Key takeaways
- Labor rules belong to each show and its official contractor, not to Las Vegas as a whole, so start with the labor section of your exhibitor manual.
- Your own full-time employees can usually set up some or all of the booth, within limits on tools, ladders, and booth size that change from show to show.
- An outside builder needs the show's EAC approval and, at the LVCC, an annual LVCVA permit, each with its own insurance and deadline.
- Freeman's CES 2027 schedule bills straight time from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays; nights, weekends, and holidays are overtime.
- A booth designed to go together quickly, with hand tools and pre-wired lighting, cuts the labor hours you pay for.
Who sets the labor rules at a Las Vegas show
Las Vegas doesn't have one set of trade show labor rules. Each show picks an official services contractor, sometimes called the general service contractor, and that contractor's agreements with local unions decide who may do which work on the show floor. Freeman fills the role for CES, SEMA Show, NAB Show, AAPEX, and JCK, according to their published materials, and the work rules differ from one of those shows to the next. The venue adds its own layer: the LVCVA, which runs the Las Vegas Convention Center, sets permit, badge, and safety requirements for every contractor in the building.
The LVCVA's July 2026 facility guide frames the basic choice. If show management approves, an exhibitor may contract out its booth setup or do it in-house, and anyone setting up their own booth must be a full-time employee of the exhibiting company, able to show credentials, and working to OSHA safety standards. When a dispute comes up over whose job something is, the guide makes the show's official service contractor responsible for settling it through the union contracts' own procedures. Its summary is short: work now, grieve later.
The rules below come from specific shows' 2026 and 2027 materials. Use them to learn what to ask, and treat your own show's exhibitor manual as the only rulebook for your booth.
Which unions and trades do the work
NAB Show's work rules for the LVCC describe three major unions with jurisdiction over trade shows in the building. How they divide the work is a useful map for any show there:
- Teamsters: material handling, including unloading trucks, delivering materials to and from booths, and spotting machinery
- Carpenters: building and dismantling display and exhibit booths, uncrating and recrating machinery, installing drape and floor coverings, and hanging signs without electrical
- Electricians: power to the booth, connecting equipment, lighted signs and headers unless they're permanently part of the back wall, and rigging for hanging signs, video walls, LED screens, and truss
Why the lines move from show to show
Other shows draw the lines differently. AAPEX, which runs at Venetian Expo and Caesars Forum, publishes 2026 union rules giving Teamsters Local 631, through its labor agreement with Freeman, jurisdiction over erecting, touching up, dismantling, and repairing exhibits whenever anyone other than the exhibitor's full-time staff does the work. That covers wall and floor coverings, pipe and drape, painting, hanging signs, and platforms, along with unloading trucks, handling empty crates, and running material handling equipment. Placing your products, opening product cartons, and demonstrating or servicing your products fall outside it.
Some work is exclusive no matter who builds the booth. CES's 2027 contractor rules bar exhibitor-appointed contractors from freight and material handling, booth cleaning, security, electrical, catering, telephone and internet, plumbing, and rigging. At Venetian Expo, the venue's general contractor and production guide reserves several technical services to Encore labor, including rated truss and any floor-supported item that rises more than 16 feet. JCK's 2026 guide, also at Venetian Expo, requires any set-up and tear-down labor you hire to be properly hired union labor.
What your own employees can do
Every show reviewed here lets your own full-time employees do some of the work, and a union steward or floor manager can ask for proof of employment. SEMA Show's 2026 rules accept a medical identification card, a payroll stub, or a company payroll report. CES's 2027 rules require exhibitors who set up with their own staff to notify CES in writing and provide proof of general liability and workers' compensation insurance. The limits that shape a design are about tools, ladders, and size:
- SEMA Show 2026: full-time staff may set up the booth if the walls and fixtures go together without saws, pipe wrenches, or power tools; hand tools, electric drills, and screwdrivers are allowed, and no installation work may be done from a ladder over 30 inches high
- NAB Show: exhibitors may not use ladders at all; in booths under 250 square feet, staff may install a self-contained portable exhibit that is tool-free, ladder-free, and carried in by one employee, and lay their own carpet, while larger booths need labor for both
- CES 2027: staff may plug equipment into receptacles up to 20 amps at 120 volts, hang up to four small clip-on lights, and mount monitors, all work your exhibitor-appointed contractor may not do
- AAPEX 2026: the union rules prohibit setting the exhibit with workers hired from a non-union agency or company
Exhibitor-appointed contractors and the LVCC permit
An exhibitor-appointed contractor, or EAC, is any company you hire that isn't one of the show's official contractors. The EAC instructions for CES and JCK list installation and dismantle crews first, then supervision, audiovisual, photography, furniture, and flooring. An exhibit builder that installs your booth is an EAC, and at the Las Vegas Convention Center it has to clear two separate gates.
