Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) administers HVAC contractor licensing in Nevada. Every figure below is verified against the board’s own official pages and dated. Who must personally hold a credential — the contractor, the business, or the individual worker — is set out under Requirements.
What it’s called
In Nevada the state HVAC credential is a specialty contractor license issued by the State Contractors Board (NSCB) - classification C-21, ‘Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning,’ with subclassifications C-21a (Refrigeration), C-21b (Air-Conditioning), C-21c (Sheet Metal), C-21d (Maintenance), C-21e (Solar Air-Conditioning), C-21f (Chilled and Hot Water Systems) and C-21g (Industrial Piping). Searchers commonly call it an ‘HVAC license,’ ‘AC license,’ ‘air conditioning license,’ ‘C-21 license’ or ‘C-21b license’ - all informal names for this NSCB refrigeration-and-air-conditioning specialty classification. Because the license belongs to the business and not the qualifying party (NSCB), there is no individual Nevada ‘HVAC technician license’ for an employed technician: the state licenses the contracting company through a trade-qualified individual, and employees work under that license. Separately, federal EPA Section 608 certification (to handle refrigerants) is a nationwide U.S. EPA requirement held by the individual technician, and it is not a Nevada contractor’s license and does not substitute for one.
License types & fees
| Type | Experience | Exam | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Classification C-21 - Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (full) | Nevada licenses the contracting business through a trade-qualified individual (qualifier), who may be an owner, officer, member, manager, or employee. The qualifier must have, within the 15 years immediately preceding the application, at least 4 full years of experience as a journeyman, foreman, supervising employee, or contractor in the specific classification requested (NRS 624.260(6)); training at an accredited college/university or an equivalent Board-accepted program may satisfy up to 3 of the 4 years. Documentation is four Certification-of-Work-Experience forms per qualifier, a substantially-similar government-issued master's certification, or transferable military experience. | Two examinations administered by PSI: (1) the trade examination for classification C-21 (closed book, except for allowed code references), and (2) the general 'Construction Management Survey' business-and-law exam (CMS, open book - the Construction Business and Law Manual for Nevada may be used). An applicant has three attempts per exam; a third failure voids the application (reapply after 30 days). The Board may waive the trade exam for an applicant qualifying by endorsement from a substantially-equivalent state (State Equivalency Chart); the CMS exam and experience are also relieved for a qualifier who served as a qualified employee in the same classification on another Nevada license within the last 4 years. | $300.00 nonrefundable application fee (paid with the application), plus a $600.00 fee to issue or renew the license, which is biennial (NAC 624.130). Examination fees are separate and paid directly to PSI (the Board's exam provider); a surety bond ($1,000-$500,000, set by the Board) is also required (see requirements). Scope (NAC 624.380): a person holding the full C-21 license may perform any of the work authorized for the C-21 subclassifications C-21a through C-21g. |
| Subclassification C-21a - Refrigeration | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21a refrigeration classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)), up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + the open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the construction, erection and installation of devices, machinery and units for the control of air temperatures below 50 degrees F in refrigerators, refrigerated rooms and insulated spaces,' plus related insulation, ducts, blowers, registers, humidity/thermostatic controls, gas lines from the unit to the point of connection in the existing gas line at the meter or beyond, and electrical service from the unit's device to the main panel - but not other gas or electric services for the units (NAC 624.380(3)(a)). |
| Subclassification C-21b - Air-Conditioning | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21b air-conditioning classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)); up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the installation, repair, service and maintenance of equipment, devices, machinery, units and related ductwork which use evaporation, refrigeration, boilers or combustion for the control of air temperatures in structures,' including any humidity and thermostatic controls in connection with such equipment (NAC 624.380(3)(b)). This is the subclassification most comfort-cooling/heating HVAC contractors seek. |
| Subclassification C-21c - Sheet Metal | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21c sheet metal classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)); up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the fabrication and installation of sheet metal,' including cornices, flashings, gutters, leaders, downspouts, pans, food-service equipment, ducts, louvres, patented chimneys, flues and metal roof systems - but not the fabrication or installation of equipment which uses refrigeration as an integral part of the system (NAC 624.380(3)(c)). |
| Subclassification C-21d - Maintenance | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21d maintenance classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)); up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the repair and replacement of any parts of existing units or systems of air-conditioning and refrigeration,' including compressors, motors, relays, coils, heat exchangers and other appurtenances - but not the replacement of complete condenser assemblies on remote systems, air handlers, or any work that may alter the design of an existing system (NAC 624.380(3)(d)). |
