Nevada Mandated Reporter Laws: Duties, Penalties, and Immunity

Nevada’s mandated reporter laws require people in dozens of listed professions to contact authorities within 24 hours when they have reasonable cause to believe a child, an older person, or a vulnerable adult has been abused, neglected, or exploited. The duty sits in two statutes: NRS 432B.220 for children and NRS 200.5093 for older or vulnerable adults. A knowing failure to report is a misdemeanor for a first offense and a gross misdemeanor for each violation after that.¹²

Who Is a Mandated Reporter in Nevada

The list is long and it keeps growing. If you work with children or with older or dependent adults in almost any professional capacity, assume you are covered and read the statute for confirmation.

Child Abuse and Neglect (NRS 432B.220)

The child-side list covers physicians, dentists, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, physician assistants, chiropractors, optometrists, EMTs, paramedics, and anyone else licensed or certified to provide medical services in Nevada. It reaches medical facility staff who admit, examine, or treat patients, along with administrators who receive notice of suspected abuse from their staff. Coroners are covered. So are clergy, Christian Science practitioners, and religious healers, subject to a confession exception. Every employee and volunteer at a public or private school is a mandated reporter, and so is anyone working at or maintaining a child care facility, children’s camp, or similar program. Foster home licensees, law enforcement officers, adult and juvenile probation officers, and attorneys are on the list. Staff and volunteers at agencies that advise on child abuse and refer people to services are covered, as are youth shelter employees and volunteers, and adults employed by any entity providing organized activities for children. More recent additions include doula services providers enrolled with Medicaid and peer recovery support specialists along with their supervisors.¹

Older Person and Vulnerable Adult Abuse (NRS 200.5093)

NRS 200.5093 applies when the victim is 60 or older, or is an adult 18 or older with a physical or mental condition that substantially impairs the ability to provide for their own care. The list overlaps heavily with the child statute and adds professions specific to adult care: physicians, dentists, nurses, psychologists, marriage and family therapists, clinical counselors, athletic trainers, ambulance drivers, and other licensed or certified medical providers; hospital and care facility personnel; anyone employed by an agency that provides personal care services in the home; law enforcement officers; and social workers and other professionals who examine, attend to, or treat older or vulnerable adults.³

What Triggers the Duty To Report

The legal standard is “reasonable cause to believe.” You do not need certainty, corroboration, or a completed investigation. If what you have seen, heard, or been told would cause a reasonable person in your profession to suspect harm, the duty is on.

Child Abuse and Neglect

NRS 432B.020 defines child abuse or neglect as physical or mental injury of a nonaccidental nature, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, or negligent treatment or maltreatment. Negligent treatment under NRS 432B.140 includes abandonment, lack of proper supervision, or failure to provide food, shelter, clothing, education, or medical care because of the caregiver’s faults or habits.⁴

Older or Vulnerable Adult Abuse

NRS 200.5092 reaches further. Reportable conduct includes physical abuse (willful infliction of pain or injury); deprivation of food, shelter, clothing, or services necessary for physical or mental health; emotional abuse through threats, control, isolation, disregard, or destruction of property including pets; sexual abuse, including contact the person cannot understand or object to; and exploitation through deception, intimidation, or undue influence to gain control of money, assets, or property. Isolation and abandonment are separate reportable categories.⁵

Two Confidentiality Exceptions

Clergy, Christian Science practitioners, and religious healers are excused from reporting if they learned about the abuse solely from the offender during a confession. Information acquired outside the confession setting still triggers the full duty.¹

Attorneys are mandated reporters under NRS 432B.220 but are subject to the limitations in NRS 432B.225, which recognizes that attorney-client confidentiality is foundational to the legal system. In practice, professional ethics rules generally allow an attorney to disclose client confidences only when necessary to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm. If that threshold is met, the duty to report applies. If it is not, the obligation to maintain client confidences typically prevails. Attorneys facing this conflict should consult their state bar’s ethics guidance.

How and Where To File the Report

Reports must be made as soon as reasonably practicable and no later than 24 hours after you know or have reasonable cause to believe the abuse occurred. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 first.

Child Abuse Reports

Reports about children go to a child welfare agency or a law enforcement agency. Nevada’s Division of Child and Family Services operates a statewide intake line at 833-571-1041 for counties outside Clark and Washoe. Clark County and Washoe County each operate their own child protective services intake lines. For after-hours and weekend situations, call local law enforcement directly.⁶

Elder and Vulnerable Adult Reports

Reports about older or vulnerable adults go to Adult Protective Services within the Aging and Disability Services Division:

Las Vegas and Clark County: (702) 486-6930
All other areas statewide: (888) 729-0571

You can also submit a report through the APS online intake form on the ADSD website.⁷ If the report alleges abuse committed by the agency itself or by law enforcement, NRS 200.5093 requires the reporter to direct the report to a different agency to avoid a conflict of interest.³

What To Include

NRS 432B.230 lists the information a child abuse report should contain when obtainable: the child’s name, address, age, and sex; the name and address of the parents or other caregiver; the nature and extent of injuries, abuse, or neglect; any evidence of previous abuse or neglect of the child or siblings; the name, address, and relationship of the person alleged to have caused the harm; and any other information the agency considers necessary. Do not delay a report because a detail is missing. Give what you have, describe what you observed as specifically as you can, and let the investigator fill in the rest.⁴

Penalties for Failing To Report

Under NRS 432B.240, a mandated reporter who knowingly and willfully fails to report suspected child abuse commits a misdemeanor on the first offense, punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. Each later violation is a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.² For older or vulnerable adult reports, NRS 200.5093 classifies the failure as a misdemeanor.³

Criminal exposure is only part of the risk. Professional licensing boards can independently investigate a mandated reporter who ignored the duty, and discipline can include suspension or revocation of a professional license.

Immunity and Confidentiality for Reporters

Nevada gives strong protection to good-faith reporters. NRS 432B.250 grants immunity from civil and criminal liability for anyone who makes a report, participates in an investigation, or assists in a judicial proceeding related to suspected child abuse.⁴ NRS 200.5096 provides the same immunity for older or vulnerable adult reports, with one exception: the immunity does not protect someone who actually committed or helped commit the abuse.⁵ Even if the investigation ultimately finds no abuse, the immunity holds so long as you reported in good faith.

Your identity is also protected. Under NRS 432B.290, child welfare agencies must take reasonable precautions to shield the identity and safety of anyone who files a report, and the reporter’s name is not subject to public records disclosure. A court can order disclosure only in narrow circumstances, such as when the person accused of abuse petitions a judge with evidence that the report was made in bad faith or with malicious intent and the judge finds a reasonable question of fact supporting that claim.⁴

Training Requirements

Nevada does not impose a single universal training mandate covering every category of mandated reporter. Training obligations are tied to specific professions and licensing standards. Child care providers in licensed settings, for instance, must complete training in recognizing and reporting child abuse within 90 days of employment and then every five years after that.⁸ Other professions build training into license renewal. If you hold a Nevada professional license and are unsure what your board requires, check with the board directly.

1
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 432B.220 – Persons Required to Make Report
2
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 432B.240 – Penalty for Failure to Make Report
3
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 200.5093 – Report of Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation, Isolation or Abandonment of Older Person or Vulnerable Person
4
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 432B – Protection of Children From Abuse and Neglect
5
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 200 – Crimes Against the Person
6
Division of Child and Family Services. Report Child Abuse
7
Aging and Disability Services Division. Report Suspected Abuse of Vulnerable Adults
8
The Nevada Registry. Mandated Reporting for Child Abuse and Neglect