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Checking a guard or a security company in New Mexico

This page is for whoever is doing the checking — a client, a property manager, a company vetting a subcontractor. It tells you what a guard and a guard company are supposed to hold in New Mexico, and walks you to New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Board’s own records to confirm it.

tessura is not a New Mexico agency and issues nothing. Every link below goes to the regulator, and the regulator’s answer is the one that counts.

Getting licensed yourself instead? The New Mexico requirements, training hours, and application steps →

Check the guard

New Mexico issues a credential to the guard, so you can check the person in front of you.

What they should hold

Every guard working a postSecurity Guard Level 1 (Unarmed)8 hrs of training · renews every 3 years
If they carry a firearmSecurity Guard Level 3 (Armored Vehicle)36 hrs of training · renews every 3 years
If they carry a baton, OC spray, or a taserSecurity Guard Level 2 (Armed)20 hrs of training · renews every 3 years

Armed work: Level 2 (armed) requires 20 hours of training plus approved weapons instruction; Level 3 adds 16 more hours and a psychological evaluation. Both require age 21+.

How to check it

  1. Ask the guard for the name and unique registration number on their New Mexico security guard ID card, and which of the three levels they hold.
  2. Open nmrldlpi.my.site.com/bcd/s/rld-public-search and wait for the search panel to finish loading — it is slow, and an empty-looking page usually just means it has not rendered yet.
  3. Set the required "Profession" dropdown to "Private Investigation Advisory Board". Nothing else works until you do: this is what unlocks the "License Type" dropdown.
  4. Set "License Type" to Security Guard Level One, Two or Three to match what the guard claims. Level Three is the only level that permits a firearm, so an armed post needs a Level Three record specifically.
  5. Enter the surname in "License Holder Name" (it matches on partial text) or paste the number into "License Number", then press Search.
  6. Confirm the status is active and the expiry is in the future. Treat "pending" as NOT licensed — RLD’s position is that a person is not licensed until an ID card bearing a unique registration number has actually been issued.
Open the NM RLD Public License Search →

Shows licence status · does not show an expiry date.

If the lookup finds nothing: For an official written verification use nmrldlpi.my.site.com/bcd/s/verificationrequestguestuser; board contacts at rld.nm.gov/boards-and-commissions/individual-boards-and-commissions/private-investigations-security-guard/.

Check the company

New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Advisory Board licenses the firm itself here. This is the check most people skip, and it is usually the more important of the two.

What the firm must holdPrivate Patrol CompanyIssued by New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Advisory Board

We hold this state’s roster, so you can search it here first: 169 companies that New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Advisory Board listed as currently licensed when we read it on September 14, 2026.

Search New Mexico licensed companies →

Our copy is a snapshot. For anything you are about to sign, confirm it at the regulator using the steps below.

How to check it

  1. Ask the company for the exact legal name on its licence and its Private Patrol Company number. A company that cannot produce a number for a licence it claims to hold has told you something.
  2. Open the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Advisory Board lookup and search for that name.
  3. Search the legal name, not the name on the uniform or the invoice. Brand names, DBAs, and the name on the truck are often not the licensed entity.
  4. Read the status and the expiry date, not just the presence of a record. An expired or suspended licence still returns a result.
  5. If nothing comes up, ask which entity holds the licence and in which state, then check that name. If the answer does not resolve, treat the licence as unconfirmed and call New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Advisory Board before signing.
Open the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Private Investigations Advisory Board lookup →

Ask for insurance properly

A licence says the state let them operate. Insurance is what stands between you and a claim, and it is the easier of the two to fake — a certificate is only true on the day it was printed.

New Mexico requires it by law

$1,000,000 general liability, required both to obtain and to RETAIN the licence. The certificate must run for the term of the licence and 30 days beyond it.

A copy of the certificate is filed with the department and must be maintained to retain the licence. But no insurer owes the department notice of cancellation, and the rule’s own phrase "unless sooner terminated in accordance with law" concedes mid-term termination with no route to the regulator.

If it lapses: Failure to furnish and maintain the certificate is expressly grounds for DENIAL OR REVOCATION — named as a revocation ground, which is stronger than most, but not automatic.

16.48.2.8(A) NMAC — https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title16/16.048.0002.html

A certificate of insurance (COI) that names your business as an additional insured, not just the certificate holderCertificate holder means you were mailed a copy. Additional insured means their policy actually answers for you if you are pulled into a claim.
General liability, and workers’ compensation at your state’s statutory limitsIf a guard is hurt on your property and the company carries no workers’ comp, the claim tends to land on you. Ask for commercial auto too if they run patrol vehicles.
The policy number and the effective and expiry dates, on a certificate dated within the last monthAn undated or months-old certificate is the single most common tell. The dates let you ask the insurer about the right policy.
The name, agency, and direct phone number of the broker who issued it — then call themThe broker can confirm the policy is in force today. The certificate PDF cannot, and a forged or stale one looks identical to a real one.
A contract term requiring written notice to you before the policy is cancelled or non-renewedStandard certificates promise notice to the insured, not to you. Putting the duty on the company in the contract is what makes a mid-term cancellation a breach.
A fresh certificate part-way through the term, not only at signingRe-asking at 60 or 90 days costs you an email and defeats the whole get-the-COI-then-drop-it pattern.

tessura does not verify anyone’s insurance and has no access to insurers’ records. This is guidance for doing it yourself, not a statement about any company on this site. It is also not legal advice — for a contract of any size, have your own counsel or broker set the limits.

Where this comes from

New Mexico requirements last reviewed August 28, 2026. Some details on this state are still pending a second check against the primary source. Rules change — the regulator’s page is authoritative if it disagrees with ours.

Hiring guards in New Mexico?

Send one staffing request and it reaches licensed companies covering your state. No account needed.

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