlining the deficiencies and 45 days to cure them, and an applicant who does not cure inside those 45 days has the application deemed abandoned, the file closed, and all fees paid forfeited to the state. Under Paragraph (2), an applicant who does submit corrections inside the 45 days but is still deficient gets a second written notice and 30 days from it, ending in the same abandonment, closure, and forfeiture. Subsection E of 10.8.2.9 NMAC also treats a filing as incomplete when the required fee is not paid with the application.

Fingerprints are a separate cost, paid to whoever takes them

Paragraph (3) of Subsection B of Section 29-19-5 NMSA 1978 requires two full sets of fingerprints with the application, and Subsection C of that section provides that "a law enforcement agency may fingerprint an applicant and may charge a reasonable fee." Subsection D directs the department to forward the prints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal background check.

The department now runs this electronically. 10.8.2.14 NMAC requires all applicants to submit electronic fingerprints and states that new fingerprints must be submitted with each new and renewal application. DPS routes applicants to the IdentoGo scheduling site, where you enter a service code, schedule an appointment, and continue to a payment screen before being printed. The amount is set at that payment step. Neither the Act nor 10.8.2.14 NMAC names a figure, and the Act speaks only of a "reasonable fee," so confirm the current charge when you schedule.

Two things here can force you to pay for fingerprints again. Subsection A of 10.8.2.14 NMAC requires the applicant to submit the license application within 30 days of being fingerprinted, and prints the department finds are not legible and classifiable may be refused.

Training tuition is set by the instructor, and the state requires it to be disclosed in writing

New Mexico does not fix a price for the required course, and DPS does not collect tuition. Subsection A of Section 29-19-7 NMSA 1978 requires an approved firearms training course of "not less than fifteen hours in length" with classroom and range instruction, and an actual demonstration by the applicant of the ability to safely use a handgun of at least .32 caliber. Paragraph (1) of Subsection A of 10.8.2.15 NMAC repeats the 15-hour initial requirement for civilian applicants.

What the rule does regulate is disclosure. Paragraph (6) of Subsection A of 10.8.2.24 NMAC bars an approved instructor from letting a student begin a course until the student has received written information stating all fees, including incidental costs, charged for the course, along with the passing and failing policies, the refund and reschedule policies, and the attendance requirements. Ask for that sheet before you pay a deposit, and compare it across instructors.

Ammunition is a real line item because the competency standard is fired live. Subsection B of 10.8.2.15 NMAC requires the applicant to fire 15 rounds from three yards and 10 rounds from seven yards at a target no larger than 12 inches wide and 18 inches high, scoring four points per hit inside the scoring line and needing 72 percent of the total to pass. You demonstrate competency for each category and highest caliber you want listed, so seeking a broader endorsement means more rounds downrange.

Course certificates expire for application purposes. Subsection C of 10.8.2.12 NMAC requires the certified copy of the certificate of completion to be submitted not more than 90 days prior to the date the application is submitted, and Subsection A of 10.8.2.17 NMAC applies the same 90-day limit to the four-hour renewal certificate. A certificate older than that window will not support the filing, which means paying for the course a second time.

If the department suspends a course because the person teaching it was not an approved instructor, was impaired, had committed a misdemeanor or felony, or was teaching something contrary to law or accepted safety practices, Subsection C of 10.8.2.26 NMAC allows the department, after notice and a hearing, to order that person to refund every student's fees and to require the students to retake the deficient portions.

Renewal and the two-year refresher are separate costs

Original and renewed civilian licenses are valid for four years from issuance under Section 29-19-3 NMSA 1978. Subsection D of 10.8.2.13 NMAC states the same four-year civilian term and a five-year term for military and law enforcement licenses.

Renewal under Subsection F of Section 29-19-6 NMSA 1978 takes a completed renewal form, the $75 fee, and a certificate of completion of a four-hour refresher firearms training course approved by the department. Subsection A of 10.8.2.17 NMAC adds electronic fingerprints and a copy of a government-issued photo identification, and sets the filing window: any time from 60 days before the expiration date until 60 days after. Under Subsection G of Section 29-19-6 NMSA 1978, a license cannot be renewed more than 60 days after it expires, and a licensee who misses that window applies for a new license instead, at the $100 new-application price.

