Nevada Independent Contractor Agreement Template

Q: Is Nevada an ABC state for independent contractors?

Only for part of the picture, and the unqualified label causes real problems. NRS 612.085 is a genuine ABC test, and it governs unemployment insurance. Wage and hour claims run on a different statute, NRS 608.0155, which presumes independent contractor status rather than employment. Calling Nevada an ABC state without naming the law being applied inverts the rule for the setting in which most contractor agreements are written.

Q: What does NRS 608.0155 actually require?

Three things together. First, unless the person is a foreign national legally present in the United States, the person possesses or has applied for an employer identification number or Social Security number, or filed an income tax return for a business or for self-employment earnings with the IRS in the previous year. Second, the contract with the principal requires the person to hold any necessary state or local business license and to maintain any necessary occupational license, insurance, or bonding to operate in Nevada. Third, the person satisfies three or more of five listed criteria. All three parts must be present.

Q: What has to be in the contract itself under Nevada law?

The licensing and insurance obligation. NRS 608.0155(1)(b) does not ask whether the worker happens to hold the right licenses; it asks whether the person is required by the contract with the principal to hold them and to maintain any necessary occupational license, insurance, or bonding. An agreement that leaves the covenant out gives up the chapter 608 presumption regardless of how the relationship works day to day. Because the statute says maintain, draft it as a continuing duty for the life of the engagement rather than a representation made once at signing.

Q: Does the licensing clause protect a Nevada business from misclassification claims generally?

No, and it is important not to read it that way. The covenant buys the conclusive presumption under NRS chapter 608, which covers minimum wage, overtime, and wage payment. Unemployment insurance is decided under the ABC test in NRS 612.085 and workers' compensation under NRS 616B.603, and neither is affected by that clause. NRS 607.216 defines employee misclassification to span minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation, temporary disability insurance, wage payment, and payroll taxes at once, so a single engagement can be judged correctly under one chapter and wrongly under another.

Q: If a worker fails three of the five criteria, are they an employee in Nevada?

Not automatically. NRS 608.0155(3) states expressly that failing to satisfy three or more of the paragraph (c) criteria does not create a presumption that the person is an employee. The statute is a one-way ratchet: it supplies a presumption favoring contractor status when its conditions are met and refuses to supply the opposite inference when they are not. Falling short means the ordinary analysis applies rather than the question being decided against the hiring party.

Q: What are the five criteria in NRS 608.0155(1)(c)?

Control and discretion over the means and manner of the work, where the result rather than the method is what the principal bargained for; control over the time the work is performed, apart from agreement on the completion schedule and the range of work hours; no requirement to work exclusively for one principal, subject to narrow exceptions for legal prohibitions and written limited-period single-principal contracts; freedom to hire employees to assist with the work; and a substantial investment of capital, assessed against the income received and the equipment and expenses ordinary in that trade. Three of the five suffice.

Q: How does Nevada decide independent contractor status for unemployment insurance?

Under NRS 612.085, services performed for wages are deemed to be employment unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Administrator that the person is and will remain free from control or direction both under the contract and in fact, that the service is outside the usual course of the business or performed outside all of the places of business of the enterprise, and that the service is performed in an independently established trade or business of the same nature as the contract work. The burden sits on the hiring party, and all three prongs must be met. A written contract or a Form 1099 does not by itself establish contractor status here.

Q: Do we still owe workers' compensation coverage for a Nevada contractor?

Possibly. NRS 616B.603 asks a separate question: a hiring party is not an employer if it contracts with an independent enterprise and is not in the same trade, business, profession, or occupation as that enterprise. An independent enterprise is a person holding themselves out as engaged in a separate business who either holds a business or occupational license in their own name or owns, rents, or leases property used in furtherance of the business. The same trade limit is the most common reason the exemption fails, and it does not apply to principal contractors licensed under NRS chapter 624 or to real estate brokers with respect to associated salespersons.

Q: Are construction contractors treated differently in Nevada?

Yes. NRS 608.0155(2) carves a natural person who is licensed under NRS chapter 624, or who is directly compensated by such a licensee for providing labor requiring a chapter 624 license, out of the general route and applies its own three-part test, which must be satisfied in full. Providing labor is defined not to include the delivery of supplies. Note also that the workers' compensation exemption in NRS 616B.603 is unavailable to a principal contractor licensed under chapter 624.

