Nevada C-5 Concrete Contractor License Requirements (2026)

Regulatory Body

Under Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapter 624; Nevada Administrative Code (NAC) Chapter 624, Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) is the body that issues this license and enforces compliance with it. NSCB licenses all contractors performing work in Nevada under NRS 624, sets monetary limits tied to financial capacity, administers trade and business-and-law examinations through PSI, investigates complaints, and conducts disciplinary proceedings statewide.

Official portal: https://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/
Address: 2310 Corporate Circle, Suite 200, Henderson, NV 89074 (Southern office); 5390 Kietzke Lane, Suite 102, Reno, NV 89511 (Northern office)
Phone: (702) 486-1100 (Southern); (775) 688-1141 (Northern)

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Check the current application for identification and tax-number requirements. NSCB permits sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations to apply. All people listed on the application must be at least 18, and corporations, limited partnerships, and LLCs must be registered and in good standing with the Nevada Secretary of State. The current materials do not impose a Nevada-residency rule.

See the official sources for this guide

Good moral character

Nevada requires the applicant, licensee, listed officers/associates, and qualifying person to possess good character. NSCB evaluates the application’s background disclosures and financial responsibility under NRS chapter 624.

Background investigation

Each person listed on the application, including qualified individuals, must submit the current Background Disclosure Statement and Fingerprint Authorization with required supporting documentation. This is broader than a qualifier-only fingerprint requirement.

Experience and Education

Eligibility requires 4 years of The trade qualified individual needs at least four full years, gained within the 15 years immediately before filing, as a journeyman, foreman/supervising employee, or contractor in the requested C-5 classification. The qualifier must be a bona fide member or employee actively engaged in the contracting business., documented and independently verifiable. Payroll, tax, project, and supervisor records are the usual proof the board will accept.

Accepted proof of experience or eligibility

Four Certification of Work Experience forms for each trade qualifier, plus the Resume of Experience
If relying on self-employment, a customer list with complete mailing addresses and phone numbers
Nevada Business ID, financial statement, background disclosure, and fingerprint authorization
Current Secretary of State and fictitious-name documents when applicable

Education substitution

NSCB allows accepted accredited-college, university, apprenticeship, or equivalent training to satisfy up to three years of the experience requirement when documented. It does not eliminate the need for classification-specific qualification.

Exam Requirements

This credential carries no state-administered written exam under the cited sources. What governs instead is: PSI Licensure (PSI), after NSCB receives the application and verifies the qualifying experience.

Examination fee: The management qualified individual normally takes the Business and Law (CMS) examination and the trade qualified individual normally takes the C-5 trade examination, unless NSCB grants a waiver. PSI’s current candidate bulletin controls examination fees, content, question counts, passing standards, reference lists, and testing format.

Retake policy: A candidate must wait two weeks after an unsuccessful attempt. After three failed attempts on an examination, the application is void; the applicant may reapply with the applicable fee after 30 days. NSCB’s current materials allow trade-exam and experience-certification waivers in specified circumstances.

Insurance and Bonds

See the official sources for this guide

The cited state source set does not require a contractor license surety bond for this credential. Contractors should still confirm project-specific bond, permit-bond, or public-works bond requirements before bidding.

General liability

The current NSCB C-5 licensing materials expressly require the Board-set contractor bond and proof of workers’ compensation compliance or an exemption affidavit; they do not state one universal C-5 general-liability minimum. A permit authority, owner, lender, insurer, or public contract may separately require liability coverage.

Workers' compensation

All contractors must provide proof of industrial-insurance (workers’ compensation) compliance to obtain, maintain, reactivate, or renew a license unless exempt and filing the Board affidavit. If an employee serves as the qualifier, workers’ compensation is required.

Additional financial requirements

A financial statement is required at every requested monetary limit. NSCB uses it to assess financial responsibility and the requested limit. The preparation level varies: self-prepared or compiled statements may be used at $25,000 or less; higher limits require the specified independent-CPA compiled, reviewed, or audited statement and currentness period. A bank verification form is also required.

Fee Schedule

Fee	Amount
Application (non-refundable)	$300
Initial license	$600
Renewal (every 2 years)	$600

See the official sources for this guide

To turn these board fees into a realistic year-one budget — bond premium, liability insurance, and exam prep included — open the cost calculator preloaded for Nevada concrete contractor.

Renewal and Continuing Education

Expect to renew the Nevada C-5 Concrete Contracting License every 2 years. Renewal currently costs $600. Maintain a continuous Board-required bond and workers’ compensation compliance/exemption. The current NSCB license fee is $600 for two years; renewal also requires the business, qualifier, financial, and other Board conditions to remain current.

Continuing education: The cited current NSCB C-5 materials do not establish a general continuing-education requirement. Confirm any classification, Board, or local change before renewal.

Reciprocity

See the official sources for this guide

Nevada does not accept the NASCLA Accredited Examination for this classification.

Reciprocal State	Accepted Exam	Conditions
No formal bilateral reciprocity agreements identified.

Nevada does not present C-5 as a NASCLA path. Its licensure-by-endorsement chart identifies specific out-of-state C-5 equivalents and separately evaluates experience certification and trade-exam equivalency. The endorsing license must meet the chart’s active-licensure, verification, and discipline conditions; NSCB decides the result.

Weighing more than one jurisdiction? The national hub compares Concrete Contractor license requirements in every state — exam, bond, fee, and experience thresholds side by side.

