How to check a solar contractor's licence in Nevada

Ask for the licence number, then look it up yourself on the Nevada State Contractors Board's public licence search. On the details page read four things: the status says Active, the classification covers electrical work, the monetary limit is at least your contract price, and the business name matches your contract exactly. That takes about a minute and it is free.

Everything below is why those four fields matter, and what to do when one of them is wrong.

Why the check is worth a minute

The State Contractors Board's residential solar page gives a homeowner approached by a solar salesperson three tips in this order: ask for the contractor's name and licence number before engaging in discussions, verify the licence has an Active status on the Board's website or mobile app, and do not be pressured into signing on the spot.

The law behind it is blunt. NRS 624.700 makes it unlawful to act as a contractor or submit a bid in Nevada without an active licence, and says a bid or contract made in violation is void from the start. The Board's Residential Recovery Fund, the safety net for homeowners, is not available at all to a homeowner who hired an unlicensed contractor. The one check you can do before signing is the one that keeps that net under you.

Step 1: get the number and the exact name

You should not have to hunt. NRS 624.720 says all advertising by a licensed contractor must include the company name and the licence number, and the Board's advertising page lists where: vehicles, business cards, letterhead, signage, directories, print ads and websites. NRS 624.875 then requires every residential photovoltaic contract to state the contractor's name, address, licence number and the monetary limit on that licence.

So a door hanger, a truck or a quote with no licence number on it has already told you something. Write down the legal business name exactly as the contract prints it. You will need it at step 4.

Step 2: search the Board's database

The Board's licence search lets you search by licence number, company name, or principal or qualified individual. It needs at least two characters, and it accepts part of a name, so if you are unsure whether it is "Smith Construction" or "Smith Builders", searching "Smith" finds both.

The results list is deliberately thin. The Board says it is designed only to help you identify the record and that you need to open the License Details page to verify the data. Click through.

Step 3: read the four fields that matter

The details page also shows an origin date, an expiration date, the qualified individuals and the bond. The origin date tells you how long the licence has existed, which is not the same thing as how long the company has been installing solar.

The classification: C-2, and why C-37 is not what it sounds like

NAC 624.200 sets out classification C-2, electrical contracting. A full C-2 licence may install any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways and conduits, and may do the work of every C-2 subclassification. One of those, C-2g Photovoltaics, covers the installation, alteration and repair of photovoltaic cells, batteries and inverters, but not electrical wiring beyond the service panel.

That last clause matters when a job needs a new main panel or a service upgrade, which a lot of Las Vegas solar and battery jobs do. A C-2g alone stops at the panel.

The trap is classification C-37, "solar contracting". NAC 624.540 defines it as designing and installing systems that collect solar energy to heat and cool water, air and chemicals: solar water heating, space heating, solar air conditioning collectors and pool heating. It is not a licence for panels that make electricity. The Board's Recovery Fund page says a claim may be denied if the contract was outside the scope of the contractor's licence classification, so the wrong letter on the page is not a technicality.

The monetary limit: compare it to your price

NRS 624.220 requires the Board to put a monetary limit on every licence, and defines it as the maximum contract the contractor may undertake on one or more construction contracts on a single site for a single client. Contracting above it is cause for discipline under NRS 624.3015.

It also reaches your protection. The Board's Recovery Fund page says claims may be denied if the contract exceeded the contractor's monetary licence limit in force when you signed. A contractor may ask the Board to raise a limit, permanently or for one project, but that approval has to exist before the bid. If your quote is larger than the number on the details page, ask to see it.

If you are financing, the finance company has the same duty. NRS 598.982143 requires a solar lender, lessor or power purchase provider to ensure the installer is properly licensed and acting within the monetary limit of its licence. If it did not, the loan, lease or power purchase agreement is voidable by you for 3 years after the system receives permission to operate.

Step 4: match the name on the licence to the name on the contract

This is where most door to door problems show up. The Board's residential solar page lists as a common red flag a salesperson who says they "hire" or "work with" a local licensed contractor to do the installation, and says this usually indicates you are dealing with an unlicensed contractor, which puts you at increased risk of financial harm and liability. The same page says licences from other states are not valid in Nevada.

NRS 624.880 backs it up: a person advertising or soliciting residential solar work may not say or imply they will do the work or act as the contractor unless they hold a licence that authorises it. So search the company named at the top of the contract, not the installer the salesperson mentions.

Step 5: look for discipline, then decide

The Board publishes a public disciplinary actions search next to the licence search. Run the same name through it. A past action is not an automatic no, but read what it was for before you sign rather than after.

If something is wrong after the work starts, the Board investigates complaints against licensed contractors. Its complaints page describes the process: an acknowledgement letter to you, an investigator who decides whether a jobsite visit is needed and holds it with both of you present, and where corrective work is required a Notice to Correct sent to the contractor, usually within five working days of the visit, with a copy to you. The contractor generally gets 20 to 30 days to comply. The southern Nevada investigations line on the Board's contact list is (702) 486-1160, and the general line is (702) 486-1100.

The Recovery Fund, and who it covers

The Residential Recovery Fund is paid for by licensed residential contractors through a semi-annual assessment and administered by the Board. According to the Board's page:

• It is available to owners of single family residences who occupy the home and contracted with a licensed residential contractor.
• You must file a complaint with the Board within 4 years after completion of the work, or apply within 2 years of a Nevada court judgment.
• The maximum paid for a claim is $40,000.
• It is not available if you hired an unlicensed contractor, and a claim may be denied if the contract was outside the licence classification or over the monetary limit.

That is the whole case for the sixty second check: the fund only protects you from the contractor you verified.

Check us the same way

Simmons Solar Electric is Simmons Electric LLC. On the Board's licence search on the date at the top of this page, licence 0032580A read Active, classification C-2 Electrical, monetary limit $125,000, with an origin date in April 2013 and a surety bond on file. Do not take that from us; it takes a minute to look it up.

Once the licence checks out, the next job is the contract itself. What Nevada requires in a solar contract covers the cancellation clocks, the deposit cap and the warranty floors, and the questions to ask before you sign turns them into a list. If somebody is at your door offering to take over a warranty on a system someone else installed, the warranty takeover pitch is worth reading first, and if your original installer has already closed, start with what to do when your installer goes out of business.

We are a licensed Nevada electrical contractor, not a law firm, and this page is not legal advice. Every rule on it links to the source below.

We recheck this page quarterly. Last checked 2026-09-28. If a number here has moved, tell us and we will fix it the same week.