Q: What happens if a Nevada worker is misclassified?

NRS 608.400 bars an employer from using coercion, misrepresentation, or fraud to require a person to be classified as an independent contractor or to form a business entity for that purpose, and from intentionally misclassifying a person as other than an employee. The Labor Commissioner may impose graduated administrative penalties after notice and an opportunity for a hearing under NRS 607.207, beginning with a warning for a first non-willful offense and escalating for willful and repeat conduct, and may refer matters to other agencies and to the Attorney General. Unpaid contributions, interest, and penalties can also arise separately under NRS chapter 612 for unemployment insurance and under NRS chapter 616 for uninsured workers' compensation exposure.

Nevada runs three classification tests whose presumptions point in opposite directions, and only one of them turns on what your contract says.

Find out where you stand in Nevada

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Introduction

An Independent Contractor Agreement engages a freelancer, consultant, or tradesperson in Nevada without creating an employment relationship. Nevada does not have one classification test. It has three, and they run in opposite directions. For wage and hour claims under NRS chapter 608, NRS 608.0155 conclusively presumes that a person IS an independent contractor when its conditions are met, and one of those conditions is a term that must appear in the contract itself. For unemployment insurance under NRS chapter 612, NRS 612.085 is a genuine ABC test in which services for wages are deemed to be employment unless the hiring party proves all three prongs to the Administrator. For workers' compensation under NRS chapters 616A to 616D, NRS 616B.603 applies a third and different independent enterprise plus same trade standard. Widely published summaries call Nevada an ABC state without qualification. That is accurate for unemployment insurance and inaccurate for wage and hour, which is the setting in which most independent contractor agreements are actually drafted. Drafting well buys you the chapter 608 presumption. It does not buy you the other two.

Key Things to Know

1
Nevada applies a different classification test depending on which law is being enforced, and the presumptions point in opposite directions. NRS 608.0155 presumes independent contractor status for wage and hour purposes. NRS 612.085 presumes employment for unemployment insurance purposes. NRS 616B.603 uses a third standard for workers' compensation. One relationship can land differently under each.
2
The lead-in words of NRS 608.0155(1) do the work: a person is conclusively presumed to be an independent contractor 'for the purposes of this chapter.' That phrase confines the pro-contractor presumption to NRS chapter 608, meaning minimum wage, overtime, and wage payment claims before the Office of the Labor Commissioner. It does not travel to unemployment insurance or workers' compensation.
3
NRS 608.0155(1) requires three things together, not two. Paragraph (a) asks whether the person holds or has applied for an EIN or Social Security number, or filed a business or self-employment tax return with the IRS in the previous year, unless the person is a foreign national legally present in the United States. Paragraph (b) is a contract term. Paragraph (c) requires satisfying three or more of five criteria.
4
Paragraph (b) is a drafting instruction. NRS 608.0155(1)(b) requires that the person be required by the contract with the principal to hold any necessary state or local business license and to maintain any necessary occupational license, insurance, or bonding to operate in Nevada. If your Nevada agreement omits that covenant, the presumption is forfeited no matter how independently the work is actually performed. The word maintain imports a continuing duty, so it cannot be written as a one-time signing representation.
5
The five criteria under NRS 608.0155(1)(c) are control over the means and manner of the work, control over the timing of the work, no requirement to work exclusively for one principal, freedom to hire employees to assist, and a substantial investment of capital. Three of the five are enough. Each maps onto a clause you either include or leave out, so exclusivity terms and bans on subcontracting have a direct statutory cost.
6
NRS 608.0155(3) is a one-way ratchet, and it is where most summaries go wrong. Failing to satisfy three or more of the paragraph (c) criteria does not automatically create a presumption that the person is an employee. The statute grants a presumption in one direction only and expressly declines to supply the mirror image, so falling short returns you to the ordinary analysis rather than deciding the question against you.
7
A well-drafted Nevada contract does not prevent misclassification liability generally. NRS 607.216 defines employee misclassification to span minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation insurance, temporary disability insurance, wage payment, and payroll taxes at the same time, each judged by its own test. The licensing and insurance covenant addresses chapter 608 exposure only, and the Labor Commissioner can also refer matters to other agencies and to the Attorney General.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Independent Contractor Agreement in Nevada, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Independent Contractor Agreement guide walks through them.

