New Mexico Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide

New Mexico Radiology License Overview

New Mexico licenses radiology as more than a single credential. Alongside the general radiologic technologist license, it also recognizes:

• Base licenses:
  • CT Technologist
  • MRI Technologist
  • Radiation Therapist
  • Nuclear Medicine Technologist
  • Diagnostic Medical Sonographer
• Limited-permit tier: Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited Practice Radiography)

A few other modalities are not licensed by the state at all, rather than carrying their own New Mexico license. The specialty section below covers each.

A license you hold in another state does not transfer automatically, so you apply to New Mexico's licensing board before your first assignment there.

New Mexico Radiology License Requirements

The baseline below is the general New Mexico radiologic technologist license. The specialty section covers the modalities that differ from it.

• National certification: confirm with the board which ARRT credential New Mexico accepts, and whether it must stay current.
• Credential required: R.T. (ARRT)(R); you must be currently certified and registered by the ARRT, the credentialing organization the board recognizes for radiography.
• Scope of the base license: Full diagnostic radiography using ionizing radiation under a licensed practitioner. This is the base license type (RRT) in New Mexico's Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Licensure scheme administered by the NM Environment Department Radiation Control Bureau.
• Verification: ARRT or direct board verification.

New Mexico Radiology License Fees and Credentials

New Mexico issues more than one radiology credential, so fees vary by what you actually do. The table below is one row per state-recognized credential.

There is no state fee line for Medical Physicist, because New Mexico does not license those modalities.

All-in $110 = $100 license + $10 application (NMAC 20.3.20.501), biennial.

New Mexico Radiology License Renewal and CE

• Renewal cycle: every 2 years.
• Continuing education: New Mexico sets no state CE hours for the general license (from our records; confirm with the board).
• Radiographer (General Radiologic Technologist) CE: Non-limited licensees must comply with the CE/continuing-competency/registration requirements of their credentialing organization (e.g., ARRT's 24 CE/2 yrs) rather than a state-specified hour count (20.3.20.330).
• CT Technologist CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements (ARRT) per 20.3.20.330; no separate state hour count.
• MRI Technologist CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements per 20.3.20.330.
• Radiation Therapist CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements per 20.3.20.330.
• Nuclear Medicine Technologist CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements (NMTCB or ARRT) per 20.3.20.330.
• Diagnostic Medical Sonographer CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements (ARDMS/CCI) per 20.3.20.330.
• Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited Practice Radiography) CE: Limited-practice licensees must complete 24 hours/credits of Category A continuing education per license term (state-set, because no national credentialing body governs them), unlike full licensees who defer to their credentialing organization.

How to Get a New Mexico Radiology License

In outline, applying takes four steps:

1. Confirm the credential New Mexico requires for the work you will do (the requirements above and the specialty section below).
2. Complete a board-approved program if the state requires one for your credential.
3. Apply to New Mexico Environment Department Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Program through the application portal.
4. Arrange the verification the board asks for: ARRT or direct board verification.

Common slip-ups travelers hit here: failure to request ARRT verification before submitting NM application, applicants assume board contacts ARRT directly, but NM requires applicant to initiate verification request, causing step 2 delays.

New Mexico Radiology License Processing Time

Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In New Mexico: 1-2 business days (after payment). Treat this as a planning number rather than a promise.

Recommended lead time before your start date is the total runway, and it runs longer than the board's processing window. Start the application as early as you can, because your ARRT verification has to reach the board before it can act.

If you need more than one credential here, for example a base license plus an add-on authorization, they may process as separate items rather than in one pass. Do not assume you can layer the second credential on at the last minute.

New Mexico issues temporary licenses only to recent graduates of approved programs, so a certified traveler needs the full license, which requires current certification and registration with a recognized credentialing organization, before starting work.

New Mexico Radiology Specialty Rules

Below is one subsection per credential that differs from the general New Mexico license, then roll-up lines for everything else.

CT Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Computed tomography is its own enumerated license type ('CT', 20.3.20.320.F(18)) listed on the registrant's certificate of licensure.

• Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: R.T. (ARRT)(CT)
• CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements (ARRT) per 20.3.20.330; no separate state hour count

How it differs from the general license: Unlike many states that treat CT as a supplemental add-on to an active radiography license, New Mexico issues CT as its own enumerated modality license gated on ARRT(CT) certification. It is held independently and printed on the single certificate of licensure alongside any other modality licenses; a separate radiography (RRT) license is not a stated prerequisite.

MRI Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Magnetic resonance imaging is its own enumerated license type ('MRT', 20.3.20.320.F(8)) listed on the certificate of licensure.

• Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: (ARMRIT)(RMRIT) or R.T. (ARRT)(MR)
• CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements per 20.3.20.330

How it differs from the general license: MRI uses no ionizing radiation, yet New Mexico is one of the minority of states that still licenses MRI as its own enumerated modality (gated on ARMRIT or ARRT(MR)). It differs from the radiography baseline in scope and accepted credential, and does not require an underlying radiography license.

Radiation Therapist

Divergence: separate license. Radiation therapy is its own enumerated license type ('RTT', 20.3.20.320.F(12)).

• Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: R.T. (ARRT)(T)
• CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements per 20.3.20.330

How it differs from the general license: Radiation therapy is a distinct licensed discipline (RTT) gated on ARRT(T), separate from diagnostic radiography (RRT). It authorizes therapeutic radiation delivery rather than diagnostic imaging and is held independently of the radiography license.

Nuclear Medicine Technologist

Divergence: separate license. Nuclear medicine is its own enumerated license type ('NMT', 20.3.20.320.F(9)).

• Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Certified nuclear medicine technologist (NMTCB) or R.T. (ARRT)(N)
• CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements (NMTCB or ARRT) per 20.3.20.330

How it differs from the general license: Nuclear medicine is a distinct licensed discipline (NMT) accepting NMTCB or ARRT(N) rather than the radiography credential. It involves administration/imaging of radiopharmaceuticals and is held independently of the radiography license.

Diagnostic Medical Sonographer

Divergence: separate license. Diagnostic medical sonography is its own enumerated license ('DMS') with enumerated subspecialties (CS, VS, MSK, PBS) at 20.3.20.320.F(1),(2),(10),(11),(16),(17).

• Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: DMS: RDMS (ARDMS)(AB/BR/OB) or R.T. (ARRT)(S)(BS). Cardiac (CS): ARDMS(RDCS)/CCI(RCS/RCCS). Vascular (VS): ARDMS(RVT)/CCI(RVS)/ARRT(VS). Musculoskeletal (MSK): ARDMS(RMSK). Phlebology (PBS): CCI(RPhS)
• CE: Follows the credentialing organization's CE requirements (ARDMS/CCI) per 20.3.20.330

How it differs from the general license: Sonography uses no ionizing radiation, yet New Mexico is among the minority of states that licenses it, as its own modality (DMS) with several subspecialty license types accepting ARDMS or CCI (and some ARRT) credentials. It is held independently of the radiography license.

Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited Practice Radiography)

Divergence: limited-scope tier. Restricted diagnostic radiography under direct supervision of a licensed practitioner, limited to the viscera of the thorax, extremities, dental radiography, the axial/appendicular skeleton, or the foot, ankle and lower leg; no contrast media, fluoroscopy, mammography, CT, mobile or bedside radiography, sonography, MRI, nuclear medicine or radiation therapy (20.3.20.310).

• Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
• Credential: Complete an approved limited radiography program and pass the New Mexico state examination with a minimum 75% on the core section and each attempted body-area section; no national credential is required ('limited radiography: none')
• CE: Limited-practice licensees must complete 24 hours/credits of Category A continuing education per license term (state-set, because no national credentialing body governs them), unlike full licensees who defer to their credentialing organization

How it differs from the general license: A below-full reduced-scope credential limited to enumerated body regions and obtained via a New Mexico state exam rather than full ARRT(R) certification. It cannot perform contrast, fluoroscopy, CT, mammography, or any advanced modality, and carries a distinct state-set 24-hour Category A CE requirement.

Medical Physicist

Divergence: no state credential. Not licensed under New Mexico's Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Licensure scheme (20.3.20 NMAC). The full enumerated list of license types (20.3.20.320.F) contains no Medical Physicist category; 'TMP' in the list stands for 'temporary,' not Medical Physicist. New Mexico is not among the small set of states (e.g., TX, FL, HI, NY) that license Medical Physicists.

How it differs from the general license: New Mexico issues no Medical Physicist credential under the radiologic technology / medical imaging licensure scheme. Physicists are not regulated as licensed practitioners here.

Specialties That Follow the General New Mexico License

These run under the general radiologic technologist license and need no separate state credential: Mammography.

Before You Pay: Confirm Your Modality

States differ on whether a radiology modality needs its own state credential. MRI, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, sonography, and CT can each be a separate state license in one state, a facility credential checked against your ARRT registration in the next, and nothing extra in a third.

The specialty differences we have on file for New Mexico are above. What we cannot see is your specific assignment and the site you land at. Before you submit any application fee for an advanced modality, check whether New Mexico issues a state credential for it or whether the facility handles that against your certification. We would rather you ask first than pay for something the role never required.

New Mexico Licensing Board and Resources

New Mexico Environment Department Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Program

Board Website · Application Portal

Phone: (505) 476-8600