Four Years of Experience, Three Kinds of Doubt
Marisol owns Sierra Ridge Integration LLC and applies to the Nevada State Contractors Board for a low-voltage contractor license. The classification requires four years of verifiable, full-time experience. Marisol submits 20 months installing cameras and alarm panels for an unlicensed sole proprietor who paid her in cash and never pulled permits; 14 months as a low-voltage technician for a licensed electrical contractor, documented by W-2s and a letter from the qualifier; 10 months as a project manager whose duties were quoting, scheduling, and ordering material, with no field installation; and 4 months of unpaid work for her own LLC before it had a license. She also disclosed a 2018 misdemeanor theft conviction. Her credit report shows a 2022 supplier judgment. The Board requests clarification. Marisol says the total exceeds four years and that the theft was a long time ago.
1. How should the Board evaluate whether Marisol's experience satisfies the four-year requirement? Identify which periods count, which do not, and what evidence would strengthen the application.
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Treat the four-year requirement as a test of verifiable, hands-on trade experience, not calendar time. Apply it period by period:
- Unlicensed sole proprietor, 20 months: cash pay with no permits or payroll records is weak evidence. The Board may exclude it entirely or count only the portion she can prove through contracts, inspection records, customer affidavits, tax returns, or photographs. Work performed for an unlicensed contractor is especially vulnerable because it may itself have been unlawful.
- Licensed electrical contractor, 14 months: this is the strongest block. W-2s, the qualifier's letter, job descriptions, and permit or inspection records support it.
- Project manager, 10 months: quoting, scheduling, and ordering are not installation experience. Count it only if she can show regular field work, such as terminating cable or commissioning systems, and a witness confirms it.
- Own LLC before licensure, 4 months: generally not countable. She was not working under a licensed contractor, and the entity was not licensed.
The arithmetic may exceed four years, but the creditable total is likely 14 months plus whatever field time she can prove. She should submit tax records, permits, employer letters, and a detailed day-to-day description. The burden is on the applicant, and vague totals do not satisfy a verifiable-experience rule.
2. Does the 2018 misdemeanor theft conviction automatically disqualify Marisol? How should the Board analyze it, and what should she submit?
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A 2018 theft conviction is not an automatic bar. The Board will ask whether the offense is substantially related to the work of a contractor. Theft touches honesty and control of customer deposits and materials, so it is relevant, but the Board must also weigh:
- time since conviction and completion of sentence;
- evidence of rehabilitation, such as steady employment, treatment, references, and no later offenses;
- candor and completeness of the disclosure;
- the supplier judgment, which raises a separate financial-responsibility question but is also not automatically disqualifying.
Marisol should supply certified court records, proof of sentence completion, a written explanation, letters from employers and community references, and a payment plan or satisfaction for the judgment if possible. The Board could approve, deny, or approve with conditions such as a probationary period, additional bonding, or financial reporting. Concealment or minimizing the record would be worse than the conviction itself.