Car Rental Business Regulations in Nevada

Nevada requirements at a glance

What licenses do you need to rent cars in Nevada?

You need two separate registrations before you rent a single car, and both are easy to underestimate. The DMV requires a short-term lessor license under NRS 482.363: an application, fingerprints for each principal, a $100,000 surety bond for passenger vehicles, proof of liability insurance, an established Nevada place of business with a permanently affixed sign, and a DMV site inspection. New license is $125, renewal $50 annually.

Separately, the Department of Taxation requires short-term lessor registration to collect the governmental services fee and county add-ons — this is what creates your quarterly filing obligation on Form STS-1. A Nevada State Business License from the Secretary of State (about $200 for most entities) is a third layer.

What is the governmental services fee?

Nevada charges 10 percent of the total lease amount on short-term passenger car rentals of 31 days or less, collected from the lessee and remitted quarterly. It excludes the county car rental fee, sales tax, airport concession fees, and separately stated insurance and damage charges.

A return must be filed every quarter even when no rentals were made, due the last day of the month following each quarter.

Do Clark and Washoe counties add their own fee?

Yes — both charge an additional 2 percent on top of the state fee, the statutory maximum for each. A vehicle rented in Las Vegas or Reno carries the 10 percent state fee, the 2 percent county fee, and county sales tax as three separate layers.

One exemption: a vehicle rented to replace the lessee's own car while it is in for repair or otherwise unavailable is exempt from the 2 percent county fee, provided the lessee signs the Department of Taxation's replacement-vehicle acknowledgment and the lessor retains it.

Can you recover your vehicle licensing costs?

Yes, but there is no fixed percentage. A short-term lessor may add a charge to recover its own vehicle licensing costs — registration, title, plates, inspection fees, and governmental services taxes already paid on the fleet. The amount must be a good-faith estimate of actual costs, and any difference between what was collected and what was actually spent must be trued up the following year on an annual report (Form EXC-C021, due April 30).

What insurance and disclosure rules apply?

Minimum liability is 25/50/20 — $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, $20,000 property damage, in force since July 2018.

Every fee charged must be indicated in the lease agreement. Any limitation, exception, or exclusion written into a damage waiver is void and unenforceable — the waiver either applies in full or the lessor cannot charge for it. Additional-driver fees are capped, and fuel surcharges are prohibited outright.

Frequently asked questions

• 1Do I need a special license to rent cars in Nevada?+

  Yes. The DMV requires a short-term lessor license, separate from your Department of Taxation registration and your state business license.

• 2What is Nevada's governmental services fee?+

  10 percent of the total lease amount on short-term passenger car rentals, filed quarterly.

• 3Do Clark and Washoe counties charge extra?+

  Yes, both add 2 percent on top of the state fee, the statutory maximum for each county.

• 4Can I recover my vehicle licensing costs from renters?+

  Yes, as a good-faith estimate of your actual costs, with a mandatory annual true-up if you collected more or less than you spent.

• 5What is the minimum liability insurance in Nevada?+

  25/50/20, in effect since July 2018.

• 6Can a Nevada damage waiver exclude certain kinds of damage?+

  No. Any limitation, exception, or exclusion to a damage waiver is void and unenforceable under NRS 482.3155.

Related

Neighboring states: California · Arizona · Utah

Sources: Nevada Department of Taxation · Nevada DMV · NRS Chapter 482