If you are a Nevada contractor and get convicted of a crime, you are subject to disciplinary action by the Nevada State Contractors Board (NSCB). Therefore, it is important to hire a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible after your arrest to fight the charges.
Good Moral Character
Nevada law requires that licensed contractors “possess good character.” The NSCB can establish lack of character when you been convicted in Nevada or another state of a crime that demonstrates lack of fitness to act as a contractor. These include any:
- felony offense or
- crime involving moral turpitude (such as crimes of violence, fraud, or theft).
Minor misdemeanors should not threaten your contractor’s license.
Disciplinary Actions
Depending on the severity of your criminal conviction, the NSCB may impose disciplinary action such as:
- revoking your license
- suspending your license
- refusing renewals of your license
- issuing a public reprimand
- increasing the amount of surety bond or cash deposit on your license
- imposing limits on the field, scope and monetary limit of your license
- imposing a fine payment
- imposing a restitution payment
- ordering you to take corrective action
Fighting Disciplinary Actions
As a contractor in Nevada, you are entitled to an administrative hearing if the NSCB is considering suspending or revoking your license. These hearings are like a mini-trial where you or your attorney can present evidence on your behalf and argue why you should not be disciplined.
Note that for the NSCB to take disciplinary action, your conviction must have been affirmed on appeal or the time for appeal must have elapsed.
Contracting Without a License
If your contractor’s license does get suspended or revoked in Nevada, you must stop work until you get a new license. It is a crime under NRS 624.700 to continue contracting, as this table illustrates:
| Contracting without a License | Nevada Penalties |
| 1st-time offense | Misdemeanor:
|
| 2nd-time offense | Gross misdemeanor:
|
| Subsequent offense | Category E felony:
|
Furthermore, getting convicted of contracting without a license will likely bar you from securing a Nevada contractor’s license in the future.
A criminal conviction can threaten a Nevada contractor’s license.
Additional Resources
- Nevada Contractors Association – A nonprofit trade association representing and providing services for Nevada’s construction industry.
- Nevada Subcontractors Association – A nonprofit trade association that advocates for and provides education, training, and other resources to subcontractors in Nevada’s construction industry.
- Mechanical Contractors Association of Las Vegas – A trade association representing and providing services for mechanical contractors in the Las Vegas area.
- National Association of Minority Contractors – A trade association that provides programs, services, and advocacy to enhance business opportunities for minority-owned construction firms.
- Nevada Builders Alliance – A nonprofit trade association representing and providing advocacy, education, training, and other resources for home builders and associated professionals in Nevada.
Legal References:
- NRS 624.265 – Good character of applicant or licensed contractor and certain associates; grounds for establishment of lack of good character; background investigation; confidentiality of results of background investigation; fee for processing fingerprints; Board may obtain criminal history.
1. An applicant for a contractor’s license or a licensed contractor, each officer, director, partner and associate thereof, and any person who qualifies on behalf of the applicant pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 624.260 must possess good character. Lack of character may be established by showing that the applicant or licensed contractor, any officer, director, partner or associate thereof, or any person who qualifies on behalf of the applicant has:
(a) Committed any act which would be grounds for the denial, suspension or revocation of a contractor’s license;
(b) A bad reputation for honesty and integrity;
(c) Entered a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill or nolo contendere to, been found guilty or guilty but mentally ill of, or been convicted, in this State or any other jurisdiction, of a crime arising out of, in connection with or related to the activities of such person in such a manner as to demonstrate his or her unfitness to act as a contractor, and the time for appeal has elapsed or the judgment of conviction has been affirmed on appeal; or
(d) Had a license revoked or suspended for reasons that would preclude the granting or renewal of a license for which the application has been made.
2. Upon the request of the Board, an applicant for a contractor’s license, any officer, director, partner or associate of the applicant and any person who qualifies on behalf of the applicant pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 624.260 must submit to the Board completed fingerprint cards and a form authorizing an investigation of the applicant’s background and the submission of the fingerprints to the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The fingerprint cards and authorization form submitted must be those that are provided to the applicant by the Board. The applicant’s fingerprints may be taken by an agent of the Board or an agency of law enforcement.
3. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 239.0115, the Board shall keep the results of the investigation confidential and not subject to inspection by the general public.
4. The Board shall establish by regulation the fee for processing the fingerprints to be paid by the applicant. The fee must not exceed the sum of the amounts charged by the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing the fingerprints.
5. The Board may obtain records of a law enforcement agency or any other agency that maintains records of criminal history, including, without limitation, records of:
(a) Arrests;
(b) Guilty and guilty but mentally ill pleas;
(c) Sentencing;
(d) Probation;
(e) Parole;
(f) Bail;
(g) Complaints; and
(h) Final dispositions,
–> for the investigation of a licensee or an applicant for a contractor’s license.
- NRS 624.266 – Duty of applicant or licensee to disclose certain information to Board.
1. An applicant for a contractor’s license or a licensee shall notify the Board in writing if he or she is convicted of, or enters a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill or nolo contendere to:
(a) A crime against a child as that term is defined in NRS 179.245;
(b) A sexual offense as that term is defined in NRS 179.245;
(c) Murder as that term is defined in NRS 200.010;
(d) Voluntary manslaughter as that term is defined in NRS 200.050; or
(e) Any other felony or crime involving moral turpitude if the conviction occurred or the plea was entered in the immediately preceding 15 years,
–> in this State or any other jurisdiction.
2. An applicant for a contractor’s license or a licensee shall submit the notification required by subsection 1 not more than 30 days after the conviction or entry of the plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill or nolo contendere.
