CDL Requirements in New Mexico
Verified against New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), Taxation and Revenue Department ·
Compiled and verified against primary state DMV/DPS/BMV sources by GetCDLLicense — cite-or-deny, with no invented figures. How we source & verify →
New Mexico's Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), part of the Taxation and Revenue Department, administers CDL knowledge tests itself but does not run its own skills-testing program at all: every CDL skills test is delegated to state-approved third-party examiners, either public testers (a handful of New Mexico community colleges, open to any applicant) or non-public testers restricted to a single population (a operating engineers' union for its own members, the Department of Transportation for state employees only, and the Public Education Department for school bus candidates only). MVD also prices the CDL purely off the license's chosen validity period ($18 for 4 years, $34 for 8 years) rather than itemizing separate application, knowledge-test, or skills-test charges, and skills-test fees are paid directly to the third-party examiner, never to the state.
New Mexico's CDL requirements are verified against New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), Taxation and Revenue Department (see New Mexico MVD — Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDL)), current as of 2026-07-25.
New Mexico CDL Requirements at a Glance
This is the fee, age, and testing detail for New Mexicospecifically — for the full step-by-step process see how to get a CDL, and for what Class A, B, and C each permit see CDL classes.
| Commercial learner’s permit (CLP) | |
|---|---|
| CLP fee | — |
| Minimum holding period before skills test | — |
| CLP validity | — |
| Age minimums | |
| Intrastate minimum age | — |
| Interstate minimum age | 21 (federal floor) |
| Fees | |
| Application fee | — |
| Initial CDL fee | — |
| Renewal fee | — |
| Renewal period | 4 years or 8 years, applicant's choice |
| Knowledge test fee | — |
| Skills test fee | — |
| Testing rules | |
| Third-party testers allowed | Yes |
| Retest waiting period | 7 days |
Other published fees
- Commercial driver license, 4-year validity: $18
- Commercial driver license, 8-year validity: $34
- CDL renewal, age 75 or older (annual, no charge): $0
MVD's own CDL process page describes obtaining a CDL learner's permit as a step before ELDT and the skills test, but no fetched MVD page states a specific CLP fee, minimum holding period in days, or validity period in months distinct from the general CDL fee schedule. Not asserted as fact rather than left blank.
Interstate minimum age is the federal 21-year floor, recorded here for completeness. No fetched MVD page states New Mexico's intrastate-only minimum CDL age in years; the state's own CDL addendum confirms an intrastate-only 'K' restriction exists but does not attach an age to it, so no intrastate-specific age is stated here rather than assumed.
MVD administers CDL knowledge tests directly at its field offices (not every MVD field office processes CDLs). All CDL skills tests — pre-trip, basic control skills, and road testing — are administered exclusively by state-approved third-party examiners, never by MVD staff; skills-test fees are paid directly to that third-party examiner, not to the State of New Mexico. An applicant who fails any knowledge or skills test must wait 7 days before retesting, may attempt each test up to 3 times within a one-year period, and after a third failure must wait a full year before retesting. Passing score on both knowledge and skills tests is 80% or higher. Applicants may take CDL written tests up to twice a week.
New Mexico CDL Endorsements
| Endorsement | Available | Fee | Knowledge test | Skills test |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hazardous materials (H) | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| Tank vehicle (N) | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| Doubles/triples (T) | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| Passenger (P) | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| School bus (S) | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
Hazardous materials: Requires a fingerprint-based security threat assessment. New Mexico also issues a combined 'X' endorsement covering both Tank Vehicle and Hazardous Materials for drivers who qualify for both. No separate MVD endorsement fee is published.
Tank vehicle: Tank Vehicle ('N') endorsement; knowledge test only, no skills test. No separate MVD fee is published.
Doubles/triples: Doubles/Triples ('T') endorsement for combination vehicles with double or triple trailers; knowledge test only. No separate MVD fee is published.
Passenger: Passenger Transport ('P') endorsement; both knowledge and skills tests required. No separate MVD fee is published.
School bus: School Bus ('S') endorsement; both knowledge and skills tests required. Uniquely among New Mexico's CDL skills tests, the skills test for this endorsement is administered by the School Bus Transportation Division of the New Mexico Public Education Department rather than by a community-college third-party tester, and PED examiners are authorized to test only school bus driver candidates. No separate MVD fee is published.
For what each endorsement permits, the federal knowledge/skills testing baseline behind it, and hazmat’s separate TSA security threat assessment, see CDL endorsements.
Federal requirements that apply in New Mexico
These are set by federal regulators and are the same in every US jurisdiction. Full detail here.
- Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT). Since February 2022, first-time CDL applicants — and drivers upgrading to Class A or seeking a first-time school bus, passenger, or hazmat endorsement — must complete Entry-Level Driver Training with a provider on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry before testing.
- DOT medical certificate. Most CDL holders who operate in interstate commerce must hold a valid DOT medical examiner's certificate, issued by an examiner listed on the FMCSA National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners.
- Interstate minimum age. Federal rules set 21 as the minimum age to drive commercially across state lines; states set their own intrastate minimum, commonly 18.
- Hazmat security threat assessment. A hazardous materials endorsement additionally requires a TSA security threat assessment, which is a federal process separate from the state endorsement.
Self-certification in New Mexico
New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), Taxation and Revenue Department administers self-certification for the following FMCSA operating categories:
- Non-Excepted Interstate
- Non-Excepted Intrastate
- Excepted Interstate
- Excepted Intrastate
New Mexico's Driver Certification for Issuance of a Commercial Driver's Permit or License (Form MVD-11222, rev. 01/26) has the applicant check one of four categories: NI (Non-Excepted Interstate), NA (Non-Excepted Intrastate), EI (Excepted Interstate), or EA (Excepted Intrastate).
Source Notes
Where a source is stale, conflicting, or required a judgment call, we document it here rather than presenting a single confident-sounding number. See our methodology for how these calls are made.
- New Mexico MVD's CDL Licensing Information addendum (Form MVD-11196), the primary source for endorsement test requirements and retest wait times, carries a printed revision date of December 2013. It remains the current document linked from MVD's live CDL page with no newer edition available, but readers should treat granular details sourced from it (e.g. the 7-day retest wait) as subject to change without a visible update trail.
- New Mexico does not operate its own commercial-driver medical waiver program; per MVD's Driver Medical Conditions page, all medical waivers must be obtained directly from FMCSA, and New Mexico specifically does not offer any hearing or color-blindness waiver to commercial drivers at the state level.
means no primary source publishes that figure — left blank on purpose rather than estimated or copied from an unverified aggregator.
Sources
- New Mexico MVD — Commercial Driver's Licenses (CDL)
- New Mexico MVD — CDL Licensing Information: Vehicle Groups, Endorsements, Restrictions, Testing (Form MVD-11196)
- New Mexico MVD — Driver Certification for Issuance of a Commercial Driver's Permit or License (Form MVD-11222)
- New Mexico MVD — CDL Examiners (Public and Non-Public Third-Party Testers)
- New Mexico MVD — Hazardous Material Endorsement
- New Mexico MVD — Driver Medical Conditions (Commercial)
- New Mexico MVD — Frequently Asked Questions
- New Mexico MVD — Commercial Driver's License Manual (March 2025 edition, with New Mexico Supplement 3)
- New Mexico MVD — Vehicle Certification (Form MVD-10414)
- New Mexico MVD — Contact Us
Data last verified: 2026-07-25 (verified by: agent) | Source: New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division (MVD), Taxation and Revenue Department