Nevada misdemeanor penalties fall into two tiers. A standard misdemeanor carries up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. A gross misdemeanor carries up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. Both sit below felonies in Nevada’s sentencing hierarchy, but a conviction in either tier can follow you long after the sentence ends.
How Nevada Classifies Non-Felony Crimes
NRS 193.120 sets up a three-level system. Any crime punishable by death or state prison is a felony. Any crime punishable by up to six months in county jail or a fine of up to $1,000 is a misdemeanor. Everything in between is a gross misdemeanor.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 193.120 – Classification of Crimes These defaults apply only when a specific statute doesn’t say something different, and many statutes do.
Penalties for a Standard Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor conviction carries a maximum of six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. Judges can impose jail alone, a fine alone, or combine them based on the facts.2Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code NRS 193.150 – Punishment of Misdemeanors The court can also suspend the sentence and place a defendant on probation with conditions like community service, counseling, or restitution.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 176A – Probation and Suspension of Sentences
Every conviction also triggers a mandatory administrative assessment under NRS 176.059. The assessment scales with the fine: $30 on fines between $5 and $49, up to $120 on fines between $500 and $1,000.4Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 176.059 – Administrative Assessments It sits on top of the fine, so a $1,000 fine actually costs $1,120 out of pocket.
Penalties for a Gross Misdemeanor
A gross misdemeanor conviction carries up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.5Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 193.140 – Punishment of Gross Misdemeanors The same administrative assessment schedule applies, and probation is available.3Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 176A – Probation and Suspension of Sentences
Why 364 Days and Not a Full Year
The one-day gap is deliberate. Under federal immigration law, certain offenses become “aggravated felonies” when the sentence imposed reaches one year or more, and that classification makes a non-citizen deportable with almost no path to relief.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions Capping gross misdemeanors at 364 days keeps even the maximum sentence below that trigger. Immigration authorities look at the sentence imposed, not the time actually served, so this matters even when the jail time is suspended.
Common Misdemeanor Offenses
Several charges you’ll see routinely fall into the standard tier:
- Petit larceny under NRS 205.240, meaning theft of property worth less than $1,200. This is the default shoplifting charge for lower-value thefts.7Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code NRS 205.240 – Petit Larceny; Penalty
- Simple battery under NRS 200.481, meaning unlawful force against another person without a deadly weapon and without substantial bodily harm.8Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 200.481 – Battery
- First-offense stalking under NRS 200.575. A second offense becomes a gross misdemeanor; a third becomes a felony.9Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 200.575 – Stalking
- Trespass under NRS 207.200, meaning entering property with intent to annoy the owner or refusing to leave after being warned.10Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 207.200 – Unlawful Trespass
DUI Is a Misdemeanor With Its Own Rules
A first DUI within seven years is technically a misdemeanor under NRS 484C.400, but the penalties bear little resemblance to the standard misdemeanor range. Minimum jail time is two days or 48 hours of community service, fines run from $400 to $1,000, the court will order an alcohol education course, and your license faces a 185-day revocation.11Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 484C – Driving Under the Influence The DUI statute overrides the general sentencing default, which is worth knowing whenever you look up a specific charge: the offense-specific statute controls.
Common Gross Misdemeanor Offenses
The gross misdemeanor tier picks up conduct legislators view as more harmful than baseline misdemeanