Nevada · Plumbing licensing · official-source guide
Nevada licenses plumbing at state level through the Nevada State Contractors Board, and it licenses the contracting business by classification rather than the individual plumber. The plumbing codes are C-1 and subclassification C-1d under NAC 624.190. Every license carries a monetary limit set by the board and backed by a bond of $1,000 to $500,000 under NRS 624.270.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-09-11. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
NRS 624.040 creates the State Contractors' Board and sets it at seven members appointed by the Governor. The agency operates as the Nevada State Contractors Board, with offices at 5390 Kietzke Lane, Suite 102 in Reno and 8400 West Sunset Road, Suite 150 in Las Vegas. What the board issues is a contractor's license in a classification. It is not a plumber's card. Nevada has no state journeyman plumber license and no state master plumber license. The credential attaches to the contracting entity, which may be a natural person, a partnership, a corporation or a limited-liability company. The entity qualifies through a person. NRS 624.260 subsection 2 lets a firm qualify by the appearance of a responsible managing officer or employee. Subsection 3 requires that person to make technical and administrative decisions, to hire and direct other employees, and to devote himself or herself solely to the employer's business. Subsection 5 bars one natural person from qualifying more than one active license unless someone owns at least 25 percent of each licensee, or one licensee owns at least 25 percent of the other. The individual side of Nevada plumbing is handled locally rather than by the state. Clark County and the City of Reno both require a journeyman certification for a person working without supervision, and both point at certification issued through the Nevada Board of Plumbing Examiners. So a plumbing company in Nevada carries a state license, and the people swinging tools for it carry local journeyman cards.
Sourcesleg.state.nv.us 1nvcontractorsboard.com 2clarkcountynv.gov 3reno.gov 4
NAC 624.190 is the rule to read. It creates classification C-1, plumbing and heating contracting, and states that a holder of the full C-1 license may perform any of the work authorized for the subclassifications beneath it. Eleven subclassifications sit under C-1. C-1a is boilers. C-1b is fire sprinklers. C-1c is insulation of pipes and ducts. C-1d is plumbing. C-1e is sheet metal. C-1f is heating, cooling and circulating air. C-1g is pipes and vents for gas. C-1h is water heaters. C-1i is chilled-water piping. C-1j is systems to replenish breathing air for firefighters. C-1k is industrial piping. C-1d is the plumbing license most companies want. NAC 624.190 subsection 2 paragraph (d) authorizes installation and maintenance of material and fixtures creating sanitary conditions in buildings, roof drainage systems, hydronic heating systems not exceeding 200,000 British thermal units, irrigation systems, systems to heat potable water including solar equipment, a permanent means to supply gas for residential and industrial purposes, and pipes for compressed air, vacuums and gases for medical use. The same paragraph adds that a C-1d holder may install water and gas piping from the edge of a building to the utility meter. The board's own classifications page describes 42 subcategories inside Classification C and points readers to Chapter 624 of the Nevada Administrative Code for the scope of each one.
Nevada does something most states do not. Every license carries a dollar limit, and the limit is part of the license. NRS 624.220 subsection 2 requires the board to limit the field and scope of a licensed contractor by establishing a monetary limit on the license. The statute defines the limit as the maximum contract a licensed contractor may undertake on one or more construction contracts on a single construction site or subdivision site for a single client. The board sets it after weighing the factors in NRS 624.260 through 624.265: experience, financial responsibility and character. The board's application form tells applicants to state the specific monetary limit desired and says ranges are not accepted. The limit decides which financial statement you file. NAC 624.593 sets four tiers. At $25,000 or less, the statement may be prepared by an independent certified public accountant, submitted on a board form with a verifying affidavit, or prepared using accounting software under generally accepted accounting principles with the same affidavit. Above $25,000 but under $500,000, it must be compiled by an independent CPA within six months of filing, or reviewed or audited within one year. From $500,000 to under $1,000,000, the compiled option tightens to full disclosures. At $1,000,000 or more, only a reviewed or audited statement within one year will do. The board's requirements page adds that a bank verification form must accompany every application. The limit moves. NAC 624.669 covers a permanent increase and NAC 624.670 covers an increase for a single project, capped at five such requests. NRS 624.220 subsection 3 requires a single-project request at least five working days before the bid and approval before the bid goes in. NAC 624.640 subsection 1 supplies the consequence: a bid or contract outside the scope or over the limit is void.
