Question 1

Does New Mexico have its own LEOSA qualification standard?

Accepted Answer

New Mexico has a real trap worth flagging carefully: its own retired-officer concealed-handgun license (N.M. Stat. § 29-19-14, N.M. Admin. Code 10.8.2.31) is a separate, New-Mexico-only 5-year permit with its own cadence (no annual retest required until an officer has been retired more than 10 years) -- it is NOT a LEOSA-compliant annual qualification, and someone relying on it alone could not lawfully rely on it for nationwide LEOSA carry. Separately, the New Mexico Department of Public Safety runs its own internal annual LEOSA qualification program (the authorized DPS off-duty course of fire, issuing a "Retiree LEOSA Certification Card"), but — like New York's and Connecticut's state-trooper-only programs — that program is for retired DPS commissioned employees specifically, not a universal standard for every New Mexico agency's retirees.

Question 2

What should I do instead, since New Mexico hasn't set its own standard?

Accepted Answer

For New Mexico retirees who aren't former DPS commissioned employees, this functions as the 926C(d)(2)(B) fallback case: qualify annually against the former agency's own active-duty standard, or the standard used by a certified firearms instructor qualified to administer an active-duty qualification test in New Mexico — separate from, and not satisfied by, the state's own 5-year concealed-handgun license process.

New Mexico LEOSA qualification

How qualification works in New Mexico

What to carry afterward

Where LEOSA doesn't apply

Put your qualification program in front of retired officers.

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