Concrete Contractor Licensing in Neighboring States

Contractors working near a state line, or weighing where to qualify first, should compare Nevada's requirements against the bordering jurisdictions before committing to an application:

Arizona Concrete Contractor License Requirements — Arizona Concrete Contractor License — Arizona Registrar of Contractors (C-9 / R-9 / CR-9)
California Concrete Contractor License Requirements — California Class C-8 — Concrete Contractor
Idaho Concrete Contractor License Requirements — Idaho Concrete Contractor Registration — No Separate Concrete License
Oregon Concrete Contractor License Requirements — Oregon Construction Contractor License — No Separate Concrete Classification
Utah Concrete Contractor License Requirements — Utah S260 Asphalt & Concrete Contractor — Division of Professional Licensing

Step-by-Step Application Roadmap

Match the job to the C-5 scope. Use the official C-5 text to separate concrete work from other trades. C-5 includes integral reinforcement, forms, placement/finishing, sealants/waterproofing, and concrete/asphaltic-paving cutting, drilling, and coring.
Check licensing and exemption rules before bidding. NRS 624.031 has a limited repair-or-maintenance exemption below $1,000 including labor and materials. It does not apply if a permit is required, the work is within a listed exception, it is part of a larger or evasively split project, or it is performed by a licensee or licensee employee. Confirm the facts with NSCB before relying on it.
Appoint and document the qualified individuals. Identify the management and trade qualified individuals (one person may serve both roles if qualified). Document the trade qualifier’s four years of C-5 experience within the past 15 years with four work-experience certificates and the resume.
Prepare the business, disclosure, and financial file. Obtain the Nevada Business ID, record any fictitious name, submit the background/fingerprint authorization for every listed person, and prepare the financial statement and bank verification for the requested monetary limit.
Apply and complete the required PSI examinations. File the $300 application. After NSCB verifies experience and issues eligibility, schedule the CMS and C-5 examinations that apply; use the current PSI bulletin rather than historical test figures.
Meet issuance conditions. After approval, pay the $600 biennial license fee, file the Board-required bond or cash deposit, and provide workers’ compensation compliance or the applicable exemption affidavit.
Work within class and monetary limit. The monetary limit caps the aggregate amount of one or more contracts at a single site or subdivision site for one client. Keep both the license classification and financial/bond support aligned with the actual work.
Renew and update the Board when circumstances change. Renew on the biennial cycle and maintain the continuous bond, workers’ compensation compliance, business standing, qualified-person relationship, and monetary-limit support.

Application Checklist

These are the pieces to lock down before filing with NSCB:

Common Filing Mistakes

Drawn from the board instructions and sources cited on this page, the pitfalls below are the ones most likely to slow down or sink a Nevada Concrete Contractor application.

Using the old 10-year experience window

NSCB now describes the four years as experience gained within the 15 years before filing, and requires classification-specific documentation.

Treating the $1,000 exemption as automatic

The statutory exception is for repair or maintenance and has permit, scope, larger-project, split-contract, and licensed-contractor restrictions. It is not a general concrete contracting threshold.

Using a fixed $5,000 bond figure

NSCB sets each bond at approval; its current published range is $1,000 to $500,000, based on the applicant and requested limit.

Assuming one CPA statement fits every limit

Every application needs a financial statement, and the required preparation level changes with the requested monetary limit. Include bank verification.

Relying on old PSI numbers or an automatic reciprocal waiver

PSI’s current bulletin controls test specifics. Nevada’s endorsement process is chart- and applicant-specific, and NSCB determines any experience or trade-exam waiver.

Study and Reference Materials

The references below are either cited by the board, used during the application, or standard preparation for the trade. They are listed purely for convenience — CLR earns no commission on any of them.

NAC § 624.230 — Nevada Legislature. Official C-5 scope; use it to screen concrete, reinforcement, formwork, sealant, waterproofing, cutting, drilling, and coring work.
NSCB license requirements — Nevada State Contractors Board. Current experience, financial-statement, bond, monetary-limit, waiver, and renewal framework.
PSI Nevada Class C candidate information bulletin — PSI Licensure. Use the current C-5/CMS bulletin for fees, content outline, reference list, testing rules, and accommodations.
NRS § 624.031 exemptions — Nevada Legislature / NSCB. Read every condition before relying on the limited repair-or-maintenance exemption.

Other Nevada Trade Licenses

If the Concrete Contractor license is not the right fit, the following published Nevada trade guides are also covered by CLR:

Frequently Asked Questions

What work does Nevada C-5 Concrete Contracting cover?

C-5 covers surface preparation and integral reinforcement/embedded materials; pouring, placing, finishing, and installing concrete; forms, molds, slipforms, and pans; concrete sealants and waterproofing products; and sawing, cutting, drilling, and coring concrete and asphaltic paving material.

Does Nevada have a project-value exemption for concrete work?

Nevada has a narrow exemption for repair or maintenance under $1,000 including labor and materials, but it has major exceptions, including where a building permit is required, the work falls into a statutory exception, it is part of a larger or evasively divided project, or it is performed by a licensee or a licensee’s employee. Confirm the exemption before relying on it.

How much C-5 experience is required?

The trade qualified individual needs four full years within the previous 15 years as a journeyman, supervising employee, or contractor in the requested classification. NSCB normally requires four work-experience certificates and a resume.

What is a Nevada contractor monetary limit?

It is the maximum amount the contractor may undertake on one or more construction contracts at one construction or subdivision site for one client. NSCB bases the limit on its financial-responsibility review.

Is the C-5 bond always $5,000?

No. NSCB sets the bond at approval based on the license type, monetary limit, financial responsibility, experience, and character. The current published range is $1,000 to $500,000.

Primary Sources

Regulatory requirements on this page are drawn from the official board, statute, and exam-provider materials listed below.

Verified 2026-09-08 · Next scheduled review 2026-12-07

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Corrections and presentation updates

2026-09-08: Shared template updated to distinguish unspecified eligibility requirements, retain cost qualifications, and use consistent headings. Source-check dates are unchanged by presentation updates.