Which license each job needs in Las Cruces
| Work | Who may do it | Las Cruces permits, Oct 2024–Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical | CID-licensed electrical contractor, or the homeowner after passing the inspector's homeowner exam | 3,851 |
| Plumbing | CID-licensed plumbing contractor, or the homeowner after passing the exam | 3,536 |
| Heating, cooling, gas | CID-licensed mechanical contractor, who pulls its own permit; never the homeowner | 1,834 |
| New homes, remodels, additions | CID-licensed general building contractor, or the owner-occupant | 1,306 new homes, 466 remodels |
| Roofing | CID-licensed contractor in the right classification | 502 |
| Solar | CID-licensed contractor in the right classification | 432 |
The homeowner limits are from the City's Homeowner's Responsibilities Checklist, read 26 October 2026: "electrical and/or plumbing work must be performed by a properly licensed contractor" unless the owner passes "a homeowner's examination administered by the electrical or plumbing inspector", and gas and HVAC work goes to "an appropriately licensed subcontractor who will obtain his own permit."
How to run the lookup in five minutes
- Get the CID license number from the bid.
- Search it on PSI's license search: choose Search Company, pick Contractor as the company type, and enter the license number. Check that the license is active and that its classification covers the job.
- For electrical, plumbing or HVAC, confirm the trade contractor's own license, because each pulls its own permit.
- See the firm's Las Cruces jobs. The City's Accela building search takes "Contractor License Information" as well as an address, as the Las Cruces building permit search guide shows.
Doing the work yourself
| Homeowner's permit rule | What the checklist says |
|---|---|
| Who qualifies | You build or alter a home "that will be owned and occupied by me" |
| Electrical and plumbing | Only after passing the inspector's homeowner examination |
| HVAC and natural gas | "under no circumstances" under a homeowner's permit |
| Helpers | Your employees, "under my direction", paid hourly wages only |
| Change of plan | If you decide not to own or occupy the home, you are "no longer eligible for a Homeowner's Permit" |
Trade rules: electrical and plumbing permits.
What our Las Cruces pages add
CID answers "is this firm licensed". Our Las Cruces page shows what the City permitted, October 2024 to September 2026: 74% of permits were on homes, and the landing and each kind-of-work page list the contractors named on the most permits, a count of volume only. Roofing permits rose to 323 in October 2025 to September 2026 from 179 the year before. The permit statistics page has the months, and how long a permit takes the time from issue to final. Statewide rules, bonds and the handyman certificate: How to check a contractor's license in New Mexico; for Albuquerque, the Albuquerque contractor license lookup.
What this lookup does not tell you
We have not matched Las Cruces contractor names to CID records, so our pages show no license status and do not rate or rank firms. A license says the firm may do the work, not how its last job went.
How we know this
License rules are quoted from the NM Regulation and Licensing Department's Verify a License page, PSI's license search and the City of Las Cruces Homeowner's Responsibilities Checklist and Accela building search, read 26 October 2026. Counts are the City of Las Cruces GIS building permit and certificate of occupancy layers (Accela feed), read 20 October 2026: permits issued October 2024 to September 2026.
Numbers come from public permit records in 57 cities, data through October 20, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
Questions
- Who licenses contractors in Las Cruces?
The State. New Mexico's Construction Industries Division (CID), part of the Regulation and Licensing Department, licenses contractors through its General Building, Electrical, Mechanical/Plumbing and LP Gas bureaus. The City of Las Cruces issues the permits.
- How do I look up a Las Cruces contractor's license?
The Regulation and Licensing Department's Verify a License page sends CID lookups to its vendor PSI at public.psiexams.com/search.jsp. Choose Search Company, pick Contractor, and enter the license number or name.
- Can a Las Cruces homeowner pull their own permit?
Yes, a homeowner's permit to build or alter a home they will own and occupy. Electrical and plumbing work needs a licensed contractor unless you pass the inspector's homeowner examination, and the City's form says "under no circumstances can I perform HVAC or natural gas work under my Homeowner's Permit".
- Can I see a contractor's other Las Cruces permits?
Yes. The City's Accela building search can search by contractor license information. Our Las Cruces pages also count the contractors named on the most permits, by volume only.
- Can I hire helpers under a Las Cruces homeowner's permit?
Only as employees. The City's checklist says anyone you hire other than a licensed contractor "will be my employee and under my direction", paid hourly wages and no other form of compensation.
Build your own list
Pick your city and the kind of work. Every firm with a permit on record, sorted by what you value.
Related guides
- Albuquerque contractor license lookup: the CID license, its classification and the City permits
- Ames contractor license lookup: Iowa registration, electrical and PMSB licenses, and the City permits
- Anaheim contractor license lookup: CSLB classifications, the City's permit report and what it shows
- Arlington, VA contractor license lookup: DPOR class and specialty, the County permit search, and what the permits show
- Verify a License — NM Regulation & Licensing Department (2026-10-26)
- Apply for a Construction Industries License — NM RLD (2026-10-26)
- License search — PSI (CID's licensing vendor) (2026-10-26)
- Homeowner's Responsibilities Checklist (updated 2023) — City of Las Cruces (2026-10-26)
- Building records search — City of Las Cruces Accela Citizen Access (2026-10-26)