| Subclassification C-21e - Solar Air-Conditioning | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21e classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)); up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the installation of the collectors, piping, storage and other equipment used in the conversion of solar energy to energy used for the control of air temperatures' (NAC 624.380(3)(e)). |
| Subclassification C-21f - Chilled and Hot Water Systems | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21f classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)); up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the installation of boilers, chillers, coils, cooling towers, piping, pumps, storage tanks, valves and other equipment used in the production and transfer of water for the control of temperatures' (NAC 624.380(3)(f)). |
| Subclassification C-21g - Industrial Piping | Same qualifier standard: 4 years' experience in the C-21g classification within the preceding 15 years (NRS 624.260(6)); up to 3 years substitutable by accredited training. | PSI trade exam for the subclassification + open-book CMS business/law exam; three attempts each; trade exam waivable by qualifying endorsement. | $300 application + $600 license (biennial) + separate PSI exam fees + surety bond. Scope: 'the fabrication, installation, repair and removal of piping and equipment used for the transmission of water, steam, gas, chemicals, food and other substances for industrial uses' (NAC 624.380(3)(g)). |
| License by endorsement / provisional license for rural attainable housing (NRS 624.242, 624.243) — [Effective through December 31, 2029] | Chapter-wide routes that reach any classification, including C-2 and C-21. NRS 624.242: the Board shall issue a contractor's license by endorsement to an applicant who submits proof of a contractual agreement to perform work on an attainable housing project in a rural area, holds a valid and unrestricted contractor's license in the District of Columbia or any state or territory whose qualifications the Board determines are substantially similar to Nevada's, has held that license for at least 4 consecutive years, has not been disciplined and has no disciplinary action pending, and submits fingerprints (or proof of a comparable background check) and the statement required by NRS 425.520. NRS 624.243 adds a provisional license available while the Director's declaration of shortage stands: the same structure, except the out-of-state license need only have been held 3 consecutive years and the applicant must "[s]uccessfully pass[] an examination prescribed by the Board relating to Nevada-specific construction standards or otherwise demonstrate[] knowledge and experience of Nevada-specific construction standards." NRS 624.256 (industrial insurance) and NRS 624.270 (bond) still apply to both. The holder "may only perform work relating to an attainable housing project in a rural area of the State" and "[s]hall not perform any other work in this State" without an ordinary Nevada license. The board's form adds a gate the statute does not: the Rural License Application (Revised 07/2026) checklist requires a "Contractual agreement to perform work on an attainable housing project in a rural area including evidence that grant money from the Nevada Attainable Housing Account has been received." Without that grant-funded contract the route is unavailable whatever the classification. Classification is otherwise open on the form's own terms — Section 3 asks the applicant to name "the following License Classification OR Subclassification(s)" and points to "Nevada Administrative Code 624.140-624.585" for the full list. The form also states a work-experience test the statute does not: "You must have, within the 15 years immediately preceding the filing of this application, a minimum of 3 years work experience as a journeyman, foreman, supervision employee or contractor in the specific classification requested for the provisional license and a minimum of 4 years for license by endorsement" — whereas the statute's 4-year and 3-year tests are about how long the out-of-state license has been held (NRS 624.242(1)(c), 624.243(2)(d)). Both are stated; neither is collapsed. The form fixes the bond at "the total cost of the project listed in the contractual agreement." Scope is not identical across the two sections: NRS 624.242(5) restricts the endorsement licensee to "an attainable housing project in a rural area of the State", while NRS 624.243(6)(a) is narrower — "in the rural area of the State described in the declaration" — and 624.243(6)(b) reaches only work "for which a contractor's license is required." The Board applies the narrower form on the application: "IMPORTANT: This provisional license will only allow work to be performed related to an attainable housing project in the rural area described in the declaration issued by the Director of the Department of Business and Industry." | The statute and the Board's current form diverge, and both are stated here. NRS 624.242 prescribes no Nevada examination, and NRS 624.240 [Effective through December 31, 2029] carves 624.242 and 624.243 out of the Board's general examination authority. NRS 624.243(2)(b) requires that the applicant "[s]uccessfully pass[] an examination prescribed by the Board relating to Nevada-specific construction standards or otherwise demonstrate[] knowledge and experience of Nevada-specific construction standards." The Board's Rural License Application (Revised 07/2026) is written more demandingly than NRS 624.242 for every rural applicant — Section 8, Examination Requirements: "A Business and Law (CMS) examination will be required. You will receive an