Sourcesleg.state.nv.us 1leg.state.nv.us 2nvcontractorsboard.com 3nvcontractorsboard.com 4
NRS 624.270 subsection 1 requires every applicant to file a surety bond with the board or, in lieu of a bond, establish a cash deposit. Subsection 4 fixes the range. The amount is set by the board with reference to the contractor's financial and professional responsibility and the magnitude of operations, but must be not less than $1,000 and not more than $500,000. The bond must be continuous, and total aggregate liability of the surety is limited to the face amount no matter how many years the bond stays in force. The surety's long-term debt obligations must be rated A or better by a nationally recognized rating agency. The board's bonds page repeats the $1,000 to $500,000 range and lists the factors it weighs: the type of license requested, the monetary limit granted, past, present or future financial responsibility, experience, and character of the applicant. So the bond is not published as a fixed table for plumbing. It is set case by case against the limit you asked for. A cash deposit costs extra. The board charges a $200 cash bond administration fee when the deposit is submitted and again at every renewal. NRS 624.270 subsection 5 is the relief valve. After a licensee has acted as a licensed contractor in Nevada for not less than five consecutive years, the board may relieve the licensee of the bond or cash deposit requirement. Subsection 6 pulls it back if the Labor Commissioner reports three substantiated wage claims in a two-year period.
Sourcesleg.state.nv.us 1nvcontractorsboard.com 2nvcontractorsboard.com 3
NRS 624.260 subsection 6 sets the bar. Each applicant for licensure as a contractor must have had, within the 15 years immediately preceding the filing of the application, at least four years of experience as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the specific classification in which the applicant is applying. For a plumbing company, that means four years in plumbing, not four years in construction generally. School counts, up to a point. The same subsection allows training received in a program offered at an accredited college or university, or an equivalent program accepted by the board, to satisfy not more than three years of the requirement. NAC 624.590 subsection 4 runs a parallel path under NRS 622.087, granting not more than three years of credit for a completed occupational, vocational, career, trade or technical education program that the board and the State Board of Education approve and that trained in a discipline substantially similar to the classification applied for. Subsection 7 waives the fifteen year window for an applicant who has previously qualified for a contractor's license in the same classification. NRS 624.260 subsection 8 defines journeyman as a person fully qualified to perform, without supervision, work in the classification applied for. The board's requirements page states the same four year rule and applies it to the qualified individual, so a firm satisfies it through the person who qualifies the license rather than through the entity itself.
Sourcesleg.state.nv.us 1leg.state.nv.us 2nvcontractorsboard.com 3
Every applicant faces two tests. The board's examinations page describes a general business and law examination, which it calls the CMS examination, and a trade examination specific to the classification applied for. PSI administers both. The board lists PSI at 1-855-205-5827 and directs candidates to its Nevada contractor page. Examinations run seven days a week in the Las Vegas area and on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in the Reno area, with a limited schedule in Elko. Scores are given immediately after the examination. The CMS examination is open book. Trade examinations are closed book except for certain code references, and the board publishes an exam content outline listing reference material. Attempts are limited. The board's requirements page states three attempts for each examination and a two week wait after a failure. The examinations page adds that after a third unsuccessful attempt the application becomes void and the candidate may reapply after a thirty day waiting period. NAC 624.600 subsection 1 requires the examination to be administered by an independent testing service. Subsection 2 lets the board waive the examination where the applicant or qualified employee has passed an examination offered by an endorsing state and approved under NAC 624.615. The board states plainly that Nevada will waive the trade examination for applicants who qualify for licensure by endorsement. The business and law examination is not waived.
