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How to Start a Property Management Company in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

In Nevada, a property management company is a real estate brokerage in practice. To manage other people's rentals for a fee, the person running it needs a real estate license plus a separate property management permit from the Real Estate Division, and forming an LLC does not replace either one.

This guide is for people who plan to manage rentals for owners and want the order of operations right: license and permit first, then the company, then the trust account and the agreement you will sign with each owner. If you only manage property you own, you probably need none of this.

What You Need Before You Start

  • A Nevada real estate license: The permit sits on top of a license as a broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson. The Real Estate Division will not take the permit application together with your original license application, so the license comes first (Nevada Real Estate Division: property manager permit).
  • 24 classroom hours of property management education: Required by NRS 645.6052, taken from a school on the Division's approved list, plus a passing result on the property manager exam dated within the last 12 months.
  • A plan for who holds the broker license: To own the firm outright you need a broker license, which requires at least 2 of the last 4 years actively licensed full time (NRS 645.330(4)). If you do not have that yet, you can hold the permit and work for a licensed broker's company.
  • A bank or credit union in Nevada for the trust account: Client money must go into a separate checking account located in a Nevada bank or credit union (NRS 645.310(4)).
  • A registered agent: Nevada requires every LLC and corporation to keep one. A commercial agent or a Nevada resident can serve (Nevada Secretary of State: registered agents).

Who Needs the Permit and Who Does Not

The short answer for a company that manages other people's rentals: you do. It is unlawful to act as a property manager in Nevada without a real estate license and a permit to engage in property management (NRS 645.230(1)(b)). "Property management" means the physical, administrative or financial maintenance of real property for a fee under a property management agreement (NRS 645.019), and engaging in it makes you a real estate broker under NRS 645.030(1)(c). Forming an LLC does not change that.

NRS 645.0445(1) lists the people the chapter does not cover. The ones a new company is most likely to ask about:

  • Owners and their regular employees: Managing your own property, in the regular course of owning it, is outside the licensing law. Managing someone else's property for a fee is not covered by that exemption.
  • On-site managers: A person who keeps an office on one property and manages no other property.
  • HOA and condominium managers: Managing a common-interest community is exempt from the real estate chapter only if the person holds recognition from an approved national organization. Nevada separately prohibits acting as a community manager without a certificate under NRS 116A.400; the Division lists the requirements on its community manager page, which shows Form 559, 60 hours of education and a $300 fee.
  • Subsidized housing managers: Managers of residential housing subsidized by the state, a political subdivision or the federal government.

Short-term rentals are a gray area worth reading closely. NRS 645.030(3) excludes only an employee of a licensed broker who accepts reservations for lodging of 31 days or less. Running a short-term rental portfolio for owners is still property management. If that is your plan, read our Nevada short-term rental guide as well.

Step-by-Step: Launch a Nevada Property Management Company

Step 1: Decide Which Route Fits You

There are three starting points, and they lead to different first moves:

  • You hold a Nevada broker license: Go to Step 3. You are the one who will hold the permit for the company.
  • You hold a salesperson or broker-salesperson license: You can apply for the permit now, but the company needs a licensed broker behind it until you meet the 2-year experience rule. A permit holder acts only for the firm that designated them, not on their own behalf (NRS 645.6054(3)).
  • You hold no license: Start with Step 2. A realistic reading of the statutes is that you cannot take a first client until the license and the permit are both issued, so budget the education, the exams and the Division's processing time before you spend money on a brand.

Step 2: Get the Real Estate License

Pre-licensing education for a salesperson license is at least 120 hours (NRS 645.343(1)). A broker license requires college-level coursework in real estate law, principles, appraisal, broker management and related subjects, plus the experience rule above (NRS 645.343(2); NRS 645.330(4)). The Division's licensing page has the current application packet and fees for each license type. We do not quote those fees here because they are set by Commission regulation and change.

Step 3: Take the 24-Hour Course and Apply for the Permit

With your license in hand, the Division's property manager permit page asks for:

  • Form 545, Property Management Permit Application
  • The certificate for the 24-hour pre-licensing property manager course
  • The original property manager exam result, dated within 12 months of the application
  • The $40 application fee (page checked November 5, 2026)

A permit expires and renews with your license. To renew it you need at least 3 of your continuing education hours in a property management course (NRS 645.6052(3) and (4)).

If you are forming a company, the company designates one person to hold the permit: the manager of an LLC, an officer or employee of a corporation, or a person licensed under a sole-proprietor broker (NRS 645.6054). Anyone else in the firm who will manage property needs their own permit. Choose that person before you file formation papers.

Step 4: Form the LLC or Corporation

Search the name on the Nevada Business Entity Search. A name reservation costs $25 and holds the name for 90 days, which helps if your license and permit are still in process (Nevada Secretary of State: name reservation, snapshot of September 26, 2026).

File the formation documents through the state's Nevada ORION business portal. An LLC's articles of organization cost $75 (NRS 86.561). A corporation's filing fee starts at $75 and rises with authorized shares (NRS 78.760). For a one-owner property management firm, an LLC is usually the simpler choice, though the structure question is one for your attorney and CPA. Our Nevada LLC guide walks through the filing, and you can compare LLC formation services in Nevada if you would rather hand the paperwork off.