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Nevada Independent Contractor Agreement

1. Parties. This Independent Contractor Agreement (the "Agreement") is entered into as of ________________, [YEAR] (the "Effective Date") by and between [COMPANY NAME], a [TYPE OF ENTITY] organized and existing under the laws of [STATE], with its principal place of business at [COMPANY ADDRESS] ("Company"), and [CONTRACTOR NAME], an individual residing at [CONTRACTOR ADDRESS] ("Contractor"). Company and Contractor may be referred to individually as a "Party" and collectively as the "Parties."

2. Services. Contractor shall perform the following services (the "Services"): [DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES]. Contractor shall deliver: [LIST OF DELIVERABLES].

Means and manner. Contractor shall determine the means, manner, methods, and sequence of performing the Services. Company may specify the results to be achieved and the deadlines for achieving them, but does not direct how the Services are performed.

Timing. Except for agreement on the completion schedule and the range of work hours, Contractor controls the time at which the Services are performed.

Place of performance. Contractor shall perform the Services at ______ (Contractor's own premises, remotely, or another agreed location), and is not required to perform the Services at any premises of Company except where the nature of the Services requires it.

3. Independent Contractor Status. Contractor is an independent contractor and not an employee, agent, partner, or joint venturer of Company. Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment relationship.

Contractor representations. Contractor represents that Contractor: (a) is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as the Services; (b) offers services to the general public and is free to accept work from other clients; (c) maintains Contractor's own place of business, tools, and equipment as appropriate to the Services; and (d) bears the opportunity for profit and the risk of loss on the Services.

Tax identification. Contractor represents that Contractor possesses or has applied for an employer identification number or Social Security number, or has filed an income tax return for a business or for earnings from self-employment with the Internal Revenue Service in the previous year, unless Contractor is a foreign national who is legally present in the United States.

Licensing and insurance. Contractor is required by this Agreement to hold any necessary State of Nevada business license and any necessary local business license, and to obtain and maintain, throughout the Term and for as long as Contractor performs the Services, any necessary occupational license, insurance, and bonding required to operate in the State of Nevada. This obligation is continuing and is not satisfied by a statement of Contractor's status as of the Effective Date. Contractor shall provide evidence of compliance on Company's request. This term is included because NRS 608.0155(1)(b) conditions the conclusive presumption of independent contractor status under NRS chapter 608 on the contract itself imposing this requirement.

Not exclusive. This Agreement is non-exclusive. Contractor may perform services for others during the Term, and Company does not require Contractor to work exclusively for Company.

Assistants. Contractor is free to hire employees or engage subcontractors to assist with the Services, at Contractor's expense and under Contractor's direction, and remains responsible to Company for the Services.

Contractor's investment. Contractor supplies the tools, materials, and equipment ordinarily used in Contractor's trade or profession and bears the associated cost, except as the Parties expressly agree otherwise in writing.

4. Fees and Payment. Company shall pay Contractor a fixed fee of $, an hourly rate of $ per hour, or the milestone amounts set out in Schedule A. Compensation is calculated and paid as follows: [RATE AND METHOD]. Company shall pay Contractor on or before ______ (a date, or the mechanism for determining it).

5. Term and Termination. This Agreement begins on the Effective Date and continues until ______ or completion of the Services, unless terminated earlier under this Section. Either Party may terminate this Agreement on [NUMBER] days written notice to the other Party. Either Party may terminate immediately on written notice if the other Party materially breaches this Agreement and fails to cure within [NUMBER] days after written notice describing the breach.

Effect of termination. On termination, Company shall pay Contractor for all Services performed through the effective date of termination. Contractor shall deliver all work in progress for which Contractor has been paid. Sections 6, 7, 8, and 10 survive termination.

6. Ownership of Work Product. Upon full payment of all amounts due, Contractor assigns to Company all right, title, and interest in the deliverables created specifically for Company under this Agreement, including all copyright and other intellectual property rights in them.

Contractor materials. Contractor retains all right, title, and interest in any tools, methods, templates, know-how, and other materials that Contractor owned before the Effective Date or develops independently of this Agreement. To the extent any such materials are incorporated into a deliverable, Contractor grants Company a non-exclusive, perpetual, royalty-free license to use them as part of that deliverable.

