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Nevada Garage Registration for Mechanics: DMV Requirements, $5,000 Bond and Customer Bill of Rights

Updated 2026-10-17. Sources are listed at the end.

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This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules vary by state and change often. Confirm with the official source linked in each section, or with a licensed attorney, CPA or insurance agent, before you act.

Nevada doesn’t license individual mechanics, but it does register repair businesses. If you work on the public’s cars for pay, you’re probably a “garage” under Nevada law and need to register with the DMV’s Occupational and Business Licensing section.

What counts as a “garage”

The DMV’s garage registration sheet (OBL-344, citing NRS 487.540-487.560) defines a garage as any business, including a sole proprietorship, that performs any of these on motor vehicles (NV DMV OBL-344):

That covers almost every mobile job. Two exceptions: businesses that don’t serve members of the public aren’t garages, and shops that repair only trucks over 10,000 lb gross weight aren’t subject to registration (NRS 487.550).

Requirements and cost

From OBL-344 (NV DMV):

RequirementDetail
ApplicationBusiness License and Garage Registration (OBL-237)
BackgroundPersonal History Questionnaire (OBL-242) and Licensee Acknowledgement (OBL-308) for each principal
Bond$5,000 surety bond (OBL-269) or deposit in lieu of bond
Fee$25, non-refundable. Dealers, body shops, inspection stations and some others are exempt
LocalCity or county business license, and fictitious firm name filing if you use a DBA
EntitySecretary of State filings if incorporated, plus your FEIN and an email address
Place of business“An established place of business within the state”
SignGarage Consumer Bill of Rights, 22 x 28 inches, displayed where customers see it
Late renewal$25 late fee to reinstate

Mobile techs: the in-state “established place of business” requirement and the sign rule both assume a physical location. Before you buy a bond, ask the DMV’s Occupational and Business Licensing office ((775) 684-4690) what it accepts as a place of business for a mobile operation.

The customer bill of rights (and the rules behind it)

NRS 487.6871 sets the wording of the sign. Each line points to a rule you have to follow (NRS Chapter 487):

The sign must include the state seal and the DMV Compliance Enforcement Division’s contact details. Violating the sign section is a misdemeanor. The DMV provides a template (OBL-334).

The 20%/$100 limit is tighter than many states’. On a $400 estimate, you need authorization before going over $480. On a $900 estimate, the $100 cap applies: authorization before $1,000. Log the call or get a signed text approval. Our estimate & invoice requirements guide compares other states.

Getting started in Nevada

  1. Get your city or county business license and file your DBA.
  2. Get a $5,000 surety bond. You pay a premium to a surety company. The bond amount is not what you pay.
  3. File OBL-237, OBL-242 and OBL-308 with the $25 fee.
  4. Print the bill-of-rights sign from the DMV template.
  5. Set up estimates with a $50 threshold and an authorization line for the 20%/$100 rule. The job quote & profit calculator helps you build accurate first estimates.

More on this topic

Sources