The first gate is the LVCVA. Any contractor working at the LVCC must hold an EAC permit, issued each year, which calls for a certificate of insurance covering general liability, auto liability, and workers' compensation, plus an annual fee. The company name on the application must exactly match the insured name. The facility guide also requires a Clark County business license and an ESCA worker identification badge for each EAC worker on site, with trade union workers temporarily exempt. Under Nevada law, workers who build, install, or dismantle displays need safety training within 15 days of starting in the convention industry, and Nevada OSHA-approved 10- and 30-hour courses count.
The second gate is the show. Each show runs its own EAC registration with its own deadline, insurance limits, and certificate holder, and the exhibitor usually starts it by naming the contractor:
- CES 2027: exhibitors designate EACs in the online portal by November 6, 2026, EACs submit documents by December 11, 2026, and an EAC registers for each booth or meeting room it serves
- SEMA Show 2026: the EAC application and proof of insurance were due October 2, 2026, backed by a valid order for service from the exhibitor
- NAB Show 2026: EACs registered through the show's portal by April 10, 2026, and brought a hard-copy certificate of insurance to exhibitor registration
- JCK Las Vegas 2026: designations were due April 24 and documents May 8, and only three designated supervisors per approved EAC received credentials
What an approved EAC can and can't do
Once approved, an EAC works inside your booth and nowhere else. CES's 2027 rules bar EACs from soliciting other exhibitors, running a service desk in a public space, or operating lifts and motorized material handling equipment. They also require every EAC worker to wear the daily wristband and restate the LVCC's rule that each worker display an ESCA badge or union trade card. NAB Show lets an EAC hire its own union personnel but not perform any work the building designates as exclusive, and it limits EAC access during show days to holders of a booth maintenance pass.
That leaves the builder's crew free to assemble and finish the exhibit it built, within the show's union jurisdiction, while the official contractor handles freight, power, rigging, and cleaning. The LVCC exhibitor checklist covers the rest of the paperwork, from service orders to move-out.
Straight time, overtime, and start times
Freeman's CES labor order prices crews per person per hour, at straight-time or overtime rates depending on when the work happens. Its 2027 labor rate schedule for CES sets straight time at 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, for display, forklift, hanging sign, aerial, electrical, and plumbing labor. Overtime covers 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. Other shows and contractors publish their own windows, so check the order form for yours before choosing a move-in time.
Weekends matter more than most schedules assume. SEMA Show's 2026 EAC move-in ran from Thursday, October 29, through Monday, November 2, with a Saturday and Sunday in the middle. Under a schedule like the one Freeman publishes for CES, every hour of a weekend install is an overtime hour, so a booth that can be finished on weekdays, or by fewer people, costs less to put up. Working past the published hours takes permission as well: CES's 2027 EAC rules require after-hours approval from CES Operations before 2:30 p.m. that day.
Start times aren't promised. Freeman's CES labor order says start times are not guaranteed, and its show FAQ says labor is only guaranteed at the start of the day. Don't book a crew before the freight is in the booth, either. AAPEX's 2026 regulations warn that freight may be unloaded anywhere from 1 to 8 hours after its target time and tell exhibitors not to order carpenters or labor until it's actually in the booth.
Supervising labor yourself, or handing it off
When you order labor from the official contractor, you also choose who directs it. Freeman's CES display labor order offers three options for the labor supervisor: the exhibitor, Freeman, or a display house, meaning your exhibit company.
Exhibitor-supervised labor means someone from your team meets the crew at the labor desk, directs the work, and releases the crew when it's done. JCK's 2026 guide describes the routine: sign out your labor at the Exhibitor Service Center labor desk, note the time on the work ticket, then walk the crew back and record the finish time. The bill follows those tickets, so the supervisor needs drawings, the packing list, and quick answers on hand.