7. Confidentiality. Contractor may receive information of Company that is marked confidential or that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential ("Confidential Information"). Contractor shall not use Confidential Information except to perform this Agreement and shall not disclose it to any third party without Company's prior written consent. Confidential Information does not include information that is or becomes public through no fault of Contractor, was known to Contractor without restriction before disclosure, is independently developed without use of Company's Confidential Information, or is rightfully received from a third party without restriction.

8. Taxes, Benefits, and Insurance. Contractor is responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes on amounts paid under this Agreement. Company will not withhold income tax, Social Security, or Medicare contributions, and will report payments on IRS Form 1099-NEC where required.

No benefits. Contractor is not eligible for and waives any claim to employee benefits provided by Company, including health insurance, retirement contributions, paid leave, and workers' compensation coverage, except where such coverage is required by law. The Parties acknowledge that this Section records how they intend to treat the engagement and does not itself determine Contractor's status under NRS chapter 612 or under NRS chapters 616A to 616D.

9. Indemnification. Each Party shall indemnify the other against third-party claims arising from the indemnifying Party's breach of this Agreement, negligence, or willful misconduct.

10. General. Governing law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Nevada, without regard to its conflict of laws rules.

Entire agreement. This Agreement, together with its Schedules, is the entire agreement between the Parties on its subject matter and supersedes all prior discussions.

Amendment. This Agreement may be amended only in a writing signed by both Parties.

Assignment. Neither Party may assign this Agreement without the other Party's prior written consent.

Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement remains in effect.

Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, including by electronic signature.

Signatures.

Company: ______________________________ Date: ____________

Print name and title: ______________________________

Contractor: ______________________________ Date: ____________

Print name: ______________________________

Note on scope. The licensing and insurance covenant in Section 3 is drafted to NRS 608.0155(1)(b), which reaches NRS chapter 608 only. It has no effect on unemployment insurance status under NRS 612.085 or on workers' compensation status under NRS 616B.603. Contractors licensed under NRS chapter 624, and persons directly compensated by such a licensee for labor requiring a chapter 624 license, are routed to the separate test in NRS 608.0155(2). Confirm the current text of NRS 608.0155 before relying on it. This is general information, not legal advice; attorney review is available.

