The Nevada eviction process begins with a written notice to the tenant, moves into Justice Court if the tenant does not comply or files an affidavit to contest, and ends with a constable or sheriff performing the lockout under a court order. The notice period runs anywhere from three days to thirty depending on why the landlord is evicting, and skipping or botching any step typically sends the landlord back to the start.
Which Notice Applies
The reason for the eviction sets the clock. There are four common grounds, each with its own notice.
Nonpayment of Rent
For a residential tenant who hasn’t paid, the landlord serves a pay-or-quit notice giving seven judicial days to pay the overdue amount or move out. Weekends and legal holidays don’t count toward those seven days. Commercial tenants get five calendar days, and mobile home lot tenants get ten. The notice can be served as soon as rent is past due.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-2512 – Unlawful Detainer: Possession After Default in Payment of Rent; Exception “Rent” for this purpose includes any reasonable late fees spelled out in the lease, so those fees can be rolled into the amount demanded.2Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A-150 – Rent Defined
Lease Violations
When the tenant breaks a specific lease term, such as keeping unauthorized pets, adding occupants, or damaging the unit, the landlord serves a five-day notice to cure or quit. If the violation is one that can be corrected, the tenant has three days inside that five-day window to actually fix it and save the tenancy.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-2516 – Unlawful Detainer: Possession After Failure to Perform Conditions of Lease
No-Cause Termination
A month-to-month tenancy can be ended without any allegation of fault by serving a 30-day notice to vacate. Tenants who are elderly or disabled may request an extension of the move-out period.4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-251 – Unlawful Detainer: Possession of Property Leased for Indefinite Time After Notice to Surrender
Nuisance or Illegal Activity
A tenant running an illegal business, creating a serious ongoing nuisance, or violating controlled substances laws gets the shortest notice: three days, with no option to cure. If the tenant stays past the three days, the landlord can go straight to court.5Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-2514 – Unlawful Detainer: Assignment or Subletting Contrary to Lease; Waste; Unlawful Business; Nuisance; Violations of Controlled Substances Laws
What the Notice Must Say and How to Serve It
Nevada Justice Courts require court-approved notice forms. In Clark County, those forms come from the Civil Law Self-Help Center or the courthouse self-help desk. A homemade letter or an out-of-state template is a reliable way to lose the case.
The notice must list the tenant’s full legal name as written on the lease (nicknames give the tenant an easy challenge), the complete property address including unit number, and a clear deadline to comply or vacate. For nonpayment, it must state the exact dollar amount owed. For a lease violation, it must identify the specific provision the tenant broke, not a general complaint. A notice missing any of these elements can be challenged as defective, and a judge finding a defect will typically dismiss the case.
Service has its own rules. The preferred method is handing the notice to the tenant in the presence of a witness. If the tenant isn’t home, the server can leave a copy with another adult at the residence and mail a second copy. If no one answers and no adult is available, the server posts the notice visibly on the property and mails a copy to the tenant.6Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-280 – Service of Notices to Quit; Proof Required Before Issuance of Order to Remove
Whoever delivers the notice then completes a Proof of Service recording when and how it was delivered. Acceptable proof includes a signed acknowledgment from the tenant and a witness, a postal mailing certificate, or a written endorsement from a sheriff, constable, or process server. Without this document, the court will not move the case forward.6Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-280 – Service of Notices to Quit; Proof Required Before Issuance of Order to Remove
How the Tenant Can Contest
During the notice period, the tenant has a right many don’t know about. In a nonpayment case, the tenant can fight the eviction by filing a written affidavit with the Justice Court before the notice deadline runs out, typically within those seven judicial days. The affidavit must state that the rent has already been paid or that the tenant was never actually behind.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-253 – Unlawful Detainer: Supplemental Remedy of Summary Eviction and Exclusion of Tenant for Default in Payment of Rent
If the tenant files an affidavit, the landlord has to file a formal complaint with the court to keep the eviction alive. If the tenant does nothing and the notice period expires, the landlord can go straight to requesting an eviction order. The affidavit decision shapes everything that follows.
Filing in Justice Court
Once the notice period has expired without the tenant complying or successfully contesting, the landlord files a Complaint for Summary Eviction with the Proof of Service at the local Justice Court. Most courts accept in-person and electronic filings. The filing fee for a summary eviction complaint is $71.8Las Vegas Justice Court. Fees
A landlord who also wants a money judgment for unpaid rent or damages files a formal unlawful detainer action instead, with filing fees that scale by the amount claimed. The court will not accept an incomplete filing. The Proof of Service, in particular, has to be in the packet.
