A junk removal truck at a curb with stacked furniture, How to Start a Junk Removal Business in Nevada

How to Start a Junk Removal Business in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

Nevada does not issue a state license for junk removal. What decides whether you can run this business legally is where the junk goes, who is allowed to haul it in the places you serve, and whether you ever take down part of a building. Our position: form an LLC, but settle the local hauling question before you buy a truck, because in unincorporated Clark County the hauling code may not allow the standard for-hire junk removal model.

Step 1: Find Out Who May Haul in Your Service Area

Start with the local rule that most startup guides skip. In unincorporated Clark County, Clark County Code 9.04.070 makes it unlawful for anyone other than the county or its franchisee (or their agents) to collect, haul or transport solid waste. The ordinance as signed in 2022 lists the exceptions: licensed construction, construction cleanup and demolition contractors hauling construction and demolition waste; people hauling their own waste; licensed commercial recyclers; licensed septic and grease trap pumpers, yard maintenance services and tree trimmers hauling what their own work produces; and qualified charities collecting recyclables. It adds that a residential customer may not use an agent to haul his or her own waste unless the agent is immediate family or a caregiver. Read the full text in the Clark County solid waste ordinance (Chapter 9.04, signed 2022).

Our reading: a company that hauls a household's unwanted furniture for a fee is not on that exceptions list, unless the job is construction or demolition debris and you hold the contractor-type license the county requires. That is reasoning from the ordinance text, not a ruling from the county, and the code may have been amended since 2022. Ask Clark County Franchise Services, in writing, how the county treats a junk removal company before you advertise in unincorporated areas.

Resale and donation: the county defines solid waste as material "discarded or abandoned by their owner." Whether items a customer gives you to resell or donate still count as waste is a question for the county, so get the answer before you build a business model on it.

Cities: Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno and Sparks have their own business licensing and their own waste arrangements, and we have not verified their hauling rules for this guide. Check the Las Vegas, Reno and unincorporated Clark County pages for the licensing side, then ask the city for its solid waste rules.

Step 2: Know What Dumping Costs You

The state penalty for dumping is where a junk removal company is most exposed, because your product is other people's waste. Under NRS 444.630, dumping solid waste on a street, public property or private property is a misdemeanor for a first offense within two years and a gross misdemeanor after that, with 14 to 364 days in county jail for a second offense. A business entity must also clean up the site and perform 40 hours of community service for a first or second offense, or 200 hours for a third. A conviction is reasonable grounds to revoke any state or local business license the entity holds.

On top of that, NRS 444.635 adds a civil penalty of $500 to $5,000 for a first conviction, $1,000 to $5,500 for a second and $1,500 to $6,000 for a third.

Who is responsible: NRS 444.630(6) says ownership of solid waste does not transfer from the person who originally possessed it until a person authorized to dispose of solid waste receives it for transport, or it reaches a municipal disposal site. It also lets enforcement infer that the owner dumped it. For a hauler, that is the reason to keep a landfill or transfer station receipt for every load and to refuse jobs where a customer wants "somewhere cheaper" than a licensed site. Keeping receipts is our recommendation, not a statutory requirement.

What not to take: NRS 444.490 excludes hazardous waste managed under NRS 459.400 to 459.600 from the solid waste definition, so it follows separate rules. The Clark County ordinance lists asbestos waste among the solid waste that is not construction and demolition debris. Our position: turn down paint, chemicals, asbestos and anything you cannot identify, and say so in your quote.

Step 3: Decide Whether You Need a Contractor License

Hauling furniture, appliances and yard debris is not what Nevada's contractor law describes. NRS 624.020 defines a contractor as someone who constructs, alters, repairs, adds to, subtracts from, improves, moves, wrecks or demolishes a building, road or other structure, and it treats a permit from a government agency as prima facie evidence that you are acting as a contractor. Pulling out a deck, shed, fence section or interior walls is demolition; carrying out what is inside a room is not.

NRS 624.031(6) exempts repair or maintenance work on property worth less than $1,000, but not when a building permit is required or the work is part of a larger project. Our position: do not quote demolition as a side service. If a customer asks, send them to a licensed contractor or get licensed yourself through the Nevada State Contractors Board (see our Nevada contractor license guide).

Step 4: Check Truck Rules and Insurance

Securing loads: NRS 484D.850 bars driving a vehicle on a highway unless it is loaded so that none of the load can drop, sift, leak or escape, and requires the load and any covering to be securely fastened. The Clark County ordinance repeats that standard for waste vehicles. In our reading, a pickup bed of loose junk with no tarp or straps is the situation this section targets.

Motor carrier authority: Nevada's Department of Motor Vehicles regulates common and contract carriers of property other than fully regulated carriers, and its MC208 application for intrastate commerce authority (form dated January 2025) sets minimum insurance for vehicles over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating: $300,000 for 10,001 to 26,000 pounds and $750,000 for 26,001 to 80,000 pounds. We could not confirm whether DMV treats a junk removal company hauling customers' items as a carrier of property, so call the DMV Motor Carrier Division at 775-684-4368 and ask. If your truck is under 10,001 pounds, the form lists no minimum for it, so ask DMV what applies.

Insurance: carry general liability for property damage and injuries at a customer's home, commercial auto for the truck, and workers' compensation once you hire a helper. We do not quote premiums here because they depend on your truck, your record and your payroll. Our Nevada business insurance guide covers the coverage types, and the Nevada Division of Industrial Relations at dir.nv.gov is the agency to ask about workers' compensation.

