NM-GB98 Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts

Quick-Reference Snapshot

This cheat sheet distills the New Mexico GB-98 General Building Contractor Exam into the numbers and rules you need on hand the week before test day. The exam is regulated by the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, Construction Industries Division, with computer-based testing delivered through PSI. The current PSI contractor candidate bulletin was updated April 3, 2026, so verify you are studying from that revision before finalizing your plan.

• Combination technical exam fee: $269.06 (covers GB-2 Part 1 and GB-98 Part 2)
• Single-part retake fee: $134.53
• Business and Law exam fee: $68.88 (separate exam, separate approval option)
• Qualifying-party application/work-affidavit fee: $36
• Passing score, each technical part: 75%
• Passing score, Business and Law: 75%

For a deeper walkthrough of how these numbers fit into the full licensing budget, see the NM-GB98 Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Fee and Registration Mechanics

Candidates sit the GB-98 combination technical exam as two parts in one registration: GB-2 Residential Building Contractor Part 1 and GB-98 General Building Contractor Part 2. Each part is scored separately, and each requires its own 75% to pass. If you clear one part but not the other, you only pay the $134.53 single-part retake fee to redo the failed section - you do not have to repeat the part you already passed.

Business and Law is handled independently. New contractor candidates satisfy it either by passing the $68.88 PSI Business and Law exam (50 questions, 130 minutes, open book, 75% required) or by completing an approved course. Because this is a separate approval path from the technical parts, it is worth confirming your status on this requirement early rather than treating it as an afterthought. The NM-GB98 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify guide breaks down how the qualifying-party application, the $36 affidavit fee, and Business and Law all interact before you're cleared to schedule.

Part 1 vs. Part 2 at a Glance

Part 1 (GB-2) and Part 2 (GB-98) test overlapping subject areas but at different depth and question volume. Knowing which part carries more weight in each topic helps you allocate review time correctly - a mistake many candidates make is studying both parts identically instead of matching effort to the heavier domain.

Notice that General Code, Plan Reading, and Estimating is the single heaviest domain on both parts - and by a wide margin on Part 2, where it accounts for 27 of the 100 questions. Any review plan that shortchanges plan reading and estimating is leaving points on the table.

Domain-by-Domain Cheat Notes

The GB-98 exam blueprint is organized into 17 domains split across the two parts. Below is a condensed version of what to remember for each - a full breakdown of scope and study angles for every domain lives in the NM-GB98 Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 17 Content Areas.

Open-Book References and Calculator Rules

Both technical parts are open book, which changes how you should prepare compared to a closed-book exam. Approved references include the listed 2021 New Mexico building codes, the 2021 IRC or IBC as applicable, and standard trade texts. These references must be bound and are allowed to be highlighted, underlined, indexed, and permanently tabbed before you arrive - but they cannot contain loose papers or handwritten notes.

A silent, nonprinting, nonprogrammable calculator is permitted for the estimating and concrete-reinforcement calculations that appear throughout both parts. Practicing with the exact references you plan to bring - tabbed the same way - is one of the highest-leverage things you can do before test day, and it's covered in more depth in the NM-GB98 Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

Eligibility and Experience Math

Before you can even schedule the technical exam, you need to satisfy New Mexico's experience threshold: four years and 8,000 hours of qualifying experience within the preceding 10 years. Approved education or training can offset up to one-half of that requirement through half-time credit, which is a meaningful shortcut for candidates coming out of formal construction programs.

• Base requirement: 4 years / 8,000 hours within the prior 10 years
• Education/training credit: half-time credit, capped at up to one-half of the total requirement
• Qualifying-party application fee: $36 (includes the work-affidavit)

If you're unsure how your work history stacks up against these thresholds, the NM-GB98 Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify article walks through documentation and affidavit specifics in detail.

Business and Law Requirement

Separate from the technical exam, new contractor candidates must also clear Business and Law - either by passing the PSI exam or completing an approved course. The exam itself is short relative to the technical parts: 50 questions in 130 minutes, open book, with a 75% passing score, and a $68.88 fee.

Because the scoring threshold (75%) matches the technical parts exactly, candidates sometimes assume the content overlaps - it does not. Treat it as its own study block rather than folding it into your GB-2/GB-98 review.

Validity Windows You Cannot Miss

Timing rules trip up more candidates than content gaps do. Once you're deemed eligible to test, that eligibility lasts six months - you must sit for the exam within that window or reapply. Once you pass, that passing score remains valid for one year, giving you a defined runway to complete the licensing paperwork.

• Exam eligibility window: 6 months from approval
• Passing score validity: 1 year
• Continuing education for renewal: none required for General Building renewal

For a calendar-style breakdown of these deadlines against scheduling availability, see NM-GB98 Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.

One-Page Review Timeline

With 17 domains split unevenly across two parts, a flat review schedule wastes time on light domains while shortchanging heavy ones. The timeline below weights weeks toward the highest-question-count domains - General Code/Plan Reading/Estimating, Concrete and Concrete Reinforcement, and Carpentry - while still touching every domain before test day.

If you want a sense of where you'll likely feel friction in this schedule, the How Hard Is the NM-GB98 Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 article and the NM-GB98 Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass breakdown are both useful companions to this timeline. You can also run scored practice sets over on the main practice test site to see how your timing holds up under the 225- and 310-minute limits.

Keeping This Cheat Sheet Useful

A one-page reference is only as good as the accuracy of its numbers, so revisit this sheet against the current PSI bulletin as your exam date approaches - fee amounts, question counts, and time limits are the details most likely to shift between bulletin updates. Pair this sheet with a broader look at outcomes and career context, such as the NM-GB98 Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows and Is the NM-GB98 Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026, before you commit your final study hours. And when you're ready to test your recall against realistic scenario questions, head back to the practice test homepage to build exam-day confidence.