New Mexico Business License

Small business owners who are looking for information pertaining to registering, starting, or operating a business in the state of New Mexico should visit newmexico.gov. This is the state government's official website, and contains links to resources such as:

• United States SBA (Small Business Association) Learning Center
• Network of NMSBDC or New MexicoSmall Business Development Centers
• Startup New Mexico

By following these links, you can obtain information about how to register your New Mexico small business, and connect with resources that will help you with licensing, financing, funding, protecting your intellectual property and growing your small business. You can also find out more about any upcoming seminars or workshops to help you further hone your business skills.

Many New Mexico business owners will not require a license. Even so, there are many types of businesses that must obtain certain licenses or permits before they can operate. Aside from licenses and permits, nearly every business in New Mexico will also need to register with the state's Taxation and Revenue Department (TRD). To learn more about registering your business with TRD, visit their official website and then navigate to the "register your business" section.

In most cases, New Mexico business owners obtain their licenses and permits locally at their county courthouse. Other times, you might be required to visit a particular office or city to obtain a license. For example, in Albuquerque the treasury division of that city is responsible for handling business licenses. In addition, you'll need more than one license if you operate in more than one city or county throughout New Mexico. To be safe, you should visit the websites of each location where you plan to conduct business. You may even find that your business is exempt from licensing under state or federal law, in which case you will not have to worry about it.
Small Business Recordkeeping in New Mexico

Once you have obtained the necessary licenses and permits, you could also need to file certain records with the state. This is especially true if you are a corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC). These types of businesses must often file organizational documents with the New Mexico Secretary of State (SOS). To find out more, visit the official website of the New Mexico Secretary of State and navigate to the Business Services page.

Certain occupations are required to obtain a license from the New Mexico state government. The Regulation and Licensing Department or RLD has to responsibility to oversee most of the regulatory commissions and boards that govern New Mexico licensed professions. Visit the RLD website and then go to the Boards and Commissions page to find out more. There you will see a list of the professions and occupations the RLD oversees. You can also click on one of the items on the list in order to navigate to another page that has more detailed information concerning licensing.

Some occupations such as attorneys, physicians, and other professionals are not governed by the RLD. For those professions, you can use an online search engine to find out what regulatory agency is responsible for the licensing process.

As a small business owner, you may wish to operate under a name other than your own. In addition, corporations and Limited Liability Companies often start out doing business under one name and later change it to another name. In that case, the registered name would be different from that of the name you are doing business under. An alternative business name is sometimes referred to as a fictitious, assumed, or trade name. Most commonly however it is referred to as a DBA or Doing Business As. New Mexico is different from other states in that they do not require business owners to register a fictitious or DBA name.

Trademarks, service marks, and trade names are all defined differently by the law. Generally speaking, these terms are used to identify unique products, services, or business operations. Their purpose is to distinguish one product or service from ones offered by competitors. Although not required, trademarks and service marks can be registered with the Secretary of State, which is different from federal registration. To learn more about trademark registration, visit the Secretary of State's website and then go to the Trademark FAQ section.