Freeman-supervised labor lets the contractor build the booth without you; Freeman's CES order says that work is completed at Freeman's discretion before the show opens and before the hall must be cleared. Display-house supervision puts your builder's lead in charge of the crew, which matters most on custom exhibits, where the person directing the work knows how every piece fits. Whoever supervises, Freeman asks exhibitors not to tip and notes that crews take paid 15-minute breaks mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
Labor orders and dismantle deadlines
Order labor through the contractor's online service kit before the advance deadline. Freeman's CES order notes that show-site prices apply to orders placed at the show and to some orders placed after the discount deadline, and JCK's guide says on-site orders are processed after advance orders. Dismantle has its own deadlines, and they are tighter than move-in:
- CES 2027: dismantle labor must be arranged with Freeman by 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 9, and should start no earlier than 5 p.m., after the aisle carpet comes up
- SEMA Show 2026: displays must be in place by 3 p.m. on Monday, November 2, and if an exhibit's installation hasn't started by then, show management or Freeman will erect it and bill the exhibitor
- SEMA Show 2026: if teardown hasn't started by noon the day after the show closes, show management will have the exhibit dismantled at the exhibitor's expense
- Freeman's CES order: leave time in the dismantle schedule for empty crates to come back to the booth
How a custom booth's design cuts I&D labor
Installation and dismantle, or I&D, is billed in hours, so the cheapest labor is the work a booth never needs on the floor. Design decides most of it:
- Connections that need hand tools at most, such as cam locks, pinned frames, and keyed panels, which also keep a booth within limits like SEMA's no-power-tools rule for exhibitor setup
- Fewer, larger, pre-assembled pieces, sized to move through docks and aisles, so the crew sets modules instead of building from parts
- Lighting built into the structure and pre-wired, since NAB Show's rules send lighted signs and headers to electricians unless they're permanently part of the back wall
- Lighter hanging signs: NAB Show's work rules require a chain hoist for anything over 200 pounds, which adds aerial labor and equipment
- Crates built for forklifts and packed in install order, with hardware bagged and labeled by assembly
- Heights kept under any threshold that brings in exclusive labor, such as Venetian Expo's rule for floor-supported items over 16 feet
Pre-assembly and the local advantage
Pre-assembly is the other lever. JCK's 2026 guide tells exhibitors to assemble as much of the exhibit as possible before shipping, pre-wire electrical connections, mark the back wall where each product and sign goes, and load the carpet on the truck last so it comes off first. A full setup in a Las Vegas shop before the show does all of that, and it catches fit problems while the tools and the people who built the booth are close by.
Building locally changes the floor plan too. Innovate 3D designs and builds custom trade show booths in Las Vegas and works within each show's labor rules as your exhibitor-appointed contractor. The exhibit can come across town by truck in its target window instead of waiting in an advance warehouse, and a missing part is a short drive away rather than a flight. After the show, it can return to the same shop for repairs and updates before the next one.
Frequently asked questions
Do we have to hire union labor for a Las Vegas trade show booth?
For any work your own full-time employees aren't allowed to do under the show's rules, yes. Staff can usually handle some setup, but larger exhibits, freight, electrical, and rigging go to union crews through the official contractor or an approved exhibitor-appointed contractor working within union jurisdiction.
Does our exhibit builder need a permit to work at the Las Vegas Convention Center?
Yes. The LVCVA requires an annually issued EAC permit, backed by a certificate of insurance, from any contractor working in the building, and its facility guide adds a Clark County business license and ESCA worker badges. Your show's own EAC registration and deadline apply on top of that.
When does trade show labor switch to overtime in Las Vegas?
It depends on the contractor's published schedule. Freeman's 2027 rate schedule for CES bills straight time from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and overtime for every other hour, weekends, and holidays. Check your own show's labor order form, since the windows can differ.
Can our staff use power tools to set up a booth in Las Vegas?
Usually not. SEMA Show's 2026 rules let full-time staff set up only if the booth goes together without saws, pipe wrenches, or power tools, though electric drills and screwdrivers are allowed. NAB Show bars exhibitors from using ladders at all. Design for hand tools if your own team will build it.
Can our exhibit company do the electrical work in our booth?
Not at CES or NAB Show. CES's 2027 rules list electrical among the services an exhibitor-appointed contractor can't perform, and NAB Show's work rules say EACs may not do electrical work. Check your own manual, plan pre-wired lighting your staff can plug in, and order the rest from the official contractor.
What does exhibitor-supervised labor mean?
You order the crew from the official contractor, but someone from your company picks the workers up at the labor desk, directs the work, and signs them out when it's finished. You're billed for the hours on the work ticket, so arrive with drawings, a packing list, and a plan.