Nevada trust accounting rules for vacation rental managers

Nevada licenses property management through a permit on top of a real estate license, and its rules call for separate trust accounts for rents and for security deposits. Here is what NRS 645 and the Commission’s regulations say, with links to each one.

Sources checked 2026-10-25 · Regulator: Nevada Real Estate Division

Nevada at a glance

License
Real estate license plus a property management permit; a broker’s employee taking reservations for stays of 31 days or less is excluded
Trust account
Trust account at a Nevada bank or credit union, deposited promptly; separate trust accounts for rents and for security deposits
Records kept
5 years
Reconciliation
Monthly, within 30 days of the bank statement; annual reconciliation filed with the Division

Details and citations for each point are below.

Who needs a license

  • Property management is the physical, administrative or financial maintenance and management of real property. Acting as a property manager without a broker, broker-salesperson or salesperson license and a permit to engage in property management is unlawful.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.019; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.230
  • The permit takes 24 classroom hours of property management instruction. A brokerage without a permit holder appoints a designated property manager to supervise property management at the office.Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 645.6052, 645.6055; Nev. Admin. Code § 645.800
  • Exemptions include an owner or lessor (or their regular employees) managing their own property, a broker’s employee collecting rent for the broker, and a manager who keeps an office on the property and manages no other property.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.0445

Short-term rental rules

  • The only short-stay carve-out we found: the definition of a real estate broker does not include someone employed by a licensed broker to accept reservations for a lodging business renting for 31 days or less, as long as the employee does no sales or transfer work.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.030
  • We found no vacation rental exemption among the property management exemptions in NRS 645.0445.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.0445
  • A property management agreement must be in place before managing a property, and it must say how tenant deposits are kept and handled during the agreement.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.6056

The trust account

  • Money a broker receives for others — including rents — is promptly deposited in a separate checking account at a bank or credit union in Nevada, designated as a trust account, unless everyone with an interest in the money agrees otherwise in writing. The account names the broker as trustee.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.310
  • A broker may not commingle a client’s money with their own, and may not let advance payments belonging to others go into a business or personal account.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.310
  • Property management uses two trust accounts kept apart from other transaction trust accounts: one for rental operations and one used solely for security deposits. The broker keeps a ledger for each unit managed.Nev. Admin. Code § 645.655
  • Withdrawals need a licensee’s signature (no rubber stamps), and a salesperson cannot be the only required signer.Nev. Admin. Code § 645.655; Nev. Admin. Code § 645.807

Advance rents and deposits

  • A licensee who receives a deposit pays it to the broker, or to the designated escrow company, within one business day after receiving a fully executed contract.Nev. Admin. Code § 645.657
  • Rents and deposits go into the property management trust account for the property, and repairs and expenses are paid from that property’s ledger. An account or ledger in deficit for more than 45 consecutive days in a year is subject to discipline.Nev. Admin. Code § 645.655
  • Nevada’s landlord-tenant security deposit rules (a cap of three months’ rent and a 30-day return) sit in a chapter that excludes occupancy in a hotel or motel for less than 30 consecutive days.Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.180; Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.242

Records and how long to keep them

Reconciliation and ledgers

Check with the Nevada Real Estate Division

We could not confirm these from a primary source, so we don’t state them as rules:

  • Whether managing vacation rentals for others needs the property management permit — we found no short-term rental exemption beyond the broker’s-employee reservation carve-out, and no Division guidance on it.
  • What “promptly” means for depositing trust money — the statute sets no number of days.
  • Whether trust accounts may bear interest and who receives it, and whether a broker may keep any of their own money in trust for bank fees — the sections we read do not say.
  • Whether Chapter 118A’s security deposit rules reach vacation rental damage deposits; its exclusion is written for hotels and motels.

Sources

Each source was read on 2026-10-25.

  1. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.019 — Nevada Legislature
  2. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.030 — Nevada Legislature
  3. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.0445 — Nevada Legislature
  4. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.230 — Nevada Legislature
  5. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.310 — Nevada Legislature
  6. Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 645.6052, 645.6055 — Nevada Legislature
  7. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 645.6056 — Nevada Legislature
  8. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.180 — Nevada Legislature
  9. Nev. Rev. Stat. § 118A.242 — Nevada Legislature
  10. Nev. Admin. Code § 645.650 — Nevada Legislature
  11. Nev. Admin. Code § 645.655 — Nevada Legislature
  12. Nev. Admin. Code § 645.657 — Nevada Legislature
  13. Nev. Admin. Code § 645.800 — Nevada Legislature
  14. Nev. Admin. Code § 645.806 — Nevada Legislature
  15. Nev. Admin. Code § 645.807 — Nevada Legislature

The reconciliation itself

Whatever your state’s rules, the monthly check is the same idea: the bank, your books and what you hold for each owner and guest should agree. Our three-way reconciliation guide walks through it with a free worksheet. If your reservations run on VacayOps, trust accounting is part of the Full Platform: guest payments are recorded into trust, owner statements build each owner’s balance, and the month’s reconciliation is signed off and exported as a PDF for your accountant. VacayOps records and reconciles the money in your own bank and processor accounts. It never holds or moves funds.

Trust accounting in VacayOpsBook a 30-minute walkthrough

Other states

Questions about Nevada trust accounting

Do I need a license to manage vacation rentals in Nevada?
Property management for others needs a real estate license and a property management permit. The only short-stay carve-out we found covers a broker’s employee who takes reservations for stays of 31 days or less. Confirm your setup with the Nevada Real Estate Division.
Does Nevada require separate trust accounts for property management?
Yes. The Commission’s rules call for one trust account for rental operations and another used solely for security deposits, both separate from other trust accounts, with a ledger for each unit.
Where must a Nevada trust account be held?
In a separate checking account at a bank or credit union in Nevada, designated as a trust account, with the broker named as trustee.
How often must Nevada trust accounts be reconciled?
Monthly, within 30 days after the bank statement arrives. Brokers also file an annual reconciliation of each trust account with the Division by their license expiration date.
How long do Nevada brokers keep trust records?
At least five years from the last activity, kept in Nevada.