Sourcesnvcontractorsboard.com 1nvcontractorsboard.com 2leg.state.nv.us 3
The board publishes its core numbers on the general requirements page. Applying costs a nonrefundable $300.00 application fee. Once the application is approved, the license fee is $600.00 for a two year license. Nevada does not issue one year licenses, so the same $600.00 comes due at every renewal. The application form repeats the $300.00 nonrefundable figure and states that examination fees are separate and paid directly to the board's exam provider. A cash deposit instead of a surety bond carries a $200.00 cash bond administration fee, charged at submission and again at each renewal. NAC 624.130 sets the smaller fees. A duplicate license is $25. A duplicate identification card is $10. A duplicate certificate of eligibility is $50. Considering an application to change the licensee's name is $250. Considering a conversion under chapter 92A of NRS is $300. Considering an application to increase a monetary limit for a single project is $75. Considering a request for a permanent increase or decrease of a monetary limit is $250. Considering a request to change the qualified person or other principal on a license is $250. A pamphlet of the contractor statutes and regulations is $5, a report on up to 500 current licensees is $100, and a report on more than 500 is $200. Residential contractors also owe a Residential Recovery Fund assessment, which is an assessment rather than a license fee.
Sourcesnvcontractorsboard.com 1nvcontractorsboard.com 2leg.state.nv.us 3
NRS 624.470 subsection 1 requires a residential contractor to pay the board an assessment in addition to the license fee, and prices it against the monetary limit on the license. Where the limit is not more than $1,000,000 the assessment is $200 per biennium. Where the limit is more than $1,000,000 but still limited it is $500 per biennium. Where the license is unlimited it is $1,000 per biennium. The board's general requirements page publishes the same three figures as $200.00, $500.00 and $1,000.00. That is the second place in Nevada where the limit you asked for costs you money directly. The first is the bond. The money is held separately and the board may call it the Recovery Fund. NRS 624.470 subsection 3 requires the board to reduce the assessment when the balance reaches 150 percent of the largest balance during the previous fiscal year. Subsection 4 restricts the money to paying claims by injured persons under NRS 624.400 to 624.560. NRS 624.480 gives an injured person four years after completion of qualified services to file a complaint seeking recovery. NRS 624.490 gives a person who has already obtained a judgment two years to apply to the board for satisfaction from the account. NRS 624.283 subsection 2 paragraph (c) makes the assessment part of renewal, so a residential plumbing contractor who forgets it has not renewed.
NRS 624.256 subsection 1 requires the board, before granting an original or renewal license, to collect proof of industrial insurance and insurance for occupational diseases covering the applicant's employees. A certificate of qualification as a self-insured employer issued by the Commissioner of Insurance satisfies it, as does a certificate issued to an association of self-insured employers. There is a fourth option and it is narrow. An applicant may file an affidavit affirming that chapters 616A to 616D and chapter 617 of NRS do not apply because the applicant has no employees, is not and does not intend to be a subcontractor for a principal contractor, and has not and does not intend to submit a bid on a job for a principal contractor or subcontractor. A plumbing company that subcontracts to general contractors cannot use it. Subsection 3 makes failure to file or maintain that coverage cause to deny, revoke, suspend, refuse to renew or otherwise discipline. Subsection 2 requires the board to notify the Fraud Control Unit for Industrial Insurance when it learns a licensee acted as a contractor without the coverage. What the board does not publish is a general liability insurance minimum for plumbing contractors. The financial protection Nevada requires of a plumbing contractor runs through the license bond under NRS 624.270 and the Residential Recovery Fund under NRS 624.470, not through a stated commercial general liability limit.
