New Mexico Statutes
Article 17A - Barbers and Cosmetologists
Section 61-17A-8 - Licensure requirements; barbers. (Repealed effective July 1, 2026.)

A. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, a barber license shall be issued to any person who files a completed application, accompanied by the required fees and documentation, and who:
(1) has an education equivalent to the completion of the second year of high school;
(2) is at least seventeen years of age;
(3) has completed a course in barbering of at least one thousand two hundred hours in a school or apprenticeship approved by the board; and
(4) has passed an examination approved by the board.
B. A barbering license shall be issued to a person who files a completed application, accompanied by the required fees and documentation, meets the requirements of Paragraphs (1) through (4) of Subsection A of this section and shows proof of having successfully completed a registered barbering apprenticeship approved by the state apprenticeship agency and the board of barbers and cosmetologists.
C. The holder of a barber license has the right and privilege to use the title "barber", and the initials "R.B." following the holder's surname and to use a barber pole, the traditional striped, vertical emblem of the barbering trade.
History: Laws 1993, ch. 171, § 8; 1997, ch. 218, § 5; 2015, ch. 85, § 1.
Delayed repeals. — For delayed repeal, see 61-17A-25 NMSA 1978.
The 2015 amendment, effective June 19, 2015, authorized the issuance of a barber license for any person who shows proof of having completed an approved registered barbering apprenticeship; in the introductory sentence of Subsection A, added "Except as provided in Subsection B of this section"; in Subsection A,Paragraph (3), after "school", added "or apprenticeship"; added Subsection B and redesignated the succeeding subsection accordingly; and in Subsection C, after "'barber',", added "and".
The 1997 amendment deleted "submits satisfactory evidence that he" at the end of Subsection A, substituted "one thousand two hundred hours" for "twelve hundred hours" in Paragraph A(3), and inserted ", the initials 'R.B.' following the holder's surname" in Subsection B. Laws 1997, ch. 218 contains no effective date provision, but, pursuant to N.M. Const., art. IV, § 23, is effective June 20, 1997, 90 days after adjournment of the legislature. See Volume 14 NMSA 1978 for "Adjournment Dates of Sessions of Legislature" table.
Paroled felon not barred from applying. — A convicted felon, while on parole, is under no disqualification that would prevent him from applying for a license to practice barbering or any other trade, profession or occupation in this state. 1958 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 58-214 (rendered under former law).
Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 11 Am. Jur. 2d Barbers and Cosmetologist §§ 11, 12.

Structure New Mexico Statutes