Courts
I want to seal my criminal record
Most Nevada criminal records can be sealed once enough time has passed. A sealed case is treated as if it never happened, so you can answer an employer's question as if it never happened. Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada will do it for free if you qualify.
What to do first
1. Call the free Clean Slate program first. Legal Aid Center of Southern
Nevada's Clean Slate Legal Assistance Program gives eligible people a free lawyer to seal their
record. Call
702-386-1070 and press 8, or read the eligibility rules
and income guidelines on the
Clean Slate page.
2. Get your records. You'll need your SCOPE report from each police department
that arrested you, because it is how your cases get found. You also need your current, verified
criminal history from the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History, which has
to be attached to your petition (NRS 179.245(2)(a)). Legal Aid Center posts a
SCOPE request form
and a
criminal history request form.
3. Check your waiting period in the table below. Every charge in the case has to
be eligible. An open case, a new arrest or an active warrant can block or delay sealing.
4. File a petition in the right court. For a conviction, that's the court that
convicted you (NRS 179.245(1)). For a case that was dismissed or ended in an acquittal, it's the
court that dismissed it or acquitted you (NRS 179.255(1)).
5. Watch for the prosecutor's answer. If the prosecutor agrees, the court
seals the records. If the prosecutor doesn't object in writing within 30 days, the court can seal
them without a hearing. If the prosecutor objects, there's a hearing (NRS 179.245(4)). Once you
meet every requirement, the law presumes your records should be sealed (NRS 179.2445).
How long you wait
| Your case | Wait before you can petition | Source |
|---|
| Charges dismissed, or you were acquitted | No wait | NRS 179.255(1)(a), (c) |
| Prosecutor declined to charge you | After the statute of limitations runs, 8 years after the arrest, or sooner if both sides agree | NRS 179.255(1)(b) |
| Most misdemeanors | 1 year | NRS 179.245(1)(g) |
| Misdemeanor battery, harassment, stalking, or violating a protection order | 2 years | NRS 179.245(1)(f) |
| Gross misdemeanor | 2 years | NRS 179.245(1)(d) |
| Category E felony | 2 years | NRS 179.245(1)(c) |
| Category B, C or D felony | 5 years | NRS 179.245(1)(b) |
| DUI or domestic battery that was not a felony, and certain Medicaid fraud offenses | 7 years | NRS 179.245(1)(e) |
| Category A felony, crime of violence, or residential burglary | 10 years | NRS 179.245(1)(a) |
For a conviction, the clock starts when you got out of custody, finished parole or
probation, or finished a suspended sentence, whichever came last (NRS 179.245(1)). Some convictions
can never be sealed, including a crime against a child, a sexual offense, home invasion with a
deadly weapon, and felony DUI (NRS 179.245(6)). Read off NRS chapter 179.
Forms
Record sealing forms — the Civil Law Self-Help Center doesn't carry these.
Legal Aid Center points people to the fill-in-the-blank record sealing forms at
nevadalawhelp.org.
Free help
Clean Slate Legal Assistance Program, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada — a
free lawyer to seal your record if you qualify. 725 E. Charleston Blvd.
702-386-1070, option 8.
Free criminal record sealing class — if you want to do it yourself. Offered online
by Zoom. It covers which records can be sealed and walks you through filing on your own.
Class details and sign-up.
Good to know
Once the order is entered, the case is treated as if it never happened, and you can answer
questions about it, including on job applications, as if it never happened. If you hadn't already
gotten them back, your rights to vote, hold office and serve on a jury are restored right away. The
right to own a gun is not restored. Only a pardon does that (NRS 179.285). An eviction case is
sealed under a different law. See the eviction page. To find a case
first, see Look up a Clark County court case.