The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish is inviting public input on potential changes to the fees charged by hunting and fishing license vendors. Currently, a fee of $1 per license is applied by all vendors, including the Department itself.
The passage of Senate Bill 5 in the 2025 session of the New Mexico State Legislature allows license collectors to "collect and retain a vendor fee for each license or permit issued; provided that the fee shall be just and reasonable; as determined by regulation of the State Wildlife Commission."
Following this legislative change, the Department conducted a survey among all statewide license vendors. The majority of respondents indicated support for an increase in vendor fees and suggested introducing an additional fee for carcass tags. Since 2017, external vendors have been required to hand-write each carcass tag, while the Department provides printed combination licenses and tags for walk-in customers at its offices.
The Department incurs significant costs related to licensing software system planning, maintenance, development, and staff time for license sales not covered by special drawing application fees. These administrative costs amount to approximately $500,000 annually, with current vendor fees covering about 20% of this expense.
To address these issues, the Department is seeking feedback on three proposals:
- Proposal 1 suggests a $2 fee for licenses sold by either the Department or third-party vendors and a $1 fee for carcass tags.
- Proposal 2 proposes a $1 fee for licenses sold directly by the Department, a $2 fee for those sold by third-party vendors, and a $1 fee for carcass tags from third-party vendors.
- Proposal 3 recommends no fee for licenses sold directly by the Department but imposes a $2 fee on those sold by third-party vendors along with a $1 fee for carcass tags from third-party vendors.
Details on these proposals can be found in the Department's presentation from the June 13 State Game Commission meeting. Public comments are welcome until July 25, 2025. Feedback can be sent via mail to New Mexico Department of Game and Fish or emailed as specified in their announcement.
Information from this article can be found here.
