New Mexico Register / Volume XXXVII, Issue 1 / January 13, 2026

This is an amendment to 16.34.3 NMAC Sections 8, 9, 14, effective 1/13/2026.

16.34.3.8 NOTICE OF EXAMINATION:

A. The application for examination and applicable fee required by the act or these rules must be received by the board or its designee according to the published schedule. It is the applicant’s duty to meet all deadlines. Any arrangement to have a third party (such as a school) transmit the fee and application is made at the applicant’s risk. Failure of the third party to transmit the fee in a timely manner will render the applicant being ineligible to take the examination in question.

B. The doors to the examination room will close promptly at the scheduled examination start time. Applicants who do not appear on time or who do not have the required documents will not be permitted to the examination or will not be admitted to the examination. In extreme situations where mitigating circumstances are present, [the board or its] the board’s designee will decide whether to allow the applicant to take the examination.

[16.34.3.8 NMAC - Rp 16 NMAC 34.3.8, 6/16/2001; A, 10/4/2007 A, 01/13/2026]

16.34.3.9 EXAMINATION SCORES:

A. The minimum passing scaled score for all written and practical licensing examinations is [seventy five] seventy.

B. Examinations for all licenses except instructor licenses are scored in three individual segments, each requiring a minimum segment scaled score of [seventy five] seventy. The segments are:

(1) national practical;

(2) national theory written; and

(3) state law written.

[C. If an applicant fails to attain a scaled score of seventy five on any segment of the examination, he/she will be required to retake the failed segment in its entirety.]

[D.] C. Examinations for instructor licenses for all disciplines are scored in two individual segments, each requiring a minimum scaled score of [seventy five] seventy. The segments are:

(1) theory written; and

(2) state law written.

D. If an applicant fails to attain a scaled score of seventy on any segment of the examination, the applicant will be required to retake the failed exam in its entirety. If the applicant fails to pass both the written and practical exam, and obtain licensure within 24 months, the applicant will need to register at a licensed school, submit to a scholastic evaluation to determine his training needs, and complete a minimum of 150 hours of remedial education. Upon completion and proof of the remediation, the applicant may apply for and submit to applicable examination(s). Any passing score is valid for a two-year period from the date of graduation.

[16.34.3.9 NMAC - Rp 16 NMAC 34.3.9, 6/16/2001; A, 7/16/2004; A, 10/4/2007 A, 01/13/2026]]

16.34.3.14 EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICANTS WITH FULL HOURS, NO OUT-OF-STATE LICENSE: An applicant, who has completed an equivalent course of study in the United States within the preceding [12] 24 months, but has not obtained a license in another state, will be admitted to the New Mexico board examinations subject to all requirements, which apply to New Mexico applicants to take examination.

[16.34.3.14 NMAC - N, 10/4/2007; A, 7/14/2018 A, 01/13/2026]