Courts

I have to go to court without a lawyer

You're allowed to handle your own civil case, and plenty of people do. The judge will still hold you to almost all the same rules and deadlines as a lawyer, so here's how to file, what it costs, and how to walk in prepared.

What to do first

1. Find your court and your deadline. The first page of any paper you were handed names the court and usually the case number. If you've been sued, the summons says how long you have to answer. Use look up a court case if you're not sure which court has it. Criminal and traffic cases are different: this page and the Self-Help Center don't cover them.

2. Get a lawyer's view once, even if you'll do the rest yourself. A free Ask-A-Lawyer consult or a $45 referral consult can tell you whether your case or defense has a real chance. See free legal help in Las Vegas.

3. If you can't afford the filing fee, file a fee waiver with your papers. It's called an Application to Proceed in Forma Pauperis. The court must grant it if you get public assistance, your household's net income is at or under 150% of the federal poverty level, your necessary living expenses are more than your income, or you show another strong reason you can't pay (NRS 12.015).

4. Use the official form for your court and fill in every blank. Get it from the Self-Help Center, Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 1st floor, or the forms list below. Write "N/A" if something doesn't apply, "none" if the answer is none, and "unknown" if you don't know. Where it asks for your attorney, write "self-represented."

5. File it, keep a copy, and serve the other side. Las Vegas Justice Court civil cases must be e-filed, but you can e-file at the courthouse with no e-filing fee. District Court takes filings at the 3rd floor civil counter or online. Keep a copy of everything you file, in date order, and bring the whole file every time you go to court.

Deadlines and fee waiver rules

What	Rule	Source
Answering a lawsuit while your fee waiver is pending	Your deadline to answer is paused from the day you file the application until the judge decides it	NRS 12.015(5)
Fee waiver denied in Las Vegas Justice Court	Pay the fee by 5pm on the 2nd judicial day after the court contacts you, or your papers are mailed back	JCRLV 35
Appealing a fee waiver denial	Not allowed	NRS 12.015(7)
Losing side when your costs were waived	The court orders them to pay your waived costs into court within 5 days	NRS 12.015(4)
Requesting a District Court interpreter	At least 48 hours before the hearing or trial	EDCR 7.80
Serving a subpoena on a witness	If possible at least 15 days before the hearing, with a check for witness fees and mileage	Civil Law Self-Help Center
A money judgment against you	Lasts 6 years and can be renewed until it's paid	Civil Law Self-Help Center

If your waiver is granted, the clerk's charges to file are waived and the sheriff serves your papers free (NRS 12.015). Court reporter and transcript costs can be waived at the court's discretion. Bonds and jury fee deposits are not waived. In District Court, call the clerk at 702-671-4554 about a week after you file to ask if the judge has ruled.

What filing costs

Filing	Fee	Source
Las Vegas Justice Court civil complaint, up to $2,500 (and other civil actions)	$74	Las Vegas Justice Court fees
Las Vegas Justice Court civil complaint, $2,500 to $5,000	$124	Las Vegas Justice Court fees
Las Vegas Justice Court civil complaint, $5,000 to $10,000	$199	Las Vegas Justice Court fees
Las Vegas Justice Court civil complaint, $10,000 to $15,000	$274	Las Vegas Justice Court fees
Las Vegas Justice Court answer	$71, plus $46 for each extra defendant answering separately	Las Vegas Justice Court fees
Las Vegas Justice Court e-filing from outside the courthouse	$2.50 per filing	Las Vegas Justice Court fees
District Court general civil complaint	$270, plus $30 for each extra plaintiff	Eighth Judicial District Court fee chart
District Court answer or first appearance in a civil case	$223, plus $30 for each extra defendant	Eighth Judicial District Court fee chart

Checked October 2026 on the Las Vegas Justice Court fee page and the District Court clerk's fee list. Small claims fees are on the small claims page. For Henderson, North Las Vegas or another township court, ask that court's clerk.

Forms

District Court fee waiver, Application to Waive Filing Fee: fillable PDF, or let the court's free Guide & File interview fill it in for you (choose "Fee Waiver: Application"). Print, sign and file it.
Justice Court fee waiver: Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas
All Civil Law Self-Help Center forms, approved for every Clark County court: civillawselfhelpcenter.org/forms
Blank pleading paper, for writing your own document: District Court forms page
Family law packets: Family Law Self-Help Center
District Court arbitration and mediation forms: ADR Office; discovery forms: Discovery Commissioner
How District Court papers must look, and the codes for each document: document preparation, document codes
E-filing for Las Vegas Justice Court and District Court: eFileNV, with training videos on setting up a self-represented account, adding a fee waiver, and filing a new case or into an existing one

Filling out and filing

Read the whole form and its instructions before you write anything. Use the newest version. Type it if you can; otherwise print clearly in dark ink. Sign in blue or black ink everywhere a signature is needed.

Get the caption right. The top of the first page has your name, address, phone and email, then the plaintiff, the defendant, the case number and the department. It stays the same for the whole case. If you want your home address private, use another address where you get mail.

Take "under penalty of perjury" seriously. Signing it means you swear what's on the form is true. Lying on it can bring civil and criminal penalties.

Writing your own document? Work from a sample of the same kind of paper (a complaint, not a motion), written from your side of the case, about facts like yours and asking for the same thing. Don't copy it word for word, and leave out any phrase you don't understand. Follow the court's format rules: EDCR 7.20 in District Court, JCRLV 10 in Las Vegas Justice Court.

E-filing: you need an account, a working email and each form scanned as its own PDF. Don't merge them into one PDF, which slows processing badly. You can send them all in one submission. Copies you file on paper must be printed on one side only.

Which court and where

Court	What it hears	Where to file
Justice Court (11 in Clark County, by township)	Civil cases under $15,000, small claims, evictions, harassment and stalking protection orders, traffic, misdemeanors	Las Vegas: Civil Division, Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 2nd floor. Monday to Thursday 7am to 5pm, closed Fridays. 702-671-3478
Eighth Judicial District Court	Larger civil cases, appeals from justice and municipal courts, felonies, family and juvenile cases	Civil counter, Regional Justice Center, 3rd floor. Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, except holidays. 702-671-4554
Municipal Court	Traffic and misdemeanors inside city limits	Your city's court
Federal court	Federal law, the U.S. government, bankruptcy, and suits between people from different states over $75,000	U.S. District Court or Bankruptcy Court

Las Vegas Justice Court Civil Division and District Court Clerk pages, checked October 2026; court roles from the Civil Law Self-Help Center. Appeals from District Court go to the Nevada Supreme Court, which doesn't hold new trials. It decides whether the trial court made a legal mistake.

How a civil case moves

Before filing: demands, attempts to settle, gathering proof.
Pleadings: the plaintiff files a complaint asking for money (damages), an order to do or stop something (an injunction), or a ruling on rights (a declaratory judgment). The defendant answers or files a motion.
Discovery: each side gets information and documents from the other.
Before trial: lining up evidence and witnesses, motions, maybe a settlement conference.
Trial: a judge or jury hears it and a judgment is entered.
After trial: appeals, and collecting the judgment. See collecting a judgment.

To win most civil cases you need a "preponderance of the evidence": your version has to be more likely true than not. It's about how convincing your proof is, not how much of it there is. Some cases, including summary evictions, skip these stages and follow their own statute.

Before you decide to go it alone

If you lose, the judge can order you to pay the other side's court costs and attorney's fees on top of anything else, whether you sued or were sued. That becomes a judgment that can be collected from your wages, bank account and property. Representing yourself is riskier if any of these are true:

The case is complicated, or a lawyer is on the other side and they plan to fight hard.
Most of the evidence you need is in the other side's hands.
You'll need an expert witness.
You struggle with deadlines, writing, or speaking in front of a judge.
You can't get time off or childcare during business hours.
You're too close to the case to be objective, or you anger easily under stress.

A middle path is hiring a lawyer for part of the case only, like coaching, research or writing one document. Don't simply stop showing up because you think you have no defense; the court can order things in your absence you didn't expect.

Getting ready for the hearing

From day one: know the law that applies and exactly what you must prove or disprove. Know your position and the other side's on each key issue. Get every document you need, through discovery if necessary, and know what your witnesses will say.

Disclose your witnesses and documents to the other side the way the rules require, and follow every order the judge gives, including scheduling orders. If you don't disclose something, you may not be allowed to use it at trial.

In the weeks before: reread every paper in the case. Watch a hearing like yours, ideally in front of your judge; most are open to the public. Prepare questions for each witness. Ask the judge's assistant or clerk how exhibits should be marked if no order says. Arrange an interpreter and childcare. Practice out loud from an outline, not a script.

Witnesses who won't come on their own need a subpoena from the court, done well before trial (see the table above).

