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New Mexico keeps company formation and business registration in different offices. The Secretary of State handles the entity filing. The Taxation and Revenue Department decides who must register to do business. For most owners, that registration is the closest thing the state has to a business license.
Who has to register?
The department's registration page says anyone who engages in business in New Mexico must register with the Taxation and Revenue Department. Engaging in business means carrying on any activity for a direct or indirect benefit. For sellers without a physical presence, it means total taxable gross receipts of at least $100,000 from the previous calendar year, sourced to the state.
What do you get?
A New Mexico Business Tax Identification Number. You also get individual state tax ID numbers for the accounts that apply to you. The department lists compensating tax, governmental gross receipts tax, gross receipts tax, interstate telecommunication gross receipts tax, leased vehicle gross receipts tax and surcharge, non-wage withholding tax and wage withholding tax.
Registration has no fee. The department says so plainly for the Business Tax Identification Number.
How do you apply?
Online is the main route. Choose Apply for a New Mexico Business Tax ID and follow the prompts. After approval you log in with the credentials you set up during the application.
On paper, use Form ACD-31015, Business Tax Registration. Take it to any district tax office with an appointment. Mailed applications are processed in the order received. The department says applications are also available at many city, village and town halls.
Any entity other than a sole proprietor with no employees must have a federal EIN. The IRS issues it. See our EIN guide.
Which businesses need more?
Special registration applies to sales of cigarettes, tobacco products and liquor, to water production, to gasoline and special fuels, and to severance and resources activities. Oil and gas producers get a separate Oil and Gas Reporting Identification Number. A corporation must also register with the Secretary of State. Our New Mexico LLC guide covers the LLC filing.
Where do you check a license?
We did not read a New Mexico license verification tool, so we do not link one. To check that a company exists, use the Secretary of State portal described on our New Mexico hub. The state tax ID lookup page shows what numbers are public.
What about a trade name?
New Mexico trade names are covered in a section of the hub, under DBA and assumed names in New Mexico. They do not create a license.
What this page does not cover
Professional licenses, city and county permits, and the gross receipts tax rates are not covered, because we did not read them. This is general information, not legal advice.