Examination Eligibility form after the application is submitted and experience is verified"; "Examination fees are separate and will be paid directly to the Board's exam provider"; and the trade qualifier "must have taken and passed an examination that is: Administered by an independent testing service; Offered by an endorsing state and approved by the Board; or Accredited by the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies (NASCLA)." The packet adds that the Candidate ID needed to sit the CMS exam is mailed to the entity's address, and that per NAC 624.600(4) the qualifiers have six months from submission to complete all testing. The Board's endorsement waiver reaches only "the trade examination requirement and/or the experience certification requirement" — not the CMS. NRS 624.242 is therefore not an exam-free route in practice. | No fee. NRS 624.242(3): "The Board shall not charge any fee in connection with a contractor's license by endorsement issued pursuant to this section." NRS 624.243(3): "The Board shall not charge any fee in connection with a provisional contractor's license issued pursuant to this section." The Board's Rural License Application (Revised 07/2026) agrees: "There is no fee required for this application or future renewal applications." Examination fees are separate and paid directly to the Board's exam provider. The Board decides within 60 days. Both licenses expire December 31, 2029, and "[n]o declaration of shortage may be in effect for more than 3 years" (NRS 624.243(1)). Both sections were added by AB 540 (2025), ch. 432, Statutes of Nevada 2025, approved June 9, 2025, and both expire by limitation on December 31, 2029 (AB 540 sec. 53(4)); neither has an "[Effective January 1, 2030]" twin. |
Who does NOT need this license — exemptions
Nevada licenses HVAC as a specialty contractor classification (C-21) through the State Contractors Board, and NRS 624.031 lists twelve categories of persons/work to which the licensing chapter ‘do[es] not apply.’ The one that most often gets misused for HVAC - and does not work - is subsection 6: ‘Any work to repair or maintain property the value of which is less than $1,000, including labor and materials, unless: (a) A building permit is required to perform the work; (b) The work is of a type performed by a plumbing, electrical, refrigeration, heating or air-conditioning contractor; (c) The work is of a type performed by a contractor licensed in a classification prescribed by the Board that significantly affects the health, safety and welfare of members of the general public; (d) The work is performed as a part of a larger project: (1) The value of which is $500 or more; or (2) For which contracts of less than $500 have been awarded to evade the provisions of this chapter; or (e) The work is performed by a person who is licensed pursuant to this chapter or by an employee of that person.’ Because HVAC work is expressly ‘of a type performed by a … refrigeration, heating or air-conditioning contractor,’ subsection 6 never exempts real HVAC installation, repair or maintenance regardless of price. The parallel constraint on licensed contractors is NRS 624.220(4)(b): a licensed contractor may do minor out-of-classification work under $1,000 not requiring a permit, but ‘A licensed contractor shall not perform work of a type for which the contractor does not have a license in the applicable classification or subclassification if the work is of a type performed by a plumbing, electrical, refrigeration or air-conditioning contractor.’ The other eleven exemptions in NRS 624.031: (1) work performed exclusively by an authorized representative of the United States, the State of Nevada, or a Nevada city/county/district/municipal subdivision; (2) a 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) entity that contracts with the State or a local government to facilitate repair/maintenance (including weatherization and energy-efficiency services), facilitates the work by a licensed contractor, and is a party with the property owner and a licensed contractor to the work agreement; (3) an officer of a court acting within the scope of his or her office; (4) work performed exclusively by a public utility, regulated by the PUCN, on construction, maintenance and development work incidental to its business; (5) an owner building or improving a residential structure on the owner’s property for the owner’s own occupancy and not intended for sale or lease (sale/lease or offering within 1 year after completion creates a rebuttable presumption of intent to sell/lease; the owner must apply to the Board for the exemption); (7) ‘The sale or installation of any finished product, material or article of merchandise which is not fabricated into and does not become a permanent fixed part of the structure’; (8) construction/alteration/improvement/repair of personal property; (9) work financed in whole or part by the Federal Government within the limits of a federal site or reservation; (10) an owner of agricultural/farming property building or improving a structure for the owner’s own use and not for sale or lease; (11) construction oversight services (coordination and oversight of volunteer labor) provided to a long-term recovery group within a declared disaster/emergency area by a qualified person; and (12) a licensed real estate broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson who, within the scope of the license or a property-management permit, assists a client in scheduling repair/maintenance of residential property (only where no building permit is required and the value does not exceed $10,000 per residential property during the agreement term). Nevada also lets an owner-builder claim the subsection-5 exemption by filing an Owner-Builder Disclosure Statement (NAC 624.015-624.017). None of these exemptions authorizes a person who is not licensed to perform work for which a license is required.