On the day

Get to the courtroom 30 to 45 minutes early. Allow for traffic, parking, the bus and the metal detectors.
Bring your whole case file, a notepad and pens, your evidence and your witnesses.
For each document or photo, bring the original and 2 copies: one for the court, one for you, one for the other side. A tabbed binder helps.
Dress as for a job interview. No shorts, tank tops or bare midriffs. Take off hats and sunglasses. Leave children with someone else.
Ask the bailiff or courtroom clerk if you need to check in. Stand when the judge comes in or leaves.
When your case is called, go to the table or podium and give your name and your role, for example "Your Honor, I'm the defendant."
Speak only to the judge, call them "Judge" or "Your Honor," and never interrupt anyone. If the other side says something wrong, write it down and raise it when it's your turn.
No gum, food or earphones, and your phone off.
Before you leave, make sure you understand what the judge decided and what happens next: another hearing, papers to file, or an order you have to prepare. If you don't understand, politely ask.

If you need a new court date, you must ask the court in writing or get the other side to agree, well ahead of time. If you miss the hearing or show up late, the court can rule against you.

Settling it out of court

Neighborhood Justice Center — free mediation for Clark County residents. 200 E. Lewis Ave, 4th floor. Monday to Thursday 7am to 5:30pm, closed Fridays and holidays. 702-455-3898.

District Court ADR Office — runs the court's arbitration, mediation and Short Trial programs for civil cases. 330 S. Third St, #1060. Monday to Friday 8am to noon and 1pm to 5pm. 702-671-4493. ADR Office page.

In mediation a neutral person helps you reach your own deal and decides nothing. In arbitration a neutral person hears both sides and makes a decision, usually not binding in the court program. The Self-Help Center says District Court cases likely worth under $50,000 are put into arbitration automatically, and a signed contract may already require arbitration. The Short Trial program gives a faster trial with a smaller jury and time limits. You can also negotiate directly with the other side at any point, or ask for a settlement conference with a judge. A settlement can be made a court order.

Using AI safely

Good uses: explaining a legal term, summarizing a long law or rule, explaining a court paper or the steps in a case, and turning your notes into a timeline.
Ask detailed questions, like "What are the steps in a Las Vegas small claims case?" Vague ones like "What should I file?" or "What will the judge do?" get poor answers.
Look up every law or case it gives you yourself. AI sometimes invents laws and cases, may be out of date on Nevada law and Clark County rules, and sounds sure even when it's wrong.
Never type in Social Security numbers, addresses or anything from a sealed or confidential case.
Don't file AI-written text you haven't checked line by line. You're responsible for what you file, and judges can fine or sanction people for filings with made-up law.

The American Association of Law Libraries has a guide for non-lawyers: Best Practices for Using AI in Legal Research.

Researching the law

Start with the question you need answered, then decide whose law covers it: federal, state, county or city. A neighbor dumping trash is probably a local ordinance; a landlord dispute is mostly state law. Search the index with every word that might apply ("landlord," "tenant," "lease," "eviction").

Nevada statutes (NRS): Nevada Legislature. Cite like NRS 40.253.
Nevada regulations (NAC): agency rules with the force of law. NAC chapters. Amendments can lag, so check the history note.
Nevada Constitution: full text.
Cases: only Nevada Supreme Court opinions are published, in the Nevada Reporter and Pacific Reporter, cited like Smith v. Safeway, Inc., 121 Nev. 724 (2005).
Background: legal encyclopedias, treatises and law review articles explain an area of law and point you to the cases, but a judge gives more weight to the statute or case itself.

Cite a source after every legal point you make. You can stop researching when the same statutes and cases keep coming up and you've confirmed they're still current.

Free help

Civil Law Self-Help Center — Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Ave, 1st floor. Monday to Thursday 7am to 5pm, Friday 8am to 4pm. Help finding and completing forms, court rules and procedure. Staff can't give legal advice.

Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada — 725 E. Charleston Blvd. 702-386-1070. Free Ask-A-Lawyer consults and free classes, including litigation and trial preparation. See free legal help in Las Vegas for every program.

Court interpreters — District Court interpreter's office, 702-671-4578. It's your job to arrange one; don't expect one to be waiting. A friend or relative can't interpret if they're related to the witness, biased, or have a stake in the case (NRS 50.054).

Good to know

Self-Help Center staff, law librarians and court clerks can explain the process but not what you should do. Only a lawyer can give you legal advice about your case.

Specific cases: eviction, small claims, collecting a judgment, divorce.