Sourcesleg.state.nv.us
NRS 624.283 subsection 1 expires each license two years after the date it is issued, subject to the board prescribing shorter or longer periods and prorated fees to run staggered biennial renewals. A license not renewed on or before the renewal date is automatically suspended. That is automatic, not discretionary. Subsection 2 lists what renewal takes: an application for renewal, the renewal fee fixed by the board, any Residential Recovery Fund assessment required under NRS 624.470 for a residential contractor, and all information required to complete the renewal. Subsection 3 lets the board require a demonstration of financial responsibility at any time through a CPA-prepared financial statement or a statement on a board form with a verifying affidavit, plus additional documentation where the licensee performs residential construction. Subsection 4 gives a suspended licensee six months from the date of suspension to file a renewal application and pay a reinstatement fee fixed by the board, provided the licensee is otherwise in good standing with no complaints pending. Where the licensee is not in good standing or a complaint is pending, the board requires more. NAC 624.630 sets the mechanics: the completed renewal application is due no later than the last day of the month in which the license expires, and where the board has requested a financial statement the package is due by the first day of that month. NAC 624.630 subsection 3 applies a late fee under NAC 624.130 to a licensee who fails to renew before expiration. Nevada does not impose continuing education on contractor licensees by statute in chapter 624.
NAC 624.615 requires the board to determine whether another state's contractor licensing requirements are substantially equivalent to Nevada's, to maintain a list of the states that qualify, and to publish that list on its website. The board publishes it as the State Equivalency Chart on its licensure by endorsement page. The states named there are Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. The board's four conditions are specific. You must hold an active license in the endorsing state, with the same qualified individual, for the past four years. You must not have been investigated for misconduct or disciplined in any state where you are licensed. You must have no disciplinary action or proceeding pending against you in any state or jurisdiction. And where the endorsing state does not offer an equivalent trade examination, you still sit Nevada's state-specific examination. NAC 624.590 subsection 3 carries the same conditions in rule form and adds that the endorsing state must verify the valid license on a board form. The business and law examination is not part of the deal. The board states that the qualified individual must still pass the Nevada Business and Law examination. NAC 624.615 subsections 2 and 3 also let the board approve experience obtained in a qualifying state and approve an examination taken and passed there.
NRS 624.700 subsection 1 makes it unlawful to engage in the business or act in the capacity of a contractor in Nevada, or to submit a bid on a job in Nevada, without an active license, unless exempt under NRS 624.031. The usual small-job escape does not cover plumbing. NRS 624.031 subsection 6 exempts repair or maintenance work worth less than $1,000 including labor and materials, but the exemption does not apply where a building permit is required or where the work is of a type performed by a plumbing, electrical, refrigeration, heating or air-conditioning contractor. Plumbing work is carved out by name. NRS 624.750 subsection 2 sets the criminal tiers. A first offense is a misdemeanor punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $4,000, with up to six months in county jail. A second offense is a gross misdemeanor punished by a fine of not less than $4,000 nor more than $10,000, with up to 364 days. A third or subsequent offense is a category E felony punished by a fine of not less than $10,000 nor more than $20,000, with one to four years in state prison. Subsection 3 allows a fine enhancement of up to 10 percent of the value of the contract entered into in violation. NRS 624.710 subsection 1 lets the board impose an administrative fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $50,000 for each violation. NRS 624.700 subsection 4 deems the bid or contract void ab initio.
