How to check a Nevada contractor’s license

Start with the number

Nevada law requires a licensed contractor to show its license number in its advertising, and the statute counts signs, vehicles and the internet as advertising (NRS 624.720). If a company quoting your project shows no number anywhere, ask for it.

Then look it up on the Nevada State Contractors Board’s license search, by number or by business name. The record shows whether the license is active and which classifications it carries.

Match the classification to the work

Nevada issues licenses by classification. A general building license lets a contractor take on a whole project; the B-2 classification covers residential and small commercial building, up to three stories above ground and one below.

Specialty licenses are narrower. C-3 covers carpentry and C-17 covers lathing and plastering, for example. A specialty license on its own does not cover a whole remodel, so check that the classification on the record fits the job you are hiring for.

Read the monetary limit

Each license carries a monetary limit, which the Board defines as the maximum a contractor may undertake on one or more contracts on a single site for a single client. It appears on the license record.

A contractor can apply to the Board to raise its limit. If your project is larger than the number you see, ask about it before you sign.

Look past the license itself

The Board also publishes its disciplinary actions in a public search. Run the contractor through that one too, since an active license only means the contractor may work today, and the disciplinary search shows whether the Board has acted against it before.

Small jobs and the $1,000 line

Nevada lets someone without a contractor’s license do repair and maintenance work worth less than $1,000, counting labor and materials together. The Board’s handyman exemption stops there: it does not cover work that needs a building permit, it excludes certain types of work, and a job of $1,000 or more needs a licensed contractor.

What a license protects

If you live in a single-family home and hire a licensed residential contractor who fails to do the work adequately, the Board’s Residential Recovery Fund may pay you for your actual damages. The Board caps a claim at $40,000, and you have to file a complaint within four years after the work is finished.

The Board will not pay from the fund if you hired an unlicensed contractor, so look the number up before anyone starts work on your house.

Checking NeXGen

NeXGen Custom Builders holds three Nevada licenses: B-2 General Building #0091645, C-17 Lath & Plaster #0092664 and C-3 Carpentry #0092662. You can look each one up the same way.