New Mexico Concealed Carry Training Requirements

New Mexico requires a license to carry a handgun concealed. The license is issued under the Concealed Handgun Carry Act, NMSA 1978 Sections 29-19-1 through 29-19-15. New Mexico is not a permitless concealed-carry state for handguns. Open carry of a loaded firearm is generally lawful without a license for a person who is legally allowed to possess a firearm, but carrying a handgun concealed in public requires a concealed handgun license, and a license requires completion of an approved firearms training course.

Statutory Basis

The training requirement is set by NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-7, titled "Demonstration of ability and knowledge; course requirement." That section directs the Department of Public Safety to publish minimum standards for approved firearms training courses and sets the course length, the minimum caliber demonstration, and the required subjects.

Two related sections govern who must take the course and how the completion is documented. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(A)(10), an applicant must have "satisfactorily completed a firearms training course approved by the department for the category and the largest caliber of handgun that the applicant wants to be licensed to carry." Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(B)(4), the application must include a certified copy of a certificate of completion for a department-approved firearms training course.

The Department of Public Safety promulgates the rules that implement these requirements under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-12.

Who Provides Approved Training

Under Section 29-19-7(A), an approved firearms training course must be a course that is certified or sponsored by one of the following and approved by the Department of Public Safety:

• a federal or state law enforcement agency,
• a college,
• a firearms training school, or
• a nationally recognized organization that customarily offers firearms training.

The statute does not name any particular organization, and it does not require a specific national instructor certification by name. What matters is that the course is approved by the department. Under Section 29-19-7(B), every instructor of an approved course must annually file a copy of the course description and proof of certification with the department. A course taught by someone who has not met these requirements does not satisfy the Concealed Handgun Carry Act, even if the content matches.

There is no separate statutory "approved instructor list" provision in the Concealed Handgun Carry Act. Applicants should confirm that a course and instructor are approved by the Department of Public Safety before enrolling.

Minimum Course Length

Under Section 29-19-7(A), the firearms training course "shall be not less than fifteen hours in length." Fifteen hours is the statutory floor for initial licensure.

Minimum Caliber for the Demonstration

Section 29-19-7(A) requires an actual demonstration by the applicant of the ability to safely use a handgun. The statute states that "an applicant shall not be licensed unless he demonstrates, at a minimum, his ability to use a handgun of .32 caliber." The applicant qualifies on the category and the largest caliber of handgun for which licensure is sought, as required by Section 29-19-4(A)(10).

Required Curriculum Content

Section 29-19-7(A) lists eight subjects the course must cover. The exact statutory topics are:

1. knowledge of and safe handling of single- and double-action revolvers and semiautomatic handguns;
2. safe storage of handguns and child safety;
3. safe handgun shooting fundamentals;
4. live shooting of a handgun on a firing range;
5. identification of ways to develop and maintain handgun shooting skills;
6. federal, state and local criminal and civil laws pertaining to the purchase, ownership, transportation, use and possession of handguns;
7. techniques for avoiding a criminal attack and how to control a violent confrontation; and
8. techniques for nonviolent dispute resolution.

The course must include classroom instruction, range instruction, and an actual demonstration by the applicant of the ability to safely use a handgun. Item (6) covers the legal subjects, including New Mexico's homicide and self-defense law. New Mexico's justifiable-homicide statute is NMSA 1978 Section 30-2-7, but the Concealed Handgun Carry Act itself does not prescribe how a course must teach use-of-force law beyond the general subject in item (6).

Category and Caliber Limits on the License

New Mexico ties the license to the type of handgun the applicant qualified on. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-2, "category" means whether a handgun is semiautomatic or not semiautomatic, and "caliber" means the diameter of the bore of a handgun. A "handgun" is a firearm with a barrel length that does not exceed twelve inches.

The license issued by the department shows "the category and the largest caliber of handgun that the licensee is licensed to carry, with a statement that the licensee is licensed to carry smaller caliber handguns but shall carry only one concealed handgun at any given time." This is set by NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(C)(4). In practical terms:

• The license is limited to the category on which the applicant qualified. A qualification on a non-semiautomatic handgun does not by itself authorize semiautomatic carry, and the reverse is also true.
• The license authorizes the qualified caliber and any smaller caliber, up to the largest caliber demonstrated.
• The licensee may carry only one concealed handgun at a time.

An applicant who wants to be licensed for both a semiautomatic and a non-semiautomatic handgun, or for a larger caliber, completes the qualification for the additional category or caliber with an approved course.

License Term and Refresher Training for Renewal

Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-3, an original or renewed concealed handgun license is valid for four years from the date of issuance unless suspended or revoked.

New Mexico requires refresher training at two points in the license cycle:

• Mid-cycle 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 refresher course must be approved by the department and must be taken twenty-two to twenty-six months after issuance, with a certificate of completion submitted to the department no later than thirty days after the course.
• Renewal refresher. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-6(F), a renewal requires a completed renewal form, a seventy-five-dollar ($75.00) renewal fee, and a certificate of completion of a four-hour refresher firearms training course approved by the department.

Under Section 29-19-6(G), a license may not be renewed more than sixty days after it has expired. A licensee who misses that window must apply for a new license.

Fees Connected to Training and Application

The nonrefundable application fee may not exceed one hundred dollars ($100) under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(B)(2). The renewal fee is seventy-five dollars ($75.00) under Section 29-19-6(F)(2). These are department fees and are separate from any tuition charged by a private training provider.

Exemptions From the Training Course

Several groups are wholly or partly excused from the firearms training course:

• Approved instructors. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-4(C), firearms training course instructors who are approved by the department are not required to complete a firearms training course in order to be licensed.
• Current and retired law enforcement officers and mounted patrol. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-14, a current or retired certified law enforcement officer and a qualifying member of the New Mexico mounted patrol are not required to pay the application or renewal fee or to complete a firearms training course. A retired officer who has been retired ten years or less is not required to complete a course; a retired officer who has been retired for more than ten years must complete a course and may attend a local law enforcement agency's firearms qualification course under the conditions in Section 29-19-14(E).
• Military service persons. Under NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-15, a military service person, as defined in that section, is not required to pay an application or renewal fee. A military service person discharged from military service within twenty years of the application or renewal is not required to complete a firearms training course or a refresher course.

Documentation

The applicant files a certified copy of the certificate of completion for the approved course with the concealed handgun license application, as required by NMSA 1978 Section 29-19-5(B)(4). Keep the certificate, because the application and later renewals depend on documentation of the approved training and the category and caliber on which the applicant qualified.

Practical Notes for Applicants

• Confirm the course and instructor are approved by the Department of Public Safety before paying for a course. A course that is not approved does not satisfy the statute.
• Qualify on the largest practical caliber you intend to carry. Because the license is capped at the demonstrated caliber under Section 29-19-6(C)(4), applicants who want flexibility frequently qualify on a higher-caliber handgun. The statutory minimum demonstration caliber is .32 under Section 29-19-7(A).
• Track the refresher deadlines. The two-hour mid-cycle refresher is due twenty-two to twenty-six months after issuance under Section 29-19-6(H), and the four-hour refresher is required at renewal under Section 29-19-6(F).