Fees
Set by NAC 624.130 (adopted under the statutory caps in NRS 624.280 - application not to exceed $550, license not to exceed $900 biennially, examination not to exceed $300 each). Operative fees for a C-21 contractor’s license: a $300.00 nonrefundable application fee (submitted with the application; NAC 624.130 charges $300 ’to consider an application for the issuance of a license for a classification in which the applicant is not licensed’), plus a $600.00 fee ’to issue or renew a license’ - the license is issued biennially, so $600 is both the issuance and the two-year renewal fee. Examination fees are separate and paid directly to PSI (the Board’s exam provider); the Board’s published pages do not state the PSI per-exam dollar amount, so it is omitted here rather than guessed (statutory cap: not more than $300 per exam). Other fees: late filing to renew an active license $150; cash-deposit administrative fee $200; issue/renew an inactive license $300; duplicate license $25; permanent monetary-limit change $250; single-project limit increase $75. A residential contractor additionally pays a Recovery Fund assessment of $200/$500/$1,000 per biennium depending on the monetary limit (NRS 624.470). A surety bond ($1,000-$500,000) is required but is paid to a surety, not the Board. An expedited license costs twice the application fee plus the Board’s actual costs and expenses — NRS 624.281, currently-operative version headed “[Effective through December 31, 2029.]”, whose subsections 1, 2 and 3 each open “Except as otherwise provided in this section.” Subsection 4: if the Director of the Department of Business and Industry issues a declaration of shortage pursuant to NRS 624.243, “the Board shall not charge an applicant in a rural area any fee pursuant to subsection 1 or for the costs and expenses incurred by the Board, as described in subsection 3, in processing the application until the declaration of shortage is no longer in effect.” The not-yet-operative NRS 624.281 “[Effective January 1, 2030.]” drops both the qualifier and subsection 4. Rural fee suspension — A declaration is in force, and where it reaches it displaces the figures above. While a declaration of shortage issued by the Director of the Department of Business and Industry under NRS 624.243 is in effect: NRS 624.250(2)(b) — “the Board shall not charge any application fee in connection with obtaining or renewing any contractor’s license in a rural area until the declaration of shortage is no longer in effect”; NRS 624.250(4) — the same bar on “any license fee to an applicant in a rural area”; NRS 624.253(2) — no additional application and license fee for qualifying or classifying a licensee in additional classifications in a rural area; NRS 624.265(4) — no fingerprint-processing fee; NRS 624.281(4) — no expedited fee or cost reimbursement; NRS 624.283(7) — no “fee for renewal or reinstatement.” “Rural area” is defined identically at NRS 624.242(10)(b) and NRS 624.243(11)(d): “(1) Any county whose population is less than 100,000; (2) Any city in a county whose population is less than 100,000; or (3) Any city whose population is less than 60,000 in a county whose population is 100,000 or more.” The declaration has been issued — Board’s Rural License Application (Revised 07/2026): “The Director of the Department of Business and Industry issued a Declaration of Shortage of Skilled Labor or Licensed Contractors in Rural Areas Of Nevada… The declaration includes almost every county across the state with the exception of Clark County and Washoe County.” Two distinct things, kept apart: the Board’s rural form is the separate attainable-housing credential — license by endorsement under NRS 624.242 and provisional license under NRS 624.243 — which may only be used for work relating to attainable housing in the area where a shortage is declared, carries its own no-fee rules (NRS 624.242(3), 624.243(3): “The Board shall not charge any fee”), and expires December 31, 2029; the fee bars in NRS 624.250, 624.253, 624.265, 624.281 and 624.283 quoted above are written more broadly and reach “any contractor’s license in a rural area.” No Board page reconciles the two, and the Board’s headline fee material states its fees without that qualification. Both are stated here; neither is collapsed into the other. The declaration itself is not published. Everything above about the declaration’s existence, currency and county coverage rests on the Board’s description of it in the Rural License Application (Revised 07/2026); the Director’s declaration is not published on nvcontractorsboard.com, is absent from the NRS and the NAC, and carries no published issue date or expiry. The only outer bound is NRS 624.243(1): “No declaration of shortage may be in effect for more than 3 years.” The rural fee suspension therefore rests on the Board’s form, not on the declaration itself.
