New Mexico - NM Gun Laws

No state permit or license is required to buy a rifle, shotgun, or handgun from a licensed dealer in New Mexico. Dealer purchases run through the standard federal NICS background check (Form 4473), with federal age minimums of 18 for a long gun and 21 for a handgun. New Mexico's 7-day waiting period law has been ruled likely unconstitutional by the Tenth Circuit (Ortega v. Grisham, August 2025). On August 27, 2026, the federal district court entered final judgment barring the state from enforcing the waiting period against the two plaintiffs in that case, and the Governor's office has said it will likely appeal. Because the judgment names only those two plaintiffs, how far the ruling reaches for everyone else is still being sorted out in court.

Under SB-8, private-party firearm sales in New Mexico must go through a licensed dealer for a background check — selling without one is a misdemeanor. Transfers between law enforcement officers or immediate family members are exempt.

New Mexico follows the standard federal prohibited-persons categories: felony conviction, certain domestic violence convictions or active protective orders, unlawful drug users, individuals adjudicated mentally defective or committed to a mental institution, fugitives from justice, dishonorable military discharge, undocumented immigration status, and renunciation of U.S. citizenship. New Mexico also passed a red-flag law (SB 5, 2020) allowing certain petitioners to seek a court order temporarily removing firearms from someone found to pose a significant risk.

Legal without a license for anyone 19 or older who isn't otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. Open carry is prohibited in any establishment licensed to sell liquor for on-site consumption.

Requires a Concealed Handgun License, issued shall-issue by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to residents 21 or older who complete an approved firearms training course (including live-fire instruction) and submit a certificate of completion within 30 days. Licenses are valid for four years. New Mexico has not adopted permitless carry.

A valid Concealed Handgun License is required to carry a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Open carry in a vehicle by someone eligible to possess a firearm is generally treated the same as open carry on foot, subject to the same liquor-establishment and other location restrictions.

New Mexico's restricted-location list includes K-12 schools, courthouses, polling places, and establishments licensed to sell liquor for on-site consumption. Federal restrictions still apply regardless of state law — federal buildings and other federal property remain off-limits under federal statute.

New Mexico does not set a comprehensive statewide minimum age for possessing a firearm beyond the federal purchase-age framework (18 for long guns, 21 for handguns through a dealer). Open carry has its own 19-year age floor. Supervised possession and use by minors below these ages — for hunting, target shooting, or firearms safety instruction under adult supervision — is common practice and not separately restricted by a dedicated state age-floor statute.

None currently in effect. New Mexico's SB 17, a proposal to ban certain semi-automatic firearms, .50 caliber rifles, and magazines holding more than 10 rounds, failed to pass before the Legislature adjourned its 2026 session, so it never took effect. Similar legislation is likely to return in a future session, a genuine watch item.

New Mexico generally follows a duty-to-retreat doctrine in public, requiring a person to retreat if it can be done safely before using deadly force outside protected locations. New Mexico's castle doctrine removes that duty within the home, a vehicle, and the workplace.

New Mexico has a state preemption statute on the books, but enforcement in practice has been genuinely contested — Albuquerque attempted to suspend open and concealed carry citywide during a 2021 public health emergency declaration, which drew immediate legal challenges. Given that history, New Mexico's preemption doesn't function as cleanly as the "strong, no local patchwork" standard seen in most other states in this build-out.

New Mexico Department of Public Safety, Concealed Carry Licenses: dps.nm.gov
New Mexico Statutes, Chapter 29 and Chapter 30 (full text): nmonesource.com
NM DPS Law Enforcement Records Bureau, Concealed Carry Unit: for license applications
ATF: for federal NFA questions — New Mexico does not add state-level restrictions on suppressors beyond federal requirements