Step 5: Form Your LLC With the Secretary of State

An LLC keeps a customer's injury claim or a damaged driveway from reaching your personal assets, which matters in a business that moves heavy objects through other people's homes. A corporation costs more in the first year ($725 at the lowest share tier against $425 for an LLC) and adds formalities, so most one-truck operators do better with an LLC. Our Nevada LLC guide covers the filing in full; here is what a junk removal owner needs.

Name: search the Nevada business entity search first. You can reserve a name for 90 days for $25 through the Secretary of State name reservation page.

File: Nevada's online business portal is ORION; the older SilverFlume address redirects there. The Articles of Organization filing fee is $75 under NRS 86.561. NRS 225.140 lets the Secretary of State charge up to $125 for service within 24 hours, up to $500 within 2 hours and up to $1,000 within 1 hour. Those are statutory ceilings; we could not read the Secretary of State's current fee schedule, so check the amount at checkout.

Registered agent: every Nevada entity needs a registered agent with a physical Nevada address, and an agent serving 10 or more entities must register as a commercial registered agent (NRS 77.320). If you live in Nevada you can act as your own agent; if you live elsewhere, hire one. If you would rather not track renewals, see our comparison of Nevada LLC formation services.

Trade name: if you will operate as "Silver State Hauling" while the LLC is named something else, you file a fictitious firm name with the county clerk. Clark County charges $25 for a new or renewal filing; we did not verify the fee in other counties.

Step 6: Get the Nevada State Business License and File Your Lists

Every LLC needs a Nevada state business license, $200 a year, and an annual list of managers or members, $150 a year. Both are filed through the Secretary of State, not the Department of Taxation. The first list and license are due by the last day of the month after you file your articles; after that they are due by the last day of the anniversary month. The Secretary of State's state business license FAQ lists a $100 penalty for filing the license late (read from an Internet Archive snapshot dated October 14, 2026).

First-year state cost for an LLC is $425 ($75 articles, $150 initial list, $200 license), then $350 a year.

Step 7: Get Your Local Business License

The city or county where your company operates issues the business license, and you may need more than one if you serve several jurisdictions. The Clark County business license is applied for through the Clark County business license portal, Las Vegas through the City of Las Vegas business license page, and Reno through the City of Reno business license guide. We did not verify local fees for this guide, so the cost table below leaves them out. If you will park the truck at your home, read our Nevada home-based business guide first, because zoning can limit commercial vehicles at a residence.

Step 8: Register for Taxes and Hire Carefully

EIN: apply for a free Employer Identification Number on the IRS EIN page. The IRS never charges for it, and look-alike sites that do are not the IRS.

Sales tax: if you resell salvaged items you need a seller's permit, and you should ask the Department of Taxation whether your hauling charges are taxable. The Department of Taxation lists the permit at $15 per location on its start and run a business page. The Department's sales and use tax publications state a base rate of 6.85% and list 8.375% for Clark County, but that rate sheet is dated 2020, so confirm the current local rate before you price resale items.

Payroll: the Modified Business Tax applies once you have employees. The Department of Taxation lists the general business rate at 1.17% of quarterly wages above $50,000 on its Modified Business Tax page, and every employer files quarterly even when nothing is due. See our Modified Business Tax guide.

Commerce Tax: it applies only to Nevada gross revenue above $4,000,000 in a fiscal year, so a one- or two-truck operation will not owe it (see the Commerce Tax page). Nevada has no personal or corporate income tax, but you still owe federal tax: as a sole proprietor or single-member LLC owner you generally make estimated payments if you expect to owe $1,000 or more, per the IRS estimated taxes page.

What a helper costs: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that Nevada's 40,850 hand laborers and freight movers earned a median of $39,350 and a mean of $43,190 a year in 2025 (Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates, occupation code 53-7062). At 2,080 hours a year that is roughly $19 an hour at the median, before payroll taxes and insurance. Price jobs so one helper's hourly cost is covered by the jobs you can finish in a day.

Nevada Junk Removal Startup Costs

ItemCostSource
LLC Articles of Organization$75NRS 86.561
Initial list of managers or members$150NRS 86.263
State business license (LLC)$200 per yearNRS Chapter 76; Secretary of State
First-year state total$425Sum of the three rows above
Each later year (list and license)$350NRS 86.263; NRS Chapter 76
Name reservation (optional)$25 for 90 daysSecretary of State
Expedited filing (optional)Up to $125, $500 or $1,000NRS 225.140
Clark County fictitious firm name (if used)$25Clark County Clerk
Seller's permit (only if you resell items)$15 per locationDepartment of Taxation
EINFreeIRS
Local licenses, insurance, truck, landfill feesNot verified: get quotesCity or county; your insurer; your landfill

Confirm Before You Commit

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Three questions need an answer from the agency or a professional before you spend money:

  • Who may haul your jobs: ask Clark County Franchise Services (or the city you serve) whether a junk removal company needs a franchise, license or exemption.
  • Motor carrier status: ask the DMV Motor Carrier Division whether your truck needs intrastate authority.
  • Taxes and structure: a CPA can tell you how to treat resale income, estimated taxes and payroll; a Nevada business attorney can review the LLC and your customer contract.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides