Mason in New Mexico: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

New Mexico does not license masons: no state licence for masons or concrete finishers as employees. This page says what a mason licensed or working in another state has to do to work in New Mexico, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

No state licenses masons, bricklayers or concrete finishers as employees, so there is nothing to transfer to New Mexico. A masonry contractor licence applies in some states if you work for yourself. Certifications that travel: ACI concrete flatwork finisher, and OSHA cards.

What to have ready before you move

• ACI or NCMA certificates if you hold them
• OSHA 10 card

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no New Mexico licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Underestimating the season in northern states; masonry slows in winter

Who hires masons in New Mexico

Masons in New Mexico are hired by masonry contractors, concrete contractors, general contractors and union locals. The metros with the most of that work are Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho and Santa Fe. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the New Mexico openings page.

For the money side: the median mason in New Mexico earned $48,700 a year ($23 an hour) in May 2024 across 1,470 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and New Mexico has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 5.9%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about New Mexico, on one page

The New Mexico page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of New Mexico employers hiring from out of state.