The mid-cycle course is a separate obligation from renewal. Subsection H of Section 29-19-6 NMSA 1978 requires a two-hour refresher firearms training course two years after the issuance of an original or renewed license, taken 22 to 26 months after issuance, with the certificate of completion submitted no later than 30 days after the course. Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of 10.8.2.15 NMAC describes that refresher as a range qualification with the licensee's approved caliber. Miss it and the department may suspend the license under Paragraph (4) of the same subsection, with a $5 reinstatement fee due on compliance. DPS has also announced that as of June 30, 2023 it no longer offers the two-year refresher online, so it is taken with an approved instructor.

Fee waivers, and who they do not cover

Two statutory waivers are mandatory rather than discretionary.

• Military service persons. Subsection A of Section 29-19-15 NMSA 1978 provides that for an applicant or licensee who submits documentation satisfactory to the department that the person is a military service person, "an application fee or renewal fee is not required." For a military service person discharged within 20 years of the application, no firearms training course or refresher course is required either. Subsection E defines the term to cover active duty, reserve or guard duty, and a veteran or retiree honorably discharged as shown on a Department of Defense Form 214. The license is printed "military service person" and is valid for five years.
• Current and retired officers and mounted patrol members. Subsection A of Section 29-19-14 NMSA 1978 provides that an application fee, a renewal fee, and a firearms training course are not required for a current or retired certified law enforcement officer under the Law Enforcement Training Act, or for a current New Mexico mounted patrol member who completed the mounted patrol basic training program. Subsection C conditions the retired officer's fee waiver on at least 15 years as a certified officer before retirement and a retirement in good standing shown by an agency letter. A retired officer out 10 years or less needs no firearms training course under Subsection D; one retired longer must complete a course under Subsection E, and may use a local agency's qualification course if the officer supplies their own handgun, ammunition, targets, and range equipment.

Subsection G of 10.8.2.12 NMAC states the exemption in one sentence: "Current and retired peace officers, military, and mounted patrol officers are exempt from this fee." It is short because the conditions on a retired officer sit elsewhere in the rule. Subsection Q of 10.8.2.7 NMAC defines a retired peace officer as a New Mexico resident "who has retired in good standing from any law enforcement agency with at least 15 years as a certified police officer or by work related disability," and Subsections C through E of 10.8.2.31 NMAC require the same 15 years, unless the retirement was due to a job related disability, documented by an agency letter indicating that "he or she retired in good standing."

That tracks the 15 years and the agency letter Subsection C of Section 29-19-14 NMSA 1978 requires, with one real difference. The rule accepts a work related disability retirement in place of the 15 years and the statute does not, requiring instead that the officer was a certified law enforcement officer "for at least fifteen years prior to retirement." An officer who retired on a work related disability short of 15 years should settle this with the Concealed Carry Unit before filing.

The waiver does not reach military dependents. Paragraph (2) of Subsection B of 10.8.2.32 NMAC provides that dependents listed on military orders must pay the application fee and complete the required training course, and that they receive a four-year civilian license.

Appealing a denial, suspension, or revocation is at your own cost

Under Subsection P of 10.8.2.27 NMAC, a respondent adversely affected by a final order of the department may file a petition for a writ of certiorari in the district court of the county where the respondent resides within 30 days of the postmark on the final order, and "the appellant shall bear the costs of the appeal." Subsection P of 10.8.2.7 NMAC limits respondent to an applicant, instructor applicant, approved instructor, or licensee who responds to a department denial by seeking a hearing.

Where the money goes

Section 29-19-13 NMSA 1978 creates the concealed handgun carry fund in the state treasury. All money the department receives under the Concealed Handgun Carry Act is credited to that fund, balances do not revert to the general fund at the end of a fiscal year and may be used to maintain the state's criminal history database, and the money in the fund is appropriated to the department to carry out the Act.

Confirm the amount before you send payment

The department amended 10.8.2 NMAC effective December 9, 2025, and its concealed carry page instructs applicants not to rely on materials dated earlier than that. The application fee statute states a ceiling, not a fixed price, so the department can move the charge below $100 by rule without a legislative change. Check the current DPS concealed carry license page, the application packet, or the Concealed Carry Unit in Albuquerque for the amount in force on the day you file, and get the fingerprint charge from the scheduling site at the time you book.