How Nevada Record Sealing Works
Sealing a criminal record in Nevada requires a formal petition, prosecutorial review, and a judge's order — followed by you personally distributing that order to every agency holding your file. The process is procedurally unforgiving: one error restarts the clock.
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Filing before you meet all four conditions is automatic grounds for denial and triggers the two-year lockout.
The waiting period has passed
The clock starts from the date your case fully closed — sentence served, probation discharged, all fines paid. It's 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. The waiting period does not begin until the case is fully closed.
All fines and fees are paid in full
Court fines, probation supervision fees, jail fees, and any required classes must all be completed. Outstanding balances are one of the most common reasons petitions are rejected at the DA review stage.
The offense is eligible for sealing
Certain convictions are permanently ineligible — category A felonies, crimes against children, sex offenses requiring registration, DUI causing substantial bodily harm, and crimes involving the use of a dangerous weapon against a child. If one ineligible conviction sits on your record, it may block sealing of everything else.
No open charges or active probation
Pending cases or active probation will block a sealing petition. All criminal matters must be fully resolved and discharged before you can file.
The six steps
Each step must be completed in order. Skipping or rushing any stage is what causes petitions to fail.
Pull your SCOPE report
Contact the police department or sheriff's office where your charges originated and request a SCOPE — Shared Computer Operations for Protection and Enforcement. This is Nevada's official criminal history printout. If you were convicted, also get a certified judgment of conviction and discharge from the District Court Clerk. These documents define exactly what gets sealed and which agencies must receive the final order.
Identify the right court
The court that handled your case is generally the one that seals it. If your charges all came from a single court — Henderson Justice Court, for example — you file there. If your record spans multiple courts, Nevada law allows a single consolidated petition filed in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, which has jurisdiction over the lower courts.
Prepare the petition, affidavit, and proposed order
All documents must be typed — handwritten filings are returned. The petition and affidavit must list every arrest, the arresting agency, the date, the charges, and the final disposition. The proposed order must name every agency holding a copy of your record. Prepare three copies of each document. One omitted agency or incorrect date is enough to get the whole package sent back.
Submit to the District Attorney for review
Deliver the complete package to the DA's Office. The DA reviews for eligibility. In most uncontested cases they sign the stipulation within 6 to 8 weeks. If the DA objects because they believe you are ineligible, you may request a hearing before a judge to argue your eligibility directly. Under NRS 179.2445, the court presumes in favor of sealing — the burden is on the DA to overcome that presumption.
Obtain the judge's signature
Once the DA signs off, the clerk routes the paperwork to the judge. When the prosecutor has already agreed, judges nearly always sign without further review. After the judge signs, get certified copies of the order made. The judge's signature is not the finish line — it is the starting gun for the next step.
Distribute the order to every named agency
The signed order does not seal anything automatically. You must personally deliver a certified copy to every agency listed — local police, the Nevada Criminal History Repository in Carson City, courts, and any others named in the order. Each agency is then legally obligated to remove the record from its active databases. The Nevada Criminal History Repository is chronically backlogged, so this last step takes time.
What "sealed" means under Nevada law
Under NRS 179.285, a sealed record is treated as though it never occurred. Here is what that means in practice.
Answer "no" on applications
You may lawfully deny the sealed arrest or conviction on most employment and housing applications.
Private background checks clear
Most commercial background services will return no result for the sealed matter.
Court records restricted
Court clerks are prohibited from allowing public inspection of sealed court files.
Law enforcement records removed
Police departments and the Nevada Criminal History Repository must remove the record from their active databases.
Future sentencing — exception
If you are charged with a new crime, courts and prosecutors may still access sealed records for sentencing purposes.
Gaming Control Board — exception
Under NRS 179.301, the Nevada Gaming Control Board retains access to sealed records regardless of the order.
Three things that catch people off guard
Nevada limits you to two petitions — ever
A denied petition locks you out for two full years. After a second denial, no further petitions are allowed — there is no appeals path and no workaround. Getting the filing right the first time is not optional.
Partial seals are not available
Nevada courts seal your entire record or nothing. One permanently ineligible conviction — a felony DUI or a category A felony, for example — can block sealing of every other case on your record, including ones that would otherwise qualify. Strategic timing matters.
The order does not distribute itself
After the judge signs, nothing happens automatically. You must personally deliver certified copies to every agency named in the order. Agencies must comply, but only after receiving the signed order directly — and some are slow to update their databases.
Nevada Record Sealing Process — Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about how the sealing process works in Nevada.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clear answers to common record sealing questions.
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