Nevada pool builders hold A-10 Commercial and Residential Pools, and a pool job typically brings in several specialty subs. As principal contractor, the builder can be deemed the employer of any sub's workers who lack industrial insurance, Nevada's legal name for workers comp, so a current certificate from each sub matters more than the sub's license.
Industrial insurance becomes mandatory once a pool company has one or more employees. The state contractors board also will not issue, keep active or renew an A-10 Commercial and Residential Pools license unless it sees proof of industrial insurance or an exemption affidavit; Nevada Revised Statutes 624.256 sets that rule. That same rule is why a sub's license alone says little about its coverage.
| Rule | What It Means for a Pool Builder | Source |
|---|---|---|
| First employee | Coverage is mandatory for one or more employees. | Division of Industrial Relations employer guide |
| License proof | Proof of coverage or an exemption affidavit to obtain, maintain, activate or renew. | Nevada Revised Statutes 624.256 |
| Deemed employees | Dig, steel, gunite, plaster and tile subs working under you, and their workers, are deemed your employees. | Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 616A |
| Independent enterprise exception | Unavailable to a pool builder licensed as a principal contractor under the contractor licensing chapter. | Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 616B |
| Paid officers and managers | Reported between $6,000 and $36,000 a year; one who owns the company may reject by notice to the insurer. | Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 616B |
| Sole proprietors and working partners | May elect coverage for themselves; no ownership percentage is set. | Nevada Revised Statutes, chapter 616B |
| Payroll limit | $98,433.60 per employee on policies from October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026; $102,452.16 from January 1, 2027. | Nevada Division of Insurance |
Officers and LLC managers who draw no pay can step off the policy with written notice to the company and the insurer. Settle owner choices with the carrier before the first dig; statewide rules are on Nevada industrial insurance for contractors.
Nevada classifies pool payroll under NCCI's system. The loss cost files the Division of Insurance posts give code numbers only, without descriptions, and this site hasn't published Nevada codes. The carrier decides from what your crews do on each pool, so a crew that digs and shoots shells is looked at apart from staff who sell, design and manage subs. Your A-10 Commercial and Residential Pools license doesn't set the classification, and the workers comp class code lookup shows which states this site lists. We don't assign or confirm codes.
Illustrative scenario
Illustrative only. An A-10 Commercial and Residential Pools builder in Summerlin subs out the dig, steel, gunite and plaster. The plaster sub is two partners with their own contractor license, kept active on an exemption affidavit, and no industrial insurance. Working under the builder, the partners may be deemed the builder's employees, and a licensed sub's partners are reported at a set monthly amount. The builder's superintendent, paid above the limit, counts up to $102,452.16 on a renewal dated January 1, 2027. In Arizona, the question would turn instead on who controlled the plaster work and on that state's waiver rules.
Those Arizona rules are on Arizona pool construction workers comp.
Taking a Sub's License as Proof of Coverage
A sub's NSCB license tells you the board accepted either proof of industrial insurance or an exemption affidavit. It doesn't tell you which. A licensed plaster or tile sub can hold an active license with no industrial insurance in force, and under the principal contractor rule its people may land on your audit. Ask for the certificate itself.
Build your sub list from what to ask subcontractors for workers comp before the season starts.
Industrial insurance is for your employees' injuries. Damage to a neighbor's block wall during the dig, a pool that leaks after plaster or a truck crash between backyards typically falls to general liability, a bond or commercial auto. The pool construction workers comp hub compares how each state treats pool builders. Builders that run their own excavators can compare Nevada grading workers comp, and those that set equipment can see Nevada plumber workers compensation.
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With one or more employees, yes. Even without employees, the A-10 Commercial and Residential Pools license itself depends on showing the board either a policy or an exemption affidavit, and as principal contractor you may be deemed the employer of subs' workers who have no coverage of their own.
Not necessarily. The board accepts either proof of industrial insurance or an exemption affidavit, so an active license can rest on the affidavit. Ask for a current certificate; without one, the sub's people may be deemed your employees at audit.
As a paid officer who also owns the company, you may opt out by giving notice to the insurer; Nevada attaches no ownership percentage to that. Paid officers who stay on are reported between $6,000 and $36,000 a year. Confirm with the carrier what opting out gives up.
No. That license is the board's category for building pools. The carrier picks your industrial insurance classification under NCCI's system, looking at the work your pool crews perform, and this site doesn't publish or assign Nevada codes.
Yes, by election. Nevada lets a sole proprietor, including a working partner, elect coverage for themselves, and no ownership percentage is set. Talk with the carrier about the election before your partner starts running pool jobs, and confirm the date it takes effect.
12 official sources
Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
Next Level Experience. Insurance Done Right.
Nevada pool builder industrial insurance, from licensed subs to the payroll limit.
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