Advertising for bids and compliance with certain provisions required for commencement of certain public works; quarterly reports of awarded contracts by authorized representatives; availability of plans and specifications for public inspection; award of contract to lowest responsive and responsible bidder; rejection of bids; authority to award contract without competitive bidding if no bids received in response to advertisement for bids in certain circumstances; requirements before public body may commence public work itself; exemptions.
Nev. Rev. Stat. § 338.1385
in effect1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, this State, or a governing body or its authorized representative that awards a contract for a public work in accordance with paragraph (a) of subsection 1 of NRS 338.1373 shall not:
(a) Commence a public work for which the estimated cost exceeds $100,000 unless it advertises in a newspaper qualified pursuant to chapter 238 of NRS that is published in the county where the public work will be performed for bids for the public work. If no qualified newspaper is published in the county where the public work will be performed, the required advertisement must be published in some qualified newspaper that is printed in the State of Nevada and having a general circulation within the county.
(b) Commence a public work for which the estimated cost is $100,000 or less unless it complies with the provisions of NRS 338.1386 , 338.13862 and 338.13864 and, with respect to the State, NRS 338.1384 to 338.13847 , inclusive.
(c) Divide a public work into separate portions to avoid the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b).
2. At least once each quarter, the authorized representative of a public body shall report to the public body any contract that the authorized representative awarded pursuant to subsection 1 in the immediately preceding quarter.
3. Each advertisement for bids must include a provision that sets forth the requirement that a contractor must be qualified pursuant to NRS 338.1379 or 338.1382 to bid on the contract.
4. Approved plans and specifications for the bids must be on file at a place and time stated in the advertisement for the inspection of all persons desiring to bid thereon and for other interested persons. Contracts for the public work must be awarded on the basis of bids received.
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6 and NRS 338.1389 , a public body or its authorized representative shall award a contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
6. Any bids received in response to an advertisement for bids may be rejected if the public body or its authorized representative responsible for awarding the contract determines that:
(a) The bidder is not a qualified bidder pursuant to NRS 338.1379 or 338.1382 ;
(b) The bidder is not responsive or responsible;
(c) The quality of the services, materials, equipment or labor offered does not conform to the approved plans or specifications; or
(d) The public interest would be served by such a rejection.
7. A public body may let a contract without competitive bidding if no bids were received in response to an advertisement for bids and:
(a) The public body publishes a notice stating that no bids were received and that the contract may be let without further bidding;
(b) The public body considers any bid submitted in response to the notice published pursuant to paragraph (a);
(c) The public body lets the contract not less than 7 days after publishing a notice pursuant to paragraph (a); and
(d) The contract is awarded to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder.
8. Before a public body may commence the performance of a public work itself pursuant to the provisions of this section, based upon a determination that the public interest would be served by rejecting any bids received in response to an advertisement for bids, the public body shall prepare and make available for public inspection a written statement containing:
(a) A list of all persons, including supervisors, whom the public body intends to assign to the public work, together with their classifications and an estimate of the direct and indirect costs of their labor;
(b) A list of all equipment that the public body intends to use on the public work, together with an estimate of the number of hours each item of equipment will be used and the hourly cost to use each item of equipment;
(c) An estimate of the cost of administrative support for the persons assigned to the public work;
(d) An estimate of the total cost of the public work, including, the fair market value of or, if known, the actual cost of all materials, supplies, labor and equipment to be used for the public work; and
(e) An estimate of the amount of money the public body expects to save by rejecting the bids and performing the public work itself.
9. This section does not apply to:
(a) Any utility subject to the provisions of chapter 318 or 710 of NRS;
(b) Any work of construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of highways subject to NRS 408.323 or 408.327 ;
(c) Normal maintenance of the property of a school district;
(d) The Las Vegas Valley Water District created pursuant to chapter 167, Statutes of Nevada 1947, the Moapa Valley Water District created pursuant to chapter 477, Statutes of Nevada 1983 or the Virgin Valley Water District created pursuant to chapter 100, Statutes of Nevada 1993;
(e) The design and construction of a public work for which a public body contracts with a design-build team pursuant to NRS 338.1711 to 338.1727 , inclusive;
(f) A constructability review of a public work, which review a local government or its authorized representative is required to perform pursuant to NRS 338.1435 ; or
(g) The preconstruction or construction of a public work for which a public body enters into a contract with a construction manager at risk pursuant to NRS 338.1685 to 338.16995 , inclusive.
Source: NV Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/NRS-338.htmlFetched: 6/28/2026