New Mexico Radiologic Technologist Licensing Guide
License Snapshot
Board Processing Time
1-2 business days
Board turnaround on a complete application — see lead time below
Application Fee
$110
Renewal: $100
Credential
ARRT
Required national certification
Renewal
See details
Every 2 years
State Overview
New Mexico licenses radiology as more than a single credential. Alongside the general radiologic technologist license, it recognizes 5 separate base licenses (CT Technologist, MRI Technologist, Radiation Therapist, Nuclear Medicine Technologist, and Diagnostic Medical Sonographer), plus a 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, including where a single-modality candidate may not be placeable.
Across radiology, ARRT certification is the national credential that anchors state licensure. A license you hold in another state does not transfer automatically, so you apply directly to New Mexico's licensing board for each assignment.
General Requirements
If you perform radiology procedures in New Mexico, the baseline below applies regardless of where you trained or which modality you work in.
- National certification: an active ARRT credential is the prerequisite the state license is built on. The state credential sits on top of ARRT, not instead of it.
- Credential required: R.T. (ARRT)(R), or NMTCB/other nationally recognized certification, or active out-of-state radiography licensure with qualifying work history.
- 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.
Fees & 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.
| Credential | Application | Renewal | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiographer (General Radiologic Technologist) | $100 | $100 | Every 2 years |
| CT Technologist | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
| MRI Technologist | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
| Radiation Therapist | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
| Nuclear Medicine Technologist | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonographer | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
| Mammography | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
| Limited-Scope X-Ray Operator (Limited Practice Radiography) | Included | $100 | Every 2 years |
There is no state fee line for Medical Physicist, because New Mexico does not license those modalities. Their absence from the table is the point, not an omission.
All-in $110 = $100 license + $10 application (NMAC 20.3.20.501), biennial.
Renewal & Continuing Education
- Renewal cycle: every 2 years.
- Continuing education: your CE is whatever ARRT requires to keep your credential active. New Mexico does not appear to add its own hour mandate for the general license.
- 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.
Getting Licensed
Radiology licensure is ARRT-primary, so the path is shorter than the multi-step endorsement other professions run. For most candidates it is four steps:
- Hold the right ARRT credential for the work you will do (Radiography for general x-ray; the matching post-primary credential for a modality the state licenses).
- Complete a board-approved program if the state requires one for your credential.
- Apply to New Mexico Radiology Board through the application portal.
- Have ARRT verify your credential to the board directly. You do not self-attest the certification.
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.
Processing & Timing
Board processing time is how long the board takes once it has a complete application. In New Mexico: 1-2 business days (after payment). Boards rarely publish a guaranteed turnaround, so 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's lack of temporary licensing, moderate processing timeline, and undocumented background check procedures create meaningful assignment risk. Permanent license must be in hand before first day of work, no provisional practice is permitted.
Quick start: New Mexico is one of the states where the credential can be in hand within days of a complete application, so licensing does not have to gate a fast assignment start.
Specialty Differences
Most of the radiology family in New Mexico runs on the general license. A handful of credentials genuinely diverge, and those are the ones worth reading closely. Below is one subsection per real difference, 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)/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. Reduced-scope license restricted to specific body areas: LXV (axial/appendicular skeleton), LXE (extremities), LXP (podiatric), LXT (viscera of the thorax). May NOT perform contrast, fluoroscopy, mammography, CT, mobile/bedside, sonography, MRI, nuclear medicine, or radiation therapy (20.3.20.310.B/.310-330).
- Fee: Included application, $100 renewal, every 2 years
- Credential: Pass a New Mexico state limited-practice examination (consistent with ARRT limited-scope standards) with a minimum 75% on the core section and each attempted body-area section; no national credential required ('limited radiography: none' for credential)
- 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
Within radiology, whether a modality needs its own state credential is not consistent, and it is the thing travelers most often get wrong. 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 divergences we verified 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, confirm with your recruiter 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please note that while Fusion Medical Staffing strives to provide the most current and accurate information, we cannot guarantee the completeness or timeliness of the information provided. Requirements and processes can change frequently. Healthcare professionals are strongly encouraged to verify details directly with New Mexico Radiology Board's official website.
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