How long does Nevada record sealing take?

Most cases take four to six months. Your part is done in the first week. Everything after that is waiting on government agencies: DPS, the prosecutor, the court, and the agencies that have to comply with the order.

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The short answer

Most cases

4–6 months

Uncontested, single jurisdiction

Complex cases

Up to 12 mo.

Contested by DA, multiple jurisdictions

Your part takes about a week. You sign the agreement, provide four documents, and get fingerprinted. After that, you wait while the agencies do their work. The four-to-six-month timeline is almost entirely DPS processing, prosecutor review, and court scheduling, not attorney work time.

Two separate clocks

People mix these up more than anything else about record sealing timing.

Clock 1: waiting period

When you become eligible to file

Runs from when your sentence was completed. 1 year for most misdemeanors, 2 years for gross misdemeanors and Category E felonies, 5 years for most felonies, 7 years for non-felony DUI and domestic battery, 10 years for Category A felonies. This clock has to expire before you can file anything.

Full waiting periods table →

Clock 2: process timeline

How long the actual sealing takes

Starts when you hire an attorney and initiate the process. Takes four to six months in most cases. Runs independently of the waiting period. If you became eligible today, you're looking at four to six more months before your record is actually sealed.

Where the time goes, phase by phase

Most of the timeline is agencies making you wait, not us. Here's what each phase looks like.

Consultation and paperwork

Days 1–7

You and the firm

You sign the agreement, provide four documents, and get fingerprinted. After this week, your part is done.

DPS criminal history report

6–8 weeks

Waiting on DPS

We submit the fingerprint card to DPS. They process it and return the certified criminal history report. This window can't be shortened.

Petition drafting and prosecutor review

6–8 weeks

Waiting on the DA

Once we have the DPS report, we finalize the petition and send it to the prosecutor for review. In uncontested cases, they sign the stipulation.

Judge reviews and signs the order

1–4 weeks

Waiting on the court

Uncontested cases with a DA stipulation are usually signed quickly. Contested cases require a hearing. Plan for six to twelve months total.

Agency compliance

1–4 weeks

Waiting on agencies

We mail the signed order to every agency. We follow up until each one confirms compliance. The case isn't closed until the records are actually gone.

What we need from you

Four items at the start. After that, we handle everything.

✓

Driver's license

A copy of your current Nevada ID or driver's license.

✓

Place of birth

City and state (or country) of birth, needed for the DPS form.

✓

DPS 06 form

The Nevada DPS Criminal History Request form, completed and signed.

✓

Limited power of attorney

A short notarized form authorizing the firm to act on your behalf during the process.

Once these are in, you're done. We pull the DPS criminal history, coordinate fingerprinting with 702 Biometric Services, draft the petition, handle prosecutor coordination, file with the court, and follow up with every agency after the order is signed.

What slows cases down

Most delays are avoidable if they're caught early. These are the most common ones.

Unpaid fines or fees

Outstanding jail fees, probation costs, or restitution have to be cleared before the petition can move forward. A petition filed with open financial obligations is likely to draw a DA objection.

Active warrants or open cases

Any open warrant or pending charge stops the process. A new conviction during the waiting period can restart the eligibility clock entirely.

Records in multiple counties

When records sit in more than one court, coordination takes longer. A consolidated petition in district court under NRS 179.2595 is usually the right approach, but it still adds time compared to a single-court case.

Errors in the criminal history report

DPS records occasionally have mistakes, such as a charge listed incorrectly or a case showing as open when it was dismissed. Those have to be corrected before the petition goes out, which adds time.

Fingerprint card rejected by DPS

A rejected card restarts the 45-day processing window. That is why the firm works with 702 Biometric Services, whose cards are rarely rejected.

Slow agency compliance

Some agencies update their records faster than others. We follow up with the ones that lag and don't close the file until we've confirmed the record is gone from every system.

Juvenile records follow different rules

Juvenile records in Nevada run on a separate track from adult records. Juvenile records are sealed automatically within 60 days after the person turns 18, or within 60 days after juvenile court supervision ends if it runs past 18 (NRS 62H.140). The exception is NRS 62H.150. For acts that would be sexual assault, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, lewdness with a child, or a felony involving force or violence, records not sealed before 21 cannot be sealed until 30, and then only by petition.

If you have both juvenile and adult records, review them together. The combination can affect what's possible and when. Call 702-990-0190 and we'll map out the full picture.

How long sealing takes: frequently asked questions

Common questions about the Nevada record sealing timeline.

Frequently asked questions

Most cases take four to six months from start to finish. Cases contested by the district attorney, or involving records in multiple jurisdictions, can take up to twelve months. The timeline is almost entirely agency wait time: DPS, the prosecutor's office, the court, and the agencies that have to comply with the order.

These are two separate clocks, and people mix them up often. The waiting period (1 year for most misdemeanors, 5 years for most felonies) runs from when your sentence was completed and determines when you become eligible to file. The four-to-six-month process timeline starts only after you file. If you just became eligible, you have four to six more months ahead of you before the record is actually sealed.

No. The waiting period establishes eligibility. It does not trigger any action. Nothing changes on your record until you file a petition with the court and obtain a signed sealing order. If you became eligible years ago and never filed, your record is still fully visible. The process only starts when you initiate it.

Approximately six to eight weeks from when the fingerprint card is submitted. That window is fixed. It's an agency timeline and can't be shortened. Getting fingerprinted in the first week after hiring an attorney is the best way to keep the overall timeline from stretching, since petition preparation runs at the same time.

The prosecutor's office typically takes six to eight weeks to review the petition and either sign the stipulation or file an objection. In most straightforward cases they sign without objection. If they do object, the court schedules a hearing. That adds time but does not mean the petition will be denied.

An objection sends the case to a hearing. The DA has to present evidence strong enough to overcome the legal presumption in favor of sealing under NRS 179.2445. That presumption is real. The burden is on them, not you. An objection makes the case longer and harder, but it doesn't mean the petition will be denied. Plan for six to twelve months total if the case is contested.

After the judge signs the order, we mail copies to every agency listed in the petition. Most agencies update their records within one to four weeks of receiving the order. We follow up to confirm compliance. We don't consider the case closed until each agency has actually sealed the records, not just received the order.

The biggest thing you can do is get fingerprinted immediately and have your documents ready in the first week. Beyond that, the timeline is largely out of everyone's hands. DPS, the DA's office, and the court all run on their own schedules. What you can avoid is adding time at your end by delaying the intake process.

A copy of your driver's license, your place of birth, a completed Nevada DPS 06 Criminal History Request form, and a signed and notarized limited power of attorney. That's everything we need from you. We handle fingerprint coordination, pull the criminal history, draft the petition, and manage everything from there.

Juvenile records in Nevada run on a different track. Juvenile records are sealed automatically within 60 days after the person turns 18, or within 60 days after juvenile court supervision ends if it runs past 18 (NRS 62H.140). The exception is NRS 62H.150. For acts that would be sexual assault, battery with intent to commit sexual assault, lewdness with a child, or a felony involving force or violence, records not sealed before 21 cannot be sealed until 30, and then only by petition. If you have both juvenile and adult records, review them together, since the combination can affect timing and what's possible.

Find out where you stand

Michael Mee will confirm your eligibility, tell you when your waiting period ends, and give you a realistic timeline for your case. The call is free and takes about ten minutes.

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More about Nevada record sealing

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Record sealing overview Nevada waiting periods by offense The record sealing process Fingerprinting requirements What does record sealing cost?Pardons vs. sealings

Page last updated October 6, 2026. Written by Michael Mee, Nevada Bar No. 13726.

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