Nevada Contractor Licensing Law and Regulations (NRS 624 / NAC 624)
One license, one scope, one limit
Nevada licenses contractors through the State Contractors Board under NRS 624 and NAC 624. Three concepts drive most questions: the classification (what work), the monetary limit (how large a single contract may be), and the qualifying party (who is responsible).
Class A is general engineering; Class B is general building; B-2 is residential and small commercial (generally structures of three stories or fewer); Class C licenses are specialty trades. A contractor may perform only work within its licensed classification and may bid or contract only within its monetary limit.
The qualifying party is the individual who passed the examination and supervises the work. That person must be an owner, officer, partner, or employee actively engaged in the business - a name on paper is a violation.
Traps: assuming a local business license authorizes contracting (it does not); assuming a small handyman exemption (Nevada requires a license for contracting work at or above the statutory threshold, commonly cited as $1,000 in labor and materials); using another person's license; bidding above the monetary limit intending to raise it later - the bid itself can be a violation; omitting the license number from contracts, bids, and advertising; letting the contractor's bond or insurance lapse, which suspends the license.
Residential work carries extra rules: a written contract with required notices, cancellation rights, and limits on deposits. Abandoning a job, diverting funds, failing to pay subcontractors, code violations, and dishonest dealing are all grounds for discipline; the Board investigates complaints and may fine, suspend, revoke, or order corrective action.
Worked example: a B-2 licensee with a $400,000 limit is invited to bid a $600,000, four-story project. There are two independent problems - the amount exceeds the limit and the height exceeds the B-2 scope. The fix is a limit increase supported by financial statements plus the correct classification, not a bid and a hope.