How to get a general contractor license in Nevada

Licensing office Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) · (702) 486-1100 [1][10]

The license pathway in Nevada

1. 1

   Crew member or apprentice (no license)

   You work for a licensed contractor, which does its work through its employees. Registered apprentices sign an agreement under a program registered with the State Apprenticeship Council. [5][17]

2. 2

   B-7 restricted license (residential remodeling)

   • 2 years of experience
   • A business counseling course completed within the year before applying
   • Business and Law (CMS) exam
   • Valid 2 years, renewable

   Created by SB130 (effective October 1, 2025): remodeling and improving an existing single-family home, without adding enclosed space or doing life safety trades, on jobs up to $7,000 including labor and materials. You need 2 years of trade experience and a bond of at least $2,000. [9][10]

3. 3

   B-2 Residential and Small Commercial

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: Business and Law (CMS) exam plus a trade exam (PSI); NASCLA General Building exam accepted for the trade exam
   • $300 application; $600 license (2 years); exam fees extra
   • Every 2 years; $600

   Build and remodel houses and other structures no more than three stories above ground and one below. Minimum monetary limit $200,000. [2][3][4][10][13]

4. 4

   B General Building

   • 4 years of experience
   • Yes: Business and Law (CMS) exam plus a trade exam (PSI); NASCLA General Building exam accepted for the trade exam
   • $300 application; $600 license (2 years); exam fees extra
   • Every 2 years; $600

   Prime contractor on buildings that need more than two unrelated trades. A B contractor can't perform plumbing, electrical, refrigeration and air-conditioning or fire protection work without the specialty license. Minimum monetary limit $200,000. [3][4][7][10][13]

Who needs a license in Nevada

Nevada law defines a contractor as anyone who builds, alters, repairs or demolishes any building or structure, personally or "by or through" employees, and that includes subcontractors and construction managers. All contractors must be licensed before they bid, offer to do work or negotiate a price.

Small repairs under $1,000 (labor and materials) are exempt, but not if the job needs a building permit, is plumbing, electrical, refrigeration, heating or air-conditioning work, or is part of a larger project of $500 or more. Homeowners building or improving their own home for their own use can apply to the NSCB for an owner-builder exemption. [1][5][6]

The license classes

• B General Building: the prime contractor on buildings whose construction needs more than two unrelated trades. A B contractor can't do plumbing, electrical, refrigeration and air-conditioning or fire protection without the specialty license.
• B-2 Residential and Small Commercial: construction and remodeling of houses and other structures no more than three stories above ground and one below.
• Other B subclasses: B-1 premanufactured housing, B-3 speculative building, B-4 service stations, B-5 prefabricated steel structures, B-6 commercial remodeling and B-7 residential remodeling.
• A General Engineering: fixed works such as highways, bridges, pipelines and sewers; AB covers both.

B-7 restricted license (since October 1, 2025). SB130 created a restricted license for remodeling and improving an existing single-family home (up to three stories above ground) without adding enclosed space, on jobs up to $7,000 including labor and materials and with no life safety trades. It requires 2 years of trade experience (work, apprenticeship or college training), a business counseling course taken within the year before applying, the Business and Law exam and a bond of at least $2,000. It lasts 2 years; after 2 years you can apply for a regular license. [2][7][8][9][10]

Experience and the qualified individual

The license belongs to the business, which names a qualified individual: an owner, officer, member, manager or employee who oversees the day-to-day business and the work. That person needs at least four full years of experience "as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor" in the classification, within the 15 years before applying. Nevada law defines a journeyman as someone fully qualified to work unsupervised in the classification, or who finished an apprenticeship approved by the State Apprenticeship Council (or an equivalent the NSCB accepts).

You prove it with four Certification of Work Experience forms (from employers, general contractors, subcontractors or customers; relatives only if they were your employer), totaling at least 1,460 days. A current master's certification from a government agency or transferable military experience also works. College or equivalent training, including apprenticeship certificates, can count for up to 3 years. There's no education requirement. [1][3][10][11]

The exams

The qualified individual takes the Business and Law (CMS) exam, which is open book (you may use the Construction Business and Law Manual for Nevada), and a trade exam for the classification, closed book except for listed code references. PSI gives both, with test centers in Las Vegas, Reno and Elko and PSI sites in other states. You can schedule only after the NSCB verifies your experience and sends an exam eligibility form.

