New Mexico electrician license requirements

This guide summarizes what New Mexico requires to work as an electrician, with a link to the state's own source for every requirement. Rules change; check the linked source before you apply.

Apprentices

CID defines an apprentice as someone learning a trade from a validly licensed employer, and it recognizes apprentices whether or not they are registered in an apprenticeship program recognized by the New Mexico State Apprenticeship Council. (source)

Journeyman level: experience and exam

EE-98J (journeyman residential and commercial electrical) requires four years of experience, and ER-1J (journeyman residential wiring) requires two. The experience must fall within the 10 years before applying. Accredited technical training counts at half credit, for up to half of the requirement. (source)

Journeyman applicants must document their work experience before they can take the exam, and the passing score is 75%. Exams are administered by CID or its designee. (source)

Contractor license

Electrical contracting requires a CID contractor license in an electrical classification. The main ones are EE-98 (residential, commercial and industrial wiring at 5000 volts nominal or less, requiring four years' experience) and ER-1 (residential wiring, requiring two years). (source)

Renewal, continuing education and fees

New Mexico journeyman electrician certificates expire every three years, on the last day of the month in which they were issued; state law caps the term at three years. Renew through PSI before the expiration date. An expired certificate can be renewed within six months with a late fee; after that it is canceled. EE-98J and EL-1J renewals require proof of 16 hours of approved continuing education. (source)

Journeyman electricians (EE-98J) and journeyman linemen (EL-1J) must complete at least 16 hours of continuing education in every 3-year period between electrical code updates: 8 hours of code-change instruction and 8 hours of other industry-related instruction. Proof must be submitted with the renewal application. (source)

CID's journeyman certificate fee is $75 per classification, and the same $75 is due at each renewal. (source)

Licensed in another state

New Mexico reciprocates only one journeyman certificate: EE-98J (residential and commercial electrical, with 8,000 hours of experience). It accepts EE-98J reciprocity from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Applicants submit the journeyman certificate application, a copy of their license from the reciprocal state and $75 to PSI. (source)

Check a license

New Mexico's public license lookup: https://public.psiexams.com/search.jsp

Pay for electricians in New Mexico

Statewide figures for Electricians (SOC 47-2111), all employers, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS):

• Median hourly wage: $28.07 (BLS OEWS)
• Median annual wage: $58,390 (BLS OEWS)
• 10th percentile: $17.62 (BLS OEWS)
• 90th percentile: $41.74 (BLS OEWS)
• Estimated employment: 5,020 (BLS OEWS)

Release: May 2025 (source)

These are benchmarks, not job offers. A listing on Mountain West Trades shows the pay that employer posted.