New Mexico laws by category

In New Mexico, ground and some limited aerial consumer fireworks are legal; municipalities and counties may restrict aerial devices and ground audible devices, and the governor or a city may impose temporary bans during severe or extreme drought (NMSA 60-2C).

New Mexico requires a license to carry a loaded handgun concealed on your person outside your vehicle; it is not a permitless concealed-carry state, though open carry needs no license. Exceptions may apply — read the full rule.

New Mexico is a license state, not a control state: beer, wine and spirits are sold at licensed retail liquor stores and at many grocery and convenience stores, and there are no state-run ABC stores. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (RLD) is the regulator.

Radar detectors are legal in passenger vehicles — New Mexico has no state ban on them.

In New Mexico, burning household trash is prohibited; only vegetation such as yard waste, brush and untreated wood may be burned (20.2.60.110 NMAC). Exceptions may apply — read the full rule.

In New Mexico, you need a freshwater fishing license from age 12 (11 & under exempt; resident 70+ free). Licenses are issued by the New Mexico Dept. of Wildlife (NMDOW, formerly the Dept. of Game and Fish).

New Mexico levies a gross receipts tax (GRT) instead of a conventional sales tax, commonly passed on to the customer. Combined rates range from 4.875% (the state portion) to 10.8125% depending on location, as counties and municipalities add local increments.

Recreational cannabis is legal in New Mexico for adults 21 and older, and a medical program also operates (Cannabis Regulation Act, 2021; sales April 2022). It is regulated by the Cannabis Control Division.

New Mexico does not require blaze orange by state law (strongly encouraged); 144 sq in is required on military reservations, 244 sq in for firearm elk on Valles Caldera.

New Mexico sports betting is legal only at tribal casinos, in person — no statewide online/mobile. There is no state sports-betting law; several tribes offer retail sportsbooks under Class III compacts. Age typically 21+ (set by tribe).

New Mexico requires a boater education card for anyone born on or after Jan 1, 1989 who operates a motor-powered vessel or a sailboat.

Possessing, carrying, selling or making a switchblade (or any knife opening automatically or by gravity/centrifugal force) is a petty misdemeanor in New Mexico (NMSA 30-7-8).

New Mexico has no drone-specific privacy crime (a 2026 drone-surveillance bill died); only the general voyeurism law (NMSA 30-9-20) may apply.