How to Check a Las Vegas Property Manager’s License and Permit

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Checking a Nevada Property Manager’s Credentials

Ask for two numbers and a brokerage name, then look them up yourself

The short answer: ask the person who will manage your home for their Nevada real estate license number, their property management permit number, and the name of the brokerage they work under. Then look each one up in the Nevada Real Estate Division’s free License Lookup. In Nevada, managing a rental for someone else takes both a real estate license and a separate property management permit. A license on its own is not enough (NRS 645.230(1)(b)).

Every company describes itself in similar words. The license record is different: the state keeps it, and anyone can read it. If a company is slow to give you its numbers, that tells you most of what you need to know.

The Three Things to Check

• A real estate license. The person managing your home must hold a Nevada license as a salesperson, broker-salesperson or broker. License numbers start with a letter code for the type, such as S. for a salesperson or B. for a broker.
• A property management permit. This is a separate credential with its own number, starting PM. To get one, a licensee must complete at least 24 classroom hours of property management instruction, and each renewal needs at least 3 hours of property management continuing education. The permit expires and renews with the license (NRS 645.6052).
• The brokerage. A property manager works under a licensed real estate broker (NRS 645.0195). A salesperson’s advertising must carry their license number and the name of the brokerage, and it must run in the brokerage’s name (NRS 645.315). The brokerage on the license record should be the one named on the company’s website and on the agreement you are asked to sign.

How to Look Them Up

1. Use the License Lookup. The Division’s License Lookup needs no login. You can search by license number, by first and last name, or by company name. It asks you to complete a security check before it searches.
2. Or use the monthly lists. The Division also publishes Active Licensee Lists each month as spreadsheets, with separate files for salespersons, broker-salespersons, brokers and property managers. The property manager list shows each permit number with the holder’s name, company, first issue date and expiration date.
3. Compare the record with what you were told. The name should match the person you are dealing with, the credential should be current, and the company should match the brokerage on the agreement. Check the permit as well as the license; they are separate entries.
4. Ask where your money will be held. A broker who receives money that belongs to others, such as rent and tenant deposits, must put it in a separate trust account at a bank or credit union in Nevada, may not mix it with the brokerage’s own money, and must balance each trust account at least monthly. Those records are open to inspection and audit by the Division (NRS 645.310).

Why the Permit Matters to You

The manager answers to the state. Doing property management in Nevada without a license and permit is unlawful (NRS 645.230). A licensee, on the other hand, can be fined or disciplined by the Real Estate Commission for things that would hurt you as an owner, including a material misrepresentation, a false promise, failing to leave you a copy of the management agreement, or taking an undisclosed profit on money spent for you (NRS 645.630 and 645.633).

It changes your tenant’s lease. A lease for a single-family residence (a building of up to four units) that is not signed by an agent holding a property management permit must carry a warning at the top of the first page, in type at least twice the size of any other, about the unlawful-occupancy presumptions in NRS 205.0813 and 205.0817 (NRS 118A.200(4)). Those sections are what Nevada uses against squatters: an occupant is presumed not to be there lawfully unless their lease is notarized or signed by a permit holder and gives the owner’s current address and phone number. Squatters and unauthorized occupants explains how that plays out.

You do not need one to manage your own home. Nevada’s real estate licensing law does not apply to an owner, or the owner’s regular employee, managing the owner’s own property (NRS 645.0445(1)(a)). The license question only arises when someone manages it for you. If you are still deciding whether to, see hiring a manager versus self-managing.

Who You Actually Sign With

Nevada defines a property management agreement as a written contract between the owner and a broker (NRS 645.0192), and the broker may not start managing until that agreement is signed by both sides (NRS 645.6056(1)). That is true even when the person you deal with every day is a salesperson. The licensee must leave you a copy of the signed agreement, and a permit holder must give you the Division’s form setting out the duties they owe you (NRS 645.6057(3)).

What the agreement itself must say, clause by clause, is the next step: what a property management agreement should include.

Our Credentials, So You Can Check Them

Mark Lister holds Nevada real estate salesperson license S.0045930 and property management permit PM.0145930, both first issued in 2000. The brokerage he is licensed with is Nevada Superior Properties, the name in the license line at the foot of every page on this site. Mark is a salesperson, not the broker, so under Nevada law a management agreement for your home is made with the brokerage.

Look both numbers up in the License Lookup, and ask every other company you are considering for the same three things. Once you have checked us, a free rental analysis is the easiest way to see how we work.

This is general information, not legal advice. Nevada law changes; check anything you are relying on against the current statute or with a Nevada attorney.

Next Step

Read what each clause in a management agreement does, then compare it with what our package includes. When you are ready, request a free rental analysis or call 702.278.4781.