New Mexico home care license requirements
Bottom line: No general license identified — Medicaid (Mi Via) certification or HHA license.
- License required?
- No general license identified
- License / pathway
- Medicaid (Mi Via) certification or HHA license
- Fees (initial / renewal)
- HHA $300 (2025 rule); non-medical Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency
From the 50-state summary. Fees shown as stated in the state entry; see each entry for conditions, conflicts, and sources.
New Mexico requirements, item by item
Bracketed numbers link to the official sources at the bottom of this page.
Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency We could not confirm this item on an official state source during our review, so we did not estimate it.
| Item | What the guide found |
|---|---|
| License required? | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency — the sources reviewed do not establish whether New Mexico requires a general state license for non-medical-only companion, homemaker, or personal-care agencies. The home health agency definition excludes providers offering only non-medically directed services; specified Medicaid programs have their own provider requirements. [1][2][3] |
| License type / name | No general non-medical agency license is established by the sources reviewed. For Mi Via waiver homemaker direct-support services, an agency must be MAD-certified or be a licensed New Mexico home health agency; PCO agencies must obtain Medicaid certification. These are program-specific pathways, not proof of a general state license requirement. [2][4] |
| Licensing agency | The Health Care Authority’s Division of Health Improvement handles health-facility licensing; MAD or its designee certifies homemaker agencies under the Mi Via pathway. PCO certification is by Medicaid or its designee. [3][2][4] |
| Agency website | HCA Division of Health Improvement: https://www.hca.nm.gov/division-of-health-improvement/ A 2011 PCO register identifies the MAD website as www.hsd.state.nm.us/mad/registers/2011; the sources reviewed do not verify that this legacy address is current. [3][4] |
| Initial application / license fee | For the alternative home health agency license only, the fee schedule effective January 28, 2025 lists $300. The sources reviewed do not state a fee for MAD homemaker certification or PCO certification. [5][2][4] |
| Renewal fee | For the alternative home health agency license only, the fee schedule effective January 28, 2025 lists $300 for initial and renewal applications. The sources reviewed do not state a renewal fee for MAD homemaker certification or PCO certification. [5][2][4] |
| Renewal cycle | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency — The alternative home health agency license is annual and covers one year. No renewal cycle for MAD homemaker certification or PCO certification is specified in the sources reviewed. [5][2][4] |
| Typical approval timeline | No official timeline published — check with the agency |
| Administrator qualifications | For a PCO agency branch office, a qualified on-site administrator is required, but the sources reviewed do not state the qualifications. The home health agency administrator qualifications apply to that separate license pathway, not generally to non-medical-only agencies. [4][1] |
| Caregiver background checks | For Mi Via direct-service employees, nationwide caregiver criminal-history screening is required before initial hire and every three years thereafter. The PCO materials also require nationwide caregiver screening for covered employees and potential attendants. [2][4] |
| Caregiver training hours | Mi Via requires training, including critical-incident reporting and training specific to the recipient’s needs, but specifies no number of hours. For PCO consumer-delegated agencies, the cited rule requires at least 12 attendant-training hours per year, with initial training within the first three months of employment. [2][4] |
| Registry checks | Mi Via direct-service employees must pass abuse-registry screening and the additional listed screenings, including the Employee Abuse Registry and certified nurse aide registry. PCO consumer-delegated agencies must check attendants against the Consolidated Online Registry initially and annually. [2][4] |
| General liability insurance | For PCO agency certification, proof of liability insurance is required and must be submitted annually. The sources reviewed do not establish this as a requirement for every non-medical home-care agency. [4] |
| Workers' compensation | For PCO agency certification, proof of workers’ compensation insurance is required and must be submitted annually. The sources reviewed do not establish this as a requirement for every non-medical home-care agency. [4] |
| Bonding (surety / dishonesty) | Not confirmed in official sources — check with the state agency |
| Rule changes 2025–2026 | January 28, 2025: the health-facility licensure fees and procedures rule took effect and lists a $300 home health agency fee. The sources reviewed do not establish a 2025–2026 rule change for non-medical-only agency licensing or Medicaid homemaker/PCO certification. [5] |
Source notes and conflicts
The earlier home health agency rule identifies the Department of Health, but the rule effective July 1, 2024 identifies the New Mexico Health Care Authority; the older rule is reported as repealed and replaced effective July 1, 2024. The home health license and the Mi Via/PCO Medicaid pathways are distinct and should not be treated as a general non-medical agency license.
Sources
- 8.370.22 NMAC
https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title08/08.370.0022.html - 8.314.6 NMAC - New Mexico State Records Center and Archives
https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title08/08.314.0006.html - www.hca.nm.gov › division-of-health-improvementDivision of Health Improvement – New Mexico H…
https://www.hca.nm.gov/division-of-health-improvement/ - [PDF] State of New Mexico Human Services Department
https://www.hca.nm.gov/wp-content/uploads/FileLinks/5f2c7ec62d6f427eb1d7b4f710cb7367/MAD_PR_Vol_34_No_11_pco.pdf - 8.370.3 NMAC - State Records Center & Archives - New Mexico
https://www.srca.nm.gov/parts/title08/08.370.0003.html
Limits: fees and forms change often. Agencies sometimes post conflicting figures (a statute vs. an older form); those conflicts are shown, not resolved by guessing. Confirm the current fee with the agency before filing. This guide is a research reference, not legal advice.
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