Do I need the Nevada State Fire Marshal's Fire Protection License AND Certificate of Registration?

Question

Becoming a contractor in Nevada is really complicated!

I'm a licensed fire sprinkler contractor in California (which was a piece of cake compared to Nevada!) and I just got the NV state contractor's license. Now the NV Fire Marshal's office is saying I need their license too. So I went to their website and found two applications: one called "License Application" and one called "Certificate of Registration Application". Do I need both? What's the difference? Why do I need this if I already went through the VERY extensive process of getting the state contractor's license?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I am surprised it was a "piece of cake" in California. CA is usually pretty stringent on stuff like this.

I am in Ohio. If you are going to do fire protection work here, you need to register your company with the fire marshal's office AND license every individual you have working on the systems. To obtain a license, testing must be passed before receiving it. Many states function like this, my guess is Nevada is similar.

Then, to make matters worse, you cannot just assume that's all you need to work in any given area. Many cities require thier own licensing on top of what the state requires!

Quite a racket, huh? I think it's mainly for two things... raising money for sure, but also to help protect customers from inexperienced and "fly-by-night" companies. In those states, and the cities that require all this stuff, you set yourself apart as a well established company when you have the patience to take all the required steps to get the proper credentials. Customers will notice.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

I am an office manager for a fire protection company in Arkansas. Our licensing board requires both also. The Certificate of Registration is meant to register your company in that state. The License Application is for you and each of your employees to fill out. You may have to turn in your certificates to prove you are trained by the factory to install a certain brand of system. As far as if you need to do this, in Arkansas you only submit these forms to the licensing board with consists of a State Fire Marshal and several other people.