HIS Registration, NV City, State & Contractor Licensing and CA Low Voltage Waiver

First, an answer for ‘HIS’ question on call. Next, a NV contractor is finding a ‘marathon’ course in seeking his application approval before I help ‘line up’ the hurdles to overcome.  Finally, an electrical contractor discovers he’s already ‘wired in’ to a new class…

Q:  I was wondering if you are able help with HIS (Home Improvement Salesperson) registrations.  If our company, a Nevada LLC, has employees selling solar systems over the phone to CA homeowners, do their employees need to have their HIS registrations?

A:  No, if the employees are selling solar systems over the phone, then HIS registration is not required.  A Home Improvement Salesperson is defined as an individual who is employed by a licensed contractor to solicit, sell, negotiate, or execute contracts for home improvements, outside the contractor’s normal place of business.

Q:  You are helping us with our Nevada Contractor’s license and we are almost to the finish line of issuance.  I reached out to City of North Las Vegas to get my City Business License started.  However, they say I need to provide my NV State Contractors License number first.  My question is, on the letter I received from NV, called the Contingent Letter of Approval, at the bottom it states I will need my Business License before they will issue me a Contractor’s License number.  So in other words, if I am reading this correctly, I will be running in circles.  Can you explain how this will work?

A:  You are not alone as we are often called to help!  It is easy to feel as though you are running in circles when dealing with the bureaucratic authorities.  Here’s the deal: you are required to have a State business license number (issued by the Nevada Secretary of State) before your Contractor’s License number can be issued.  Similarly, you must have a Contractor’s License number to obtain a City business license number.  So, the order is to first obtain your State business license number (which we have already completed), and second, obtain the Contractor’s License number (which is near completion), and lastly you can start the process of obtaining a City business license in each city that you plan to conduct business in. Easy.

Q:  Our Company is licensed with the “B” (General Building) and the “C-10” (Electrical) classifications.  My brother has Qualified both classifications since the 1990’s. We have had several projects where the project owners are requiring

“C-7” (Low Voltage) licenses.  We have an employee who has worked for a Low Voltage company in the past, and he can have his former employer sign to verify his experience, and he also should have no trouble passing the required exams.  Does he need to get his own license first and then we add him to our license, or how does that work?

A:  No, it is not necessary for him to obtain his own license first before adding the “C-7” to your Company license.  You can avoid that step and apply to add a classification to your Company license.

Just FYI, since your brother has held the “C-10” classification since the 90’s, he can also apply to add the “C-7” classification to your license and request to Waive the exam.  Based on B&P Code section 7065.3, a Qualifying individual can request to Waive the exam if the classification being added is closely related to the classification currently listed on the license (that is the case in your situation).  Your brother will need to show that low voltage work has been a significant part of the work being done with your “C-10”.