Exam
Nevada requires two examinations, both administered by PSI. The first is the trade examination for the classification C-21 (or the specific C-21 subclassification) - closed book, except for certain code references identified in the exam content outline. The second is the general business and law examination, the ‘Construction Management Survey’ or CMS, which is open book (the Construction Business and Law Manual for Nevada may be used). An applicant receives an exam eligibility letter after the application is filed and the Board verifies experience, then schedules with PSI; exams are offered seven days a week in Las Vegas and most weekdays in Reno, and may be taken at PSI sites in other states. An applicant is allowed three attempts per exam - failing the third attempt voids the application, and the applicant may reapply after a 30-day waiting period (NAC 624.600(3)). Under certain circumstances the Board will waive the trade examination for applicants qualifying by licensure by endorsement from a substantially-equivalent state (see the State Equivalency Chart); a qualifier who served as a qualified employee in the same classification on another Nevada license within the last 4 years generally is not required to retake an exam. The Board reserves the right to require any applicant to take and pass an examination. Two different Nevada mechanisms are both called “ENDORSEMENT,” and they are not the same thing. (1) The Board’s own Licensure by Endorsement program: “Under certain circumstances the Nevada State Contractors Board will waive the state specific trade examination requirement and the experience certification process requirement for applicants that qualify for licensure by endorsement… licensed in states determined by Nevada to have substantially equivalent requirements,” eligibility read off the Board’s State Equivalency Chart, minimum an active license in the endorsing state held with the same qualified individual for the past four years and a clean disciplinary record. The Board states the limits expressly: “Licensure by endorsement applies only to the trade examination requirement and/or the experience qualification requirement. All other required documentation must be provided with your application,” and “Your qualified individual will be required to pass the Nevada Business and Law examination.” A passing NASCLA Commercial General Building Contractor Examination waives the state-specific trade exam for a general building classification. This is a waiver route inside the ordinary application, not a separate license, and a full-text search of NRS chapter 624 found no statutory section establishing it — it is attributed to the Board’s published program. (2) NRS 624.242, “License by endorsement to perform work on certain housing projects” — a distinct, restricted license described under license types and renewal. The sentence that decides the question for a specialty applicant: “If your endorsing state does not offer an equivalent trade examination, you will be required to pass the state specific examination in Nevada.”
Renewal & continuing education
Biennial. NRS 624.283(1), currently-operative version, headed “[Effective through December 31, 2029.]”: “Except as otherwise provided in NRS 624.242 and 624.243, each license issued under the provisions of this chapter expires 2 years after the date on which it is issued, except that the Board may by regulation prescribe shorter or longer periods and prorated fees to establish a system of staggered biennial renewals. Any license which is not renewed on or before the date for renewal is automatically suspended.” The opening carve-out is operative, not boilerplate: a license issued under NRS 624.242 (license by endorsement for an attainable-housing project in a rural area) or NRS 624.243 (provisional license during a declared shortage) instead “expires on December 31, 2029,” and the Board’s Rural License Application (Revised 07/2026) repeats “This license expires on December 31, 2029.” A second version of the same subsection is published alongside it and is not yet in force: NRS 624.283(1) “[Effective January 1, 2030.]” drops the carve-out and begins “Each license issued under the provisions of this chapter expires 2 years after the date on which it is issued…”. Six sections of NRS chapter 624 — 624.240, 624.250, 624.253, 624.265, 624.281 and 624.283 — currently exist in paired “[Effective through December 31, 2029]” / “[Effective January 1, 2030]” versions inside one published page, so each has to be read with its effective-date heading in mind. Renewal requires a renewal application, the $600 renewal fee, the Recovery Fund assessment for residential contractors, evidence that the surety bond or cash deposit is in full force (NRS 624.270(2)), and all information needed to complete the renewal; the Board may require a demonstration of financial responsibility. A license automatically suspended for non-renewal may be reinstated within 6 months by filing the renewal application and paying the renewal fee plus a reinstatement fee, if the licensee is otherwise in good standing; a license not reinstated within 6 months may be cancelled, after which only an application for an original license will issue a new one. There is no continuing-education or re-examination step at renewal. While a declaration of shortage under NRS 624.243 is in effect, NRS 624.283(7) bars the Board from charging any fee for renewal or reinstatement to an applicant in a rural area (see fees). None. Nevada does not require continuing education to renew a contractor’s license - NRS Chapter 624 and NAC Chapter 624 impose no CE condition for renewal; renewal turns on the fee, an in-force bond/deposit, the Recovery Fund assessment (residential contractors), and, when requested, a demonstration of financial responsibility (NRS 624.283; 624.270). Separately, federal EPA Section 608 refrigerant-handling certification is required of the individual technician who could release refrigerant; it is a federal credential, not a Nevada license, and is not part of NSCB renewal.
How to apply
Applications are handled by Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB). Start at the official application page .
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Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB) publishes a public license search , searchable by License Number, Company Name or Principal or Qualified Individual. It covers Nevada state contractor licenses - the single state-level credential covering both electrical and HVAC contracting, and the qualified individual named on a license.
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