Who Grants a License: Licenses are granted by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department (“NMREC”).
Qualifications to receive a License: All real estate licensees in New Mexico are brokers. Each licensee is responsible for his/her own actions, and New Mexico real estate licensing law does not apply the legal concept of respondeat superior ("let the master answer"). A broker candidate must complete 90 clock hours of pre-licensure study at an NMREC-approved real estate school (search schools here), pass a school-administered final exam, and pass a state exam. All candidates must submit a full set of fingerprints, prove legal presence in the United States and pass a background check. All candidates must be at least 18 years of age. For more information about qualifications, see the page titled Real Estate Commission Requirements and Continuing Education on the NMREC website. NOTE: Pre-licensing courses are available as correspondence-style or classroom-style courses.
Applying for the Exams: Candidates must apply to PSI (the testing vendor) to take the broker's exam within three years of completing the pre-licensing curriculum. Upon approval from PSI, the candidate is issued instructions for scheduling the exam. Candidates should create an account and apply to take the state exam through the PSI website scheduling page. For more information, see the State of New Mexico Real Estate Commission Candidate Bulletin.
Test Content: The New Mexico state real estate licensing exam is comprised of two separate portions, the national portion and the state-specific portion. Five to ten questions (disbursed throughout both portions of the exam) are considered "experimental" questions and are not scored. Both tests are comprised of multiple choice questions with four answer choices provided for each question. Test takers are allotted 120 minutes to complete the national portion, and 60 minutes to complete the state-specific portion. A scaled score of at least 75 is required to pass. The exam is presented in a computer-based format, but accommodations for paper-based tests and/or oral testing can be provided with special arrangements.
The national portion of the test consists of 80 questions, and tests the candidate's knowledge of general real estate concepts, including the following subject areas:
Property ownership
Land use controls and regulations
Valuation and market analysis
Financing
General principles of agency
Mandated disclosure
Contracts
Transfer of title
Practice of real estate
Real estate calculations
Specialty areas
The state-specific test consists of 50 questions, and tests the candidate's knowledge of the state-specific concepts, including the following subject areas:
Real Estate Commission
Licensing Requirements
Real Estate Commission Regulations
Broker Duties, Disclosure and d Brokerage Relationships
New Mexico Property Taxes
New Mexico Mechanic’s Liens
Community Property
Stigmatized Property
Government Survey System
Septic systems
Water rights issues (well and surface rights)
New Mexico Human Rights Act
NOTE: If a candidate passes one portion and fails the other portion, the candidate must pass the second portion within 90 days of passing the first portion of the exam.
How to Apply for the License: Upon passing both portions of the exam the candidate must submit the license application, along with all the required documents to NMREC. The list of required documents is on the application, and is subject to change. However, in the interest of candidate preparation, the following documents are likely on the list: (1) completed application and application fee; (2) original New Mexico state real estate licensing exam score report(s); (3) proof of legal presence in the U.S.; (4) certificate issued by an NMREC -approved school for completion of the 90-hour salesperson pre-licensure curriculum; and (5) New Mexico Department of Public Safety (DPS) issued fingerprint clearance card. NOTE: (found at the end of the State of New Mexico Real Estate Commission Candidate Handbook) to the following address:
New Mexico Real Estate Commission
5200 Oakland Ave. NE, Suite B
Albuquerque, NM 87113
Fees: NMREC charges a license application fee.
Who administers the test: NMREC and PSI.
License Renewal Requirements – A New Mexico real estate licensee must take 30 credit hours of continuing education (either online or in the classroom) from an NMREC-approved provider every three years. Further information is provided on the NMREC website, here.
Applicable Regulations: Real estate licensees in New Mexico are regulated under the New Mexico Annotated Statutes and New Mexico Administrative code. For further information about the governing statutes, and administrative rules, search here and here.
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