Permits and licensing · Nevada
Renovation permits and contractor licences in Nevada
Nevada licenses every contractor through one body, the Nevada State Contractors Board, under chapter 624 of the Nevada Revised Statutes. Licences carry a classification and a monetary limit, so a licence alone does not tell you the contractor may take on your job. Building permits come from your city or county, and in Las Vegas only a Nevada licensed contractor may pull a commercial building permit.
Regulators and licensing bodies in Nevada
These official bodies license contractors, oversee safety or issue permits in Nevada.
Nevada State Contractors Board
Licenses contractors for the whole state. It determines qualifications before licensing through written examinations, background investigations and financial responsibility assessments, sets conditions on a licence such as field and scope limitations, bonds and contractual limits, makes the rules that implement chapter 624, and disciplines licensees who break it.
City of Las Vegas Building and Safety
Issues building and offsite permits inside the city. Only a Nevada licensed contractor may obtain a building permit for commercial construction. The city adopted the 2021 International Building Code and International Fire Code in September 2022, with an effective date of March 23, 2023, and requires new plans to be submitted electronically.
Clark County Department of Building and Fire Prevention
Handles building permits and inspections for unincorporated Clark County, which is where a large share of the Las Vegas valley actually sits. It publishes its own code adoption information and runs online permit processing workshops for applicants.
City of Reno Development Services
Issues building permits in Reno. Every application is filed electronically through the regional licensing and permits portal shared with neighbouring jurisdictions, and the city sorts work into permits that need no plans, flat rate permits and permits priced on project valuation.
Trades that need a licence in Nevada
General contracting and renovation
One licence covers general engineering, general building, both together, or a specialty subclassification, and each licence carries a monetary limit as well as a scope. The person who qualifies the licence must be an owner, officer, member, manager or employee actively engaged in the business, with at least four full years of experience in that classification within the previous fifteen years.
Sources:Nevada State Contractors Board – Licence requirements(opens in a new tab)Nevada State Contractors Board – Licence classifications(opens in a new tab)
Certified trades
Plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting and concrete work are licensed as specialty subclassifications under the same board rather than by separate trade boards, so there is one place to check. Ask which subclassification the firm holds and compare it with the work in your bid.
Sources:Nevada State Contractors Board – Licence classifications(opens in a new tab)
Consumer protection
The Board publishes a Home Improvement Bill of Rights: you have the right to hire only licensed contractors and to check the licence, to see past work and references, to get at least three bids, to pay as work is completed, not to pay cash, to withhold the final payment until the contracted work is done, to one project price covering all labour and materials, to a written payment schedule and completion date, and to require your contractor to obtain a building permit.
Sources:Nevada State Contractors Board – Home Improvement Bill of Rights(opens in a new tab)
New-home building and warranty
The Residential Recovery Fund is open only to owners of single-family residences who contracted with a licensed residential contractor since October 1, 1999, suffered actual damages and exhausted every other means of recovery. It is explicitly not available to anyone who hired an unlicensed contractor, and it does not guarantee recovery of the whole loss.
Sources:Nevada State Contractors Board – Residential Recovery Fund(opens in a new tab)
Plumbing
Nevada's exemptions are narrow. Repair or maintenance work below a value the statute sets is exempt only while no building permit is required and the other statutory conditions are met, and splitting a job up does not help. An owner building or improving a home for their own occupancy, not for sale or lease, may qualify but has to apply for the exemption.
Sources:Nevada State Contractors Board – Handyman exemptions (NRS 624.031)(opens in a new tab)
Building and renovation permits in Nevada
Permits come from your city or county. In the City of Las Vegas, only a Nevada licensed contractor may obtain a building permit for commercial construction, and the city works to the 2021 International Building Code and International Fire Code, effective March 23, 2023. Much of the Las Vegas valley is unincorporated, so the permit often comes from Clark County's Building and Fire Prevention Department rather than a city. In Reno every building permit application is filed electronically through the regional permitting portal. The Board's own advice is to require your contractor to obtain the permit as part of the job.
Sources:Las Vegas – Building permits(opens in a new tab)Clark County – Building and Fire Prevention(opens in a new tab)Reno – Building permits(opens in a new tab)Nevada State Contractors Board – Home Improvement Bill of Rights(opens in a new tab)
Permit information from large municipalities
Before you hire a contractor in Nevada
Practical checks you can do yourself, using official tools where they exist.
Search the Contractors Board licence database and check the classification and the monetary limit, not just that a licence exists.
Official lookup: Nevada State Contractors Board – Contractor licence search(opens in a new tab)
Get at least three bids from licensed contractors, and do not pay in cash.
Official lookup: Nevada State Contractors Board – Home Improvement Bill of Rights(opens in a new tab)
Insist on one project price covering all labour and materials, with a written payment schedule and completion date.
Official lookup: Nevada State Contractors Board – Licence classifications(opens in a new tab)
Remember that hiring an unlicensed contractor puts you outside the Residential Recovery Fund if the work goes wrong.
Official lookup: Nevada State Contractors Board – Residential Recovery Fund(opens in a new tab)
Ask your city or county building department which permits the work needs, and require your contractor to pull them.
Official lookup: Las Vegas – Building permits(opens in a new tab)
Sources for renovation permits and licences in Nevada
Every fact on this page comes from these official sources.
- Nevada State Contractors Board(opens in a new tab)
- Nevada State Contractors Board – Licence requirements(opens in a new tab)
- Las Vegas – Building permits(opens in a new tab)
- Clark County – Building and Fire Prevention(opens in a new tab)
- Reno – Building permits(opens in a new tab)
- Nevada State Contractors Board – Licence classifications(opens in a new tab)
- Nevada State Contractors Board – Home Improvement Bill of Rights(opens in a new tab)
- Nevada State Contractors Board – Residential Recovery Fund(opens in a new tab)
- Nevada State Contractors Board – Handyman exemptions (NRS 624.031)(opens in a new tab)
- FTC – How to avoid a home improvement scam(opens in a new tab)
Find licensed pros
Compare local pros for the regulated trades in this guide, then confirm their licence with the regulator before you hire.
Renovation permits in other states
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Planning a renovation?
Describe your project once and hear from local pros. Ask each one for their licence and permit details before you hire.