Expedited filing costs extra. The Secretary of State may charge up to $125 for service within 24 hours, up to $500 within 2 hours and up to $1,000 within 1 hour (NRS 225.140(2)(d)); confirm the actual charge with the office before you pay.

Step 5: Pay the Initial List and State Business License

Every Nevada entity needs the state business license, and you file the initial list of managers or members to get it. For an LLC the initial list is $150 (NRS 86.263) and the state business license is $200 (NRS Chapter 76); a corporation pays $500 for the license. Both are due by the last day of the month after you file your articles, and both renew each year by the last day of your anniversary month, with a $100 penalty if the license renewal is late (Nevada Secretary of State: State Business License FAQ, snapshot of October 14, 2026).

For an LLC that makes the first-year total paid to the Secretary of State $425 ($75 plus $150 plus $200), then $350 a year ($150 annual list plus $200 license).

Step 6: Get an EIN

The IRS EIN application is free and takes about 15 minutes online. You need the EIN to open business accounts, so apply after the LLC is filed and before you visit the bank. Third-party sites that charge for an EIN are not the IRS.

Step 7: Open the Operating and Trust Accounts

Open two accounts at a Nevada bank or credit union: one for your own money, one for client money. Under NRS 645.310:

  • Rents, security deposits and other money you receive for a client go into the separate account designated a trust account, unless everyone with an interest agrees otherwise in writing.
  • You may not commingle client money with your own, and you are personally liable for it.
  • The account names you as trustee and allows withdrawal without advance notice.
  • You keep records of every deposit, balance the account at least monthly, send the Division an annual reconciliation, and tell the Division which banks hold your trust accounts.

Ask each bank in writing about minimum balances and monthly fees before you choose, because those terms are the bank's and vary.

Step 8: Write Your Property Management Agreement

A permit holder may not manage a property until the broker and the owner have signed a property management agreement. NRS 645.6056 requires it to state the term and renewal terms, how tenant deposits are kept and disposed of, and your fee or compensation, among other items. NRS 645.6057 adds duties: disclose each source of your compensation and any conflict of interest, account to the owner for money you receive, and advise the owner to consult an expert on matters beyond your expertise. Have a Nevada real estate attorney review your template once, then reuse it.

Step 9: Get City and County Business Licenses

Cities and counties license businesses separately from the state, and the issuer depends on where your office sits. Start with the office for your address:

If you will run the company from a spare room, read the Nevada home-based business rules first. A broker must also keep a place of business, so check how your license and your city treat a home office before you sign a lease or skip one. For the full state-level picture, see Nevada Business License: What You Need and How to Get It.

Step 10: Set Up Taxes and Insurance

Nevada has no personal or corporate income tax, so a management company's state tax exposure is mostly the Commerce Tax. It applies only if your Nevada gross revenue is over $4,000,000 in a fiscal year; at or under that amount you file nothing (Nevada Department of Taxation: Commerce Tax; NRS 363C.200). Federal income tax and any payroll taxes still apply.

We found no insurance minimum for property managers in NRS Chapter 645. That does not mean you can skip coverage: you are holding other people's money and signing leases on their behalf, so ask a commercial insurance broker about professional liability (errors and omissions) and crime or fidelity coverage, and ask the Division whether a regulation applies to your license type.

What Costs What

ItemCostSource
Property management permit application (Form 545)$40Nevada Real Estate Division
Name reservation (90 days)$25Secretary of State
LLC articles of organization$75NRS 86.561
Initial list (LLC)$150NRS 86.263
State business license (LLC; $500 for a corporation)$200 a yearNRS Chapter 76
First-year state total for an LLC$425Sum of the three rows above
Recurring state cost for an LLC$350 a year$150 annual list plus $200 license
Real estate license, exams, education, E&O insurance, city or county licenseVariesSet by the Division, schools, insurers and each city; get quotes

Mistakes That End Property Management Companies

  • Taking a client before the permit is issued: Acting as a property manager, or advertising as one, without the license and permit is unlawful under NRS 645.230. Do not market until both are issued.
  • Letting rent touch the operating account: NRS 645.310 makes you personally liable for client money, and Division audits cover your trust records. The statute requires you to balance each trust account at least monthly.
  • Using unlicensed leasing staff: NRS 645.030 covers anyone who rents or leases property for another for compensation. A leasing agent who shows units usually needs a license under your broker; ask the Division before you hire.
  • Treating the LLC as the license: The entity is not licensed to do the work; a named person holds the broker license and the permit. If that person leaves, the firm must designate a replacement who qualifies (NRS 645.6054(3)).
  • Skipping the written agreement: Without a signed agreement that meets NRS 645.6056, you have no basis to manage the property at all.

Where This Guide Stops

This guide is built from the Nevada statutes and the Real Estate Division's published pages, not from our own experience running a management company. It does not cover the Division's current license fees, the full Nevada Administrative Code for property managers, landlord-tenant law (NRS Chapter 118A), or local zoning for your office. Nevada's regulations change; the Division sets the fees and may require more than the statute does. This path is not for you if you do not want to hold a real estate license: managing only your own properties needs none, and managing for others cannot be done without one.

Important Disclaimer

This content is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Before you take your first client, have a Nevada real estate attorney review your agreement and your trust account practices, and ask a CPA about your entity and tax setup.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides