Verified October 10, 2026 against the statutes, regulations and sources cited below. The state decides every application. All states
What testing sites miss in Nevada
- Nevada also certifies lab personnel. Staff may run waived tests without certification only when the director or a designee verifies competence, enforces the manufacturer's instructions and validates results with controls.
- Where Nevada rules require a physician to direct a waived-only lab, a licensed optometrist must be accepted as well.
Does Nevada require a state lab license on top of CLIA?
No one may operate a medical laboratory in Nevada without a state license. A lab running only waived tests or PPM procedures is an "exempt laboratory," but that only spares it most operating rules: it still holds a Nevada license and pays the fees. Physicians testing their own patients register instead.
- Medical laboratory license (physician-office labs register instead)
- Issued by Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health
- Reaches labs doing only waived tests
Citation: NRS 652.080; NAC 652.072, 652.155
Who is exempt in Nevada?
A licensed physician running a lab solely for their own patients registers with the Division rather than licensing it; the registration is "exempt" when staff other than the physician run only waived tests. Federal labs and law enforcement testing fall outside the chapter.
Citation: NRS 652.072, 652.0735, 652.074; NAC 652.175
What does Nevada charge?
Physician-office registration: $500 initial and $300 biennial if exempt, $1,500 and $900 if nonexempt. HIV-test-only waived lab: $150. Change of location, director or name: $300 each (as of October 2026).
- Waived: $1,100 initial license and $800 per biennial renewal for a lab under 25,000 tests a year, plus 6% of the renewal fee for the state cancer registry (as of October 2026)
- PPM: $1,100 initial license and $800 per biennial renewal under 25,000 tests a year, plus the 6% cancer registry fee (as of October 2026)
Citation: NAC 652.488
How often does a Nevada lab registration renew?
- Renews every two years
- Due A license is valid for 24 months and renewed on or before its expiration date.
Do labs in other states need a Nevada license to test its specimens?
The Division may require an out-of-state lab to hold a Nevada license before it examines specimens collected in Nevada, when it finds licensure necessary to protect residents. Out-of-state labs pay the cost of any Nevada inspection.
Citation: NRS 652.080(5); NAC 652.488(2)
Where does a Nevada CMS-116 go?
- Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance
- Email: nvhaclialab@nvha.nv.gov
- Phone: (702) 486-6515
Opening a testing site in Nevada?
We prepare the CMS-116 and any Nevada filing for your owner or director to sign, and track both to approval. You pay CMS and the state directly. A Certificate of Waiver application is $399 per site.