Sourcesleg.state.nv.us
NRS 624.720 is short and it is enforced. Subsection 4 states that all advertising by a licensed contractor must include the name of the contractor's company and the number of the contractor's license. There is no exception for small ads, vehicle lettering or a website footer. Subsection 8 paragraph (a) defines advertising broadly. It includes the issuance of any sign, card or device, the permitting or allowing of any sign or marking on a motor vehicle, in any building, structure, newspaper, magazine or airway transmission, on the Internet, or in any directory under the listing of contractor, with or without limiting qualifications. A truck wrap, a Google Business Profile and a yard sign are all advertising. Subsection 1 makes it unlawful for any person, including a person otherwise exempt under NRS 624.031, to advertise as a contractor without a license in the appropriate classification. Subsection 2 requires an unlicensed person who advertises construction work to state in the advertisement that he or she is not licensed. Subsection 3 bars false or misleading statements of material fact in a licensed contractor's advertising. Subsection 5 bars advertising using a license number that does not correspond to a valid license issued to that person. The teeth are in subsections 6 and 7. After notice and a hearing under NRS 624.291, the board may order the person to cease and desist and to cause any telephone number in the advertising to be disconnected. If the person does not comply within five days, the board may ask the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to order the telephone provider to disconnect the number.
Nevada goes further than advertising. NAC 624.640 subsection 5 requires each licensee to include, in all bids submitted and all contracts entered into for construction work in Nevada, the number of the license and any monetary limit placed upon it. The limit goes on the paper, not just the number. That single rule is the one that surprises contractors moving into Nevada. A bid that omits the monetary limit is a rule violation, and a bid above the limit is void under NAC 624.640 subsection 1. The rest of NAC 624.640 sits alongside it. Subsection 2 requires a licensee to provide proof of licensure to any interested person. Subsection 3 requires written notice to the board within 30 days of any change in address or personnel that affects the accuracy of the statements in the application. Subsection 4 requires a licensee whose license was based in part on the employment of a particularly qualified person to keep employing that person. Subsection 6 requires the licensee to confirm that each person whose bid it considers is appropriately licensed, which puts the burden on the general contractor checking a plumbing sub, and on a plumbing contractor checking anyone it hires. The board's own guidance adds the physical requirement. The law requires the wall certificate to be displayed in the main office or chief place of business, and the pocket card should be carried when soliciting business. NAC 624.650 subsection 1 bars a licensee from permitting the contracting business to be operated by an unlicensed or unqualified person under power of attorney or otherwise.
The state license is not the last step. Clark County states that any person who wishes to operate a business in unincorporated Clark County is required by Clark County Code to obtain a business license, and directs contractors to the Multi-Jurisdictional Supplemental for New License Application form. The county's list of license categories and fees places contractors in Construction - Contractor (023-140) at $100 semi-annually, on May to October and November to April periods, and applies that same category to specialty trade contractors. The City of Las Vegas is explicit about sequence. Its contractor business license instructions tell applicants to obtain a Nevada state contractor's license in accordance with NRS Chapter 624 first, then show Secretary of State and Department of Taxation compliance and zoning verification. The city charges a $50.00 nonrefundable application fee and a semi-annual license fee of $125.00 for the City of Las Vegas as primary jurisdiction plus $100.00 for each additional secondary jurisdiction, and asks for the application 30 days before business begins. The people doing the work face a separate local rule. Clark County's building permit guide BPG-153 treats journeyman level as the minimum for an individual working without supervision and points at journeyman or master certification through the Nevada State Board of Plumbing Examiners, requiring the journeyman to remain on site while unlicensed or uncertified workers perform work. The City of Reno states that no person, company or corporation shall perform or allow any installations, alterations or additions of a plumbing system within the City of Reno unless done by a person holding a valid journeyman certificate, and points to Title 14 of the Reno Municipal Code.
