Moving to New Mexico as a residential contractor: every state's rule

New Mexico licenses homebuilders statewide through the Construction Industries Division of the Regulation and Licensing Department, and the homes-only classification is GB-2 Residential: erect, alter, repair or demolish residences and apartment houses of not more than four family units in occupancy Groups R-1, R-2 and R-3, plus incidental Group U structures and any GS specialty work kept inside that residential scope. Anything commercial, and any residential building beyond four units, needs the GB-98 General Building classification instead. The license is held by a business, not by a person: CID issues it to a qualified entity that employs or is owned by a Qualifying Party, and the Qualifying Party is the individual who documents the experience, sits the exams and holds a personal, non-transferable certificate of qualification, so a builder moving to New Mexico applies first as a Qualifying Party and then for the company license. A GB-2 Qualifying Party needs two years (4,000 hours) of foreman-level practical or related trade experience gained within the ten years before applying, and must pass the GB-2 trade exam and the Contractor's Business and Law exam, or take an approved Business and Law course in place of that exam. Every licensed entity files a $10,000 code bond and carries workers' compensation coverage, and licenses run for three years. CID publishes reciprocity for one credential only, the EE-98J electrical journeyman certificate, so no other state's contractor license is recognized at this level.