How to verify a Las Vegas contractor's license in 90 seconds
Nevada makes this easy, and almost nobody does it. Here's the whole process, plus the three things people miss.
In Nevada it is unlawful to engage in business or act in the capacity of a contractor without an active license. A first offense is a misdemeanor, a second is a gross misdemeanor, and a third is a Class E felony (Nevada State Contractors Board). That protects you — but only if you check.
The 90-second version
- Get the license number. It should already be on the bid, the business card, the truck and the website. Nevada requires the company name and license number in all advertising (NSCB). If you can't find it anywhere, that alone is your answer.
- Look it up on the Nevada State Contractors Board site. Search by license number or business name.
- Check four things: that the license is active, that the classification covers your kind of work, that the monetary limit is above your project's value, and that the name on the license matches the name on your contract.
The three things people miss
1. Classification, not just "licensed"
Nevada licenses are issued by classification. Advertising as a contractor requires a license in the appropriate classification for the work (NSCB). A licensed contractor is not automatically licensed for your job. If someone with a landscaping classification offers to reroute your plumbing, the license does not cover that.
2. The monetary limit
Every Nevada license carries a limit on the value of a single project. A contractor whose limit sits below your project's cost cannot legally take the whole job. Reputable contractors will tell you this up front and bring in a partner. Ask directly: "What's your limit, and is my project under it?"
3. The name on the contract
The entity you sign with should be the exact entity holding the license. A common problem is signing with an individual or a differently-named LLC while being shown a license belonging to another company. If the names don't match, you may have no license protection at all.
An unlicensed person who advertises construction work is required by Nevada law to state in the advertisement that they are not licensed under NRS 624 (NSCB). Most don't. If a bid is dramatically lower than the others and there is no license number anywhere, those two facts are usually related.
What a license does not tell you
It tells you the contractor is legally permitted to do the work and is accountable to a state board. It does not tell you whether they are good, whether they will show up, or whether they will finish on time. For that, ask for three addresses of jobs completed in the last year in your part of the valley, and go look at them.
Verify the license, then verify the work. The first takes 90 seconds. The second takes an afternoon and saves people tens of thousands of dollars.
Sources
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