New Mexico requires a license to carry a concealed loaded handgun. It is not a permitless concealed-carry state. Under NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-2,...
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New Mexico requires a license to carry a concealed loaded handgun. It is not a permitless concealed-carry state. Under NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-2, carrying a concealed loaded firearm is "unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon," a petty misdemeanor, unless the person holds a valid concealed handgun license issued under the Concealed Handgun Carry Act or fits another exception in that statute. Keeping your license current is what keeps your concealed carry lawful, so the renewal rules below matter.
Renewal of a New Mexico concealed handgun license is governed by NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6, which sets the renewal form, fee, refresher-training requirement, background check, and the deadline for renewing a license after it expires. The four-year term of the license itself comes from NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-3. The Department of Public Safety administers the program and adopts implementing rules under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-12.
Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-3, both original and renewed concealed handgun licenses are valid for four years from the date of issuance, unless the license is suspended or revoked. (A license issued to a qualifying military service person is valid for five years; see "Military Service Persons" below and NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-15.)
The license must be renewed to keep your concealed-carry authority unbroken. The statute does not require the Department to send a renewal reminder, so track your own expiration date and do not rely on receiving a notice.
New Mexico has a refresher obligation that falls in the middle of the four-year term, separate from the renewal refresher. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(H), a licensee must complete a two-hour refresher firearms training course two years after the issuance of an original or renewed license. The course must be approved by the Department and must be taken twenty-two to twenty-six months after the license was issued. A certificate of completion must be submitted to the Department no later than thirty days after completing the course.
This mid-term two-hour refresher is a condition of keeping the license valid during its term. Do not confuse it with the four-hour refresher required to renew the license at the end of the term.
Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(F)(3), renewing a concealed handgun license requires a certificate of completion of a four-hour refresher firearms training course approved by the Department. This is shorter than the initial fifteen-hour firearms training course required of first-time applicants under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-7.
The renewal refresher is a four-hour Department-approved course. The statute does not separately spell out the course outline for the refresher, so the specific topics and any live-fire component are set by the Department-approved curriculum rather than fixed in Section 29-19-6.
A note on handgun category and caliber: the license records the category and the largest caliber of handgun you are licensed to carry, and you may carry smaller-caliber handguns but only one concealed handgun at a time (NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(C)(4)). To be licensed for a larger caliber or a different category, the applicant must have satisfactorily completed an approved training course for that category and caliber under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(A)(10).
Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(F), a licensee renews by submitting to the Department:
Keep your contact information current. Section 29-19-6(D) requires a licensee to notify the Department within thirty days of any change of name or permanent address, and Section 29-19-6(E) requires notice within ten days if the license is lost, stolen, or destroyed.
Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(G), the Department conducts a national criminal records check of a licensee seeking to renew. This re-screens for any new disqualifying records that would have barred issuance in the first place.
New Mexico does not use an open-ended "grace period" set by Department rule. The statute sets a hard deadline. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(G):
Carrying matters during a lapse. A concealed handgun license must be valid for the carry exception in NMSA 1978 Section 30-7-2(A)(5) to apply. If your license has expired and you have not renewed, carrying a concealed loaded handgun in public is "unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon," a petty misdemeanor under Section 30-7-2, unless another exception applies (for example, carrying in your own residence or in a private vehicle for lawful protection). Note that Section 30-7-2(B) does not prohibit carrying an unloaded firearm, and open carry of a loaded firearm is generally lawful in New Mexico for those who may possess a firearm, so the license requirement is specifically about carrying a concealed loaded handgun.
The same qualification criteria that govern issuance also govern renewal. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4, an applicant must, among other things, be a United States citizen, be a New Mexico resident (or a member of the armed forces whose permanent duty station is in New Mexico, or a dependent of such a member), be twenty-one or older, not be a fugitive from justice, have no felony conviction, not be currently under indictment for a felony, not be otherwise prohibited by federal law or the law of any other jurisdiction from possessing a firearm, not have been adjudicated mentally incompetent or committed to a mental institution, and not be addicted to alcohol or controlled substances. Section 29-19-4(B) adds disqualifiers for certain recent misdemeanors, including a crime of violence within the past ten years, a DWI within the past five years, possession or abuse of a controlled substance within the past ten years, and assault, battery, or battery against a household member.
If a disqualifying event has occurred since the prior issuance, the Department will not renew, and it may suspend or revoke the license. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(I), the Department shall suspend or revoke a license if the licensee gave false information on the application or renewal form, did not satisfy the criteria for issuance at the time the license was issued, or violated a provision of the Concealed Handgun Carry Act after receiving the license. The Department's implementing rules under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-12 set out the detailed grounds and process for suspension and revocation.
A New Mexico concealed handgun license requires New Mexico residency (or qualifying armed-forces status) under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(A)(2). A person who moves out of state and is no longer a New Mexico resident, and who does not qualify under the military-service provisions, no longer meets the residency criterion for the license. A licensee should keep the Department informed of any change of permanent address as required by NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(D), and should apply for a license or permit in the new state of residence. New Mexico recognizes certain out-of-state licenses through the reciprocity provisions in NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-12.
New Mexico gives substantial relief to military service persons at renewal under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-15:
"Military service person" is defined in Section 29-19-15(E) to include a person accepted into the United States armed forces who is on active duty, on reserve or guard duty, or is a veteran or retiree honorably discharged as shown on a Department of Defense Form 214.
This page covers one part of our New Mexico concealed carry guide.
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