The Hearing and the Eviction Order
If the tenant filed an affidavit, the court schedules a hearing, usually about a week after the landlord files the complaint.9Nevada Judiciary. Landlord-Tenant and Evictions Handbook The judge looks at whether the landlord met every statutory requirement and whether the tenant has a valid defense. Common defenses include proof the rent was paid, a defective notice, or retaliation.
If the tenant never filed an affidavit and the notice period has expired, the landlord can get an eviction order without a hearing. Either way, when the judge rules for the landlord, the court issues an Order for Summary Eviction. That order is what authorizes a physical removal.
The Lockout
After the court signs the eviction order, the constable or sheriff must post it on the property within 24 hours. The lockout itself happens 24 to 36 hours after the posting. The tenant has roughly two to three days total between the signed order and the lock change.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 40-253 – Unlawful Detainer: Supplemental Remedy of Summary Eviction and Exclusion of Tenant for Default in Payment of Rent
The landlord pays a separate lockout fee to the constable’s office. If the tenant hasn’t left by the time the constable returns, the constable changes the locks and turns the property over. Only a constable or sheriff can perform this step.
Belongings Left Behind
After a lockout, the landlord must store the tenant’s personal property safely for 30 days and may charge the tenant reasonable inventory, moving, and storage costs. If the tenant doesn’t claim the property within 30 days and the landlord has made a good-faith effort to notify the tenant in writing, the landlord can dispose of or sell the property to recover storage costs.10Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings – Section: NRS 118A.460
In the first five days after the lockout, the landlord must give the former tenant a reasonable chance to retrieve essentials like medication, baby formula, clothing, and personal care products. Disputes over what counts as reasonable can go to the Justice Court.10Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings – Section: NRS 118A.460
Appealing a Summary Eviction
A tenant who loses can appeal to the District Court within 10 judicial days of the eviction order. Filing the appeal alone does not stop the lockout. To actually pause the eviction while the appeal is pending, the tenant has to post a supersedeas bond (set by the court at $250 or more) and deliver copies of the bond and the appeal notice to the constable before the lockout happens.11Nevada Judiciary. How to Appeal a Summary Eviction From Justice Court to District Court
The tenant must also obtain the trial record and file it with the Justice Court within 10 days of filing the appeal, and an appellate brief is due within 30 days after the District Court receives the case. Missing any of these deadlines can get the appeal dismissed.11Nevada Judiciary. How to Appeal a Summary Eviction From Justice Court to District Court
What a Landlord Cannot Do
Nevada bars self-help evictions outright. A landlord cannot change the locks, shut off utilities, block entry, or remove a tenant’s belongings to force them out. Only a constable or sheriff acting under a court order can lawfully perform a lockout.12Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings – Section: NRS 118A.480
A tenant who is locked out illegally can go to court for immediate possession, actual damages, and a court-awarded penalty of up to $2,500. The court sets the penalty by looking at whether the landlord acted in good faith, the parties’ history, and the harm caused. If the tenant terminates the lease because of the illegal lockout, the landlord must return all prepaid rent and any security deposit owed.13Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings – Section: NRS 118A.390
The same prohibition applies to retaliation. A landlord cannot evict, raise rent, or cut services because the tenant complained to a government agency about housing code violations, reported a health or safety issue, joined a tenant organization, or exercised fair housing rights. The same protection extends to tenants and household members who are victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault.14Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings – Section: NRS 118A.510
A tenant can raise retaliation as a defense in court, with the same remedies available as for an illegal lockout. The landlord has an out: if the tenant caused the very code violation they complained about, or if the landlord can show a legitimate non-retaliatory reason, the retaliation claim won’t succeed.14Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 118A – Landlord and Tenant: Dwellings – Section: NRS 118A.510
Active-Duty Servicemembers
Active-duty military members and their dependents have extra federal protection under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A landlord cannot evict a servicemember or their family from a primary residence without a court order, no matter what state law would otherwise permit. The protection applies to rentals where the rent falls below a threshold that adjusts annually for inflation.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress
If military service has materially affected the servicemember’s ability to pay rent, the court can stay the eviction for 90 days or longer, or adjust the lease terms to balance both sides. Knowingly evicting a servicemember without a court order is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3951 – Evictions and Distress Before a Nevada court enters a default judgment against a tenant who hasn’t responded, the landlord must file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is in active military service, which can be verified through the Department of Defense’s SCRA website.