Nevada Requirements for Independent Contractor Agreement

Contract Must Require Nevada Licensing and Maintained Insurance (NRS 608.0155(1)(b))
NRS 608.0155(1)(b) conditions the chapter 608 conclusive presumption of independent contractor status on the contract with the principal requiring the person to hold any necessary state or local business license and to maintain any necessary occupational license, insurance, or bonding to operate in Nevada. Include an affirmative covenant tracking that language. Because the statute says maintain, draft a continuing obligation for the life of the engagement rather than a one-time representation, and key insurance to what the trade actually requires rather than an arbitrary coverage figure.
Tax Identification or Prior Self-Employment Filing (NRS 608.0155(1)(a))
Under NRS 608.0155(1)(a), unless the person is a foreign national legally present in the United States, the person must possess or have applied for an employer identification number or Social Security number, or have filed an income tax return for a business or for earnings from self-employment with the Internal Revenue Service in the previous year. Foreign national takes the meaning ascribed in NRS 294A.325.
Three or More of Five Criteria (NRS 608.0155(1)(c))
NRS 608.0155(1)(c) requires the person to satisfy at least three of five criteria: control and discretion over the means and manner of the work; control over the time the work is performed, apart from agreement on the completion schedule and range of work hours; no requirement to work exclusively for one principal, subject to narrow exceptions; freedom to hire employees to assist; and a substantial investment of capital judged against the income, equipment, and expenses ordinary in the trade. Exclusivity clauses and bans on subcontracting reduce the count.
No Reverse Presumption of Employment (NRS 608.0155(3))
NRS 608.0155(3) provides that failure to satisfy three or more of the paragraph (c) criteria does not automatically create a presumption that the person is an employee. The statute operates in one direction only. Falling short of the criteria returns the question to the ordinary analysis rather than resolving it against the hiring party.
Separate Route for Construction Work (NRS 608.0155(2); NRS chapter 624)
NRS 608.0155(2) removes a natural person licensed under NRS chapter 624, and a natural person directly compensated by such a licensee for providing labor requiring a chapter 624 license, from the general route and applies its own three-part test that must be met in full. NRS 608.0155(4)(b) provides that providing labor does not include the delivery of supplies.
Unemployment Insurance Uses a Genuine ABC Test (NRS 612.085)
For unemployment insurance under NRS chapter 612, services performed for wages are deemed to be employment unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the Administrator that the person is and will remain free from control or direction under the contract and in fact, that the service is outside the usual course of the business or performed outside all places of business of the enterprise, and that the service is performed in an independently established trade of the same nature as the contract work. The burden is on the hiring party, and the NRS 608.0155 presumption does not apply. Determinations are made by the Employment Security Division of DETR.
Workers' Compensation Uses an Independent Enterprise and Same Trade Test (NRS 616B.603)
Under NRS 616B.603, a hiring party is not an employer if it contracts with an independent enterprise and is not in the same trade, business, profession, or occupation as that enterprise. An independent enterprise is a person holding themselves out as engaged in a separate business who either holds a business or occupational license in their own name or owns, rents, or leases property used in furtherance of the business. The exemption does not apply to a principal contractor licensed under NRS chapter 624 or to a real estate broker with respect to an associated broker-salesperson or salesperson under NRS 645.520. Administered by the Workers' Compensation Section of the Division of Industrial Relations.
Misclassification Spans Every Regime at Once (NRS 607.216; NRS 608.400; NRS 607.207)
NRS 607.216 defines employee misclassification as improperly classifying employees as independent contractors to avoid obligations under state labor, employment, and tax laws, expressly including minimum wage, overtime, unemployment insurance, workers' compensation insurance, temporary disability insurance, wage payment, and payroll taxes. NRS 608.400 prohibits coerced or intentional misclassification, with graduated administrative penalties imposed by the Labor Commissioner after notice and an opportunity for a hearing under NRS 607.207, plus referral to other agencies and the Attorney General. Drafting to NRS 608.0155 addresses chapter 608 exposure only. Verify the current text of these statutes before relying on any of them for a specific engagement.
No General Writing Mandate, but Writing Is Functionally Required (NRS 608.0155(1)(b))
No Nevada statute requires an independent contractor agreement to be in writing as a precondition to the engagement. A writing is nonetheless a practical condition of the chapter 608 presumption, because NRS 608.0155(1)(b) requires the contract to impose the licensing and insurance obligation, and because NRS 608.0155(1)(c)(3)(II) recognizes a written contract to serve a single principal for a limited period. For unemployment insurance, a written contract or a Form 1099 carries no presumptive weight.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Nevada an ABC state for independent contractors?

What does NRS 608.0155 actually require?

What has to be in the contract itself under Nevada law?

Does the licensing clause protect a Nevada business from misclassification claims generally?

If a worker fails three of the five criteria, are they an employee in Nevada?

What are the five criteria in NRS 608.0155(1)(c)?

How does Nevada decide independent contractor status for unemployment insurance?

Do we still owe workers' compensation coverage for a Nevada contractor?

Are construction contractors treated differently in Nevada?

What happens if a Nevada worker is misclassified?

Find out where you stand in Nevada

Introduction

Key Things to Know

Key decisions before you file

Customize your Independent Contractor Agreement Template with DocDraft

Nevada Independent Contractor Agreement

Nevada Requirements for Independent Contractor Agreement

Contract Must Require Nevada Licensing and Maintained Insurance (NRS 608.0155(1)(b))

Tax Identification or Prior Self-Employment Filing (NRS 608.0155(1)(a))

Three or More of Five Criteria (NRS 608.0155(1)(c))

No Reverse Presumption of Employment (NRS 608.0155(3))

Separate Route for Construction Work (NRS 608.0155(2); NRS chapter 624)

Unemployment Insurance Uses a Genuine ABC Test (NRS 612.085)

Workers' Compensation Uses an Independent Enterprise and Same Trade Test (NRS 616B.603)

Misclassification Spans Every Regime at Once (NRS 607.216; NRS 608.400; NRS 607.207)

No General Writing Mandate, but Writing Is Functionally Required (NRS 608.0155(1)(b))

Frequently Asked Questions