Sourcesclarkcountynv.gov 1clarkcountynv.gov 2www5.lasvegasnevada.gov 3clarkcountynv.gov 4reno.gov 5
The board runs a public contractor license search and tells consumers to use it to confirm that a contractor is licensed and in good standing. The search lives at app.nvcontractorsboard.com and is linked from the board's home page. That matters commercially, not just legally. A Nevada homeowner who reads NRS 624.720 subsection 4 knows the license number is supposed to be in the advertisement, and the search turns that number into a status in a few seconds. Putting a valid, current number where people look is the cheapest trust signal a Nevada plumbing contractor has. What the search will not show is a journeyman card. Nevada does not issue one at state level, so a customer in Clark County or Reno who wants to check the person rather than the company is checking a local certification instead. NAC 624.640 subsection 2 backs the search up by requiring a licensee to provide proof of licensure to any interested person on request. The classification code is worth checking too. A company holding C-1h, water heaters, is licensed for water heater installation, replacement and repair and the incidental connections, not for the full plumbing scope in C-1d. A company holding C-1g is licensed for gas piping and vents. A customer who compares the code on the license to the job in front of them is doing the same check NAC 624.640 subsection 6 requires contractors to do on each other.
Sourcesapp.nvcontractorsboard.com 1nvcontractorsboard.com 2leg.state.nv.us 3leg.state.nv.us 4
These are common details other guides publish about Nevada, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
Nevada licenses plumbing contractors at state level through the Nevada State Contractors Board, created by NRS 624.040. It licenses the contracting business by classification, not the individual tradesperson. There is no state journeyman or master plumber license. Journeyman certification for individuals is required locally, including by Clark County and the City of Reno.
NAC 624.190 creates classification C-1, plumbing and heating contracting, and subclassification C-1d for plumbing. A C-1 holder may perform any work authorized for the subclassifications. Related codes include C-1g for gas pipes and vents, C-1h for water heaters, C-1a for boilers and C-1b for fire sprinklers.
NRS 624.220 subsection 2 defines it as the maximum contract a licensee may undertake on one or more construction contracts on a single construction site or subdivision site for a single client. The board sets it after weighing experience, financial responsibility and character. NAC 624.640 subsection 1 voids any bid or contract that exceeds it.
NRS 624.270 subsection 4 requires not less than $1,000 and not more than $500,000, fixed by the board against the contractor's financial and professional responsibility and the magnitude of operations. The board's bonds page lists the type of license, the monetary limit granted, financial responsibility, experience and character as the factors it weighs.
The board publishes a nonrefundable application fee of $300.00 and a license fee of $600.00 for a two year license, with the same $600.00 due at renewal. A cash deposit in place of a surety bond adds a $200.00 cash bond administration fee at submission and at each renewal. Examination fees are paid separately to the exam provider.
NRS 624.470 subsection 1 requires residential contractors to pay a biennial assessment priced off the monetary limit: $200 where the limit is not more than $1,000,000, $500 where it is more than $1,000,000 but still limited, and $1,000 for an unlimited license. It funds claims by injured persons under NRS 624.400 to 624.560.
NRS 624.260 subsection 6 requires at least four years within the preceding 15 years as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the specific classification applied for. Accredited college or university training, or an equivalent program the board accepts, may satisfy not more than three of those four years.
Two. A general business and law examination the board calls the CMS examination, and a trade examination for the classification applied for. PSI administers both and gives the score immediately. The CMS examination is open book; trade examinations are closed book except for certain code references.
The board's State Equivalency Chart names Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. You must have held an active license in the endorsing state with the same qualified individual for the past four years. The trade exam may be waived; the business and law exam is not.
No. NRS 624.031 subsection 6 exempts repair or maintenance work worth less than $1,000 including labor and materials, but the exemption does not apply where a building permit is required or where the work is of a type performed by a plumbing, electrical, refrigeration, heating or air-conditioning contractor. Plumbing is excluded by name.
NRS 624.720 subsection 4 requires all advertising by a licensed contractor to include the company name and the license number. Subsection 8 defines advertising to include vehicle markings, signs, print, broadcast, the Internet and directory listings. The board may order the advertiser to cease and desist and have the advertised telephone number disconnected.
NAC 624.640 subsection 5 requires every bid submitted and every contract entered into for construction work in Nevada to carry the license number and any monetary limit placed on the license. The monetary limit is the part contractors most often leave off.
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