You get three tries at each exam, two weeks apart, and must pass within 6 months of applying. For B and B-2, a passing NASCLA Accredited Commercial General Building exam score replaces the trade exam. [1][4][10][12]

Money: fees, financial statement, bond, monetary limit

• Fees: $300 application (not refundable) and $600 for the 2-year license; renewal is $600.
• Monetary limit: the largest contract you may take on one site for one client. B and B-2 need at least $200,000.
• Financial statement: always required. Up to $25,000, a self-prepared statement on the NSCB form is allowed; above $25,000 it must come from an independent CPA (compiled, reviewed or audited), and from $1,000,000 it must be CPA-reviewed or audited. A bank verification form goes with it.
• Bond: set at approval, from $1,000 to $500,000.
• Residential Recovery Fund: if you work on owner-occupied single-family homes, $200 every two years for limits up to $1,000,000, $500 above that, $1,000 for unlimited.
• Workers' compensation: proof of coverage, unless exempt.

[1][10][11][13]

If you're licensed in another state

The NSCB waives the trade exam and experience paperwork for a qualified individual who has held the matching license for the past four years with no discipline. For B General Building, the listed matches are Alabama BC, Arizona KB (commercial and residential building), California B, Louisiana Building Construction, New Mexico GB-98, North Carolina Building, South Carolina BD and Tennessee BC-B; Florida CG, Hawaii B and West Virginia B count for experience only. For B-2, Alabama BCU4, Arizona KB-2 and California B qualify. Everyone takes the Nevada Business and Law exam, and your endorsing state fills out a Request for Verification of Licensure. More: license reciprocity.

Any-state routes. Nevada law (NRS 622.530) tells state licensing boards to adopt rules for licensure by endorsement of people licensed in any state with substantially similar qualifications; the NSCB's rule works through its list of equivalent states above. Separately, through December 31, 2029, NRS 624.242 (Nevada Revised Statutes) lets a contractor licensed for at least 4 consecutive years in any state get a no-fee Nevada license by endorsement, but only for attainable housing projects in rural areas. [10][12][14][15][16]

Steps to get licensed in Nevada

1. Build four years of experience

   Work as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee or contractor in the classification you want for at least 4 years within the last 15. Apprenticeship or college training can count for up to 3 years. [1][3]

2. Set up the business and choose a monetary limit

   Licenses go to individuals, partnerships, corporations or LLCs (short for limited liability company), and each names a qualified individual. Pick a monetary limit (at least $200,000 for B and B-2) and prepare the financial statement it calls for: prepared by an independent CPA (compiled, reviewed or audited) above $25,000, and CPA-reviewed or audited at $1,000,000 or more. [1][10]

3. Apply to the NSCB

   Submit the new license application with the $300 fee, four Certification of Work Experience forms, a resume of experience, background disclosure forms, IDs, the financial statement and a bank verification form. [1][10]

4. Pass the exams

   After the NSCB verifies your experience, schedule the Business and Law (open book) and trade exams with PSI. You have three tries at each and 6 months from applying to pass. [4][10]

5. Post the bond and pay the license fee

   After approval the NSCB tells you the bond amount ($1,000 to $500,000). Pay the $600 license fee and any residential recovery fund assessment, and show workers' compensation coverage. [1][11][13]

Where to get the hours

Programs that train general contractors in or for Nevada, from their own official pages. Listed by type, not ranked.

• Union

  Carpenters JATCs, Southern and Northern Nevada (Western States Carpenters Training Fund)

  Union carpenter, drywall, scaffold, millwright and floor-layer apprenticeships in Clark County and Washoe County. No prior experience needed. [18][19]

• Open shop

  ABC Nevada carpentry apprenticeship (Las Vegas)

  A state- and federally approved carpentry program: work 40 hours a week for an ABC member contractor and attend class one night a week, earning college credit. [19][20]

• State program

  Nevada registered apprenticeship (Office of the Labor Commissioner)

  Nevada's state apprenticeship agency; its list of current programs gives contacts for each registered construction program. [19][21]

Licensed in another state?

Questions people ask