Licensing, Registration, and Renewal

A person not licensed to practice real estate in New Mexico must pass the real estate broker’s examination as prescribed by the NM Real Estate Commission.

Reciprocity — This requirement does not apply to licensed applicants from the three states with which New Mexico has a written license recognition agreement (i.e. reciprocity). Those states are Massachusetts, Louisiana, and Georgia. If you are such a candidate, please contact scott.latham1@rld.nm.gov

Applications to take the broker’s examination are made directly to the commission’s examination contractor. Along with the application form, an applicant must submit certificates of completion of commission-approved 30-hour prelicensing courses in real estate principles and practice, real estate law, and broker basics, equaling 90 prelicensure education hours. These prelicensing courses must have been completed within the three years prior to application to take the broker’s examination.

Prelicensure Education Waiver – Examination candidates currently licensed as real estate brokers in other states or jurisdictions are eligible to apply for a waiver of 60 of the 90 hours of prelicensure education if they can provide a certified license history from their resident licensing jurisdiction documenting that they have completed Real Estate Principals and Practice and Real Estate Law or their substantial equivalent. The waiver would also exempt an applicant meeting these criteria from taking the national broker exam. That applicant would still be required to take a 30-hour Broker Basics course, and take the state portion of the broker examination. Click the following link to access the Waiver Fact Sheet

QB Equivalency – Managing brokers, designated brokers, or similar brokerage-in-charge brokers may be considered equivalency applicants for Qualifying Broker licensing purposes. While they are subject to prelicensure waiver provisions, they would also be required to take an additional statutorily required Qualifying Broker prelicensure course, the Brokerage Office Administration course.

Examination Minimum Score — Applicants are required to pass both the state and national portions of the examination with a minimum score of 75 no later than 90 calendar days after the first time they took the examination. Applicants failing to pass both portions of the examination within this time frame will be required to retake and pass both portions of the examination before being eligible to apply for a broker’s license.

Application Deadline Following Passing Score — An individual who fails to apply for a broker’s license within six months of having passed both or applicable portions of the broker’s examination shall be required to retake both or the applicable portions of the examinations after 180 days of notification of the passing score(s), unless they can provide in writing to the commission a reasonable explanation why they were unable to meet the six-month deadline.

Legal Residency – An applicant shall be a legal resident of the United States and have reached the age of majority.

Submission of License Application, Fingerprinting, and Fees – Along with the license application form prescribed by the commission, the applicant must submit a written score report provided by the examination contractor documenting that applicant has passed both portions of the examination with a minimum score of 75, documentation of having been fingerprinted for purposes of matching with state and national arrest record databases, a certificate of insurance documenting that the applicant has a current errors and omissions insurance policy that meets the requirements for such insurance as described in 16.61.5 NMAC of the commission rules, and a nonrefundable license application fee not to exceed $270.

Upgrading an Existing NM Associate Broker License to a Qualifying Broker Level License. NM License Law and the Rules of the New Mexico Real Estate Commission state that in order for to qualify for an upgrade to a Qualifying Broker level license from the entry level Associate Broker level license:

• • Nonsupervisory Level: to apply for a nonsupervisory Qualifying Broker level license that allows them to establish a brokerage and operate without subordinate Associate Brokers, the licensee must have achieved at least two years of continuous ACTIVE licensure.
  • Supervisory Level: to apply for a Qualifying Broker level license that would allow the broker to establish a brokerage and operate with subordinate Associate Brokers must have at least four years continuous ACTIVE licensure as a NM Associate Broker prior to application.

Those who meet these prerequisites must also meet the following criteria as well:

1. If they were originally licensed prior to 2006 as a salesperson license and were grandfathered into the Associate Broker level, that licensee must take the 30-classroom-hour Broker Basics course, and following that, must pass the NM Broker Examination. (Taking the Broker Basics course would yield the licensee 10 CEUs for continuing education purposes.)
2. The candidate must take the 30-classroom-hour Brokerage Office Administration course. (Taking the Brokerage Office Administration course would yield the licensee 10 CEUs for continuing education purposes.)
3. The candidate must take Understanding and Using NMAR Forms (8 hour) course.
4. The candidate must attend a NM Real Estate Commission meeting.
5. The candidate must submit a record of transactions equaling 100 points (points per transactions as detailed in the Rules of the Real Estate Commission). Transactions may include sales transactions, lease transactions, or a combination thereof. A Transactional Experience spreadsheet is available on the Forms and Applications Tab of this web page.
6. The candidate must then submit an Application for the Qualifying Broker to include all of the above information, including fingerprinting, E and O Insurance information, and the applicant must RETURN THEIR CURRENT WALL LICENSE WITH THE APPLICATION. The application must clearly state if the applicant intends to operate as a Qualifying Broker in a separate Trade Name/ Brokerage, work as the actual Qualifying Broker for their current brokerage, or continue to operate as an Associate Broker under another Qualifying Broker.

Fingerprints are still required for all NEW applications including license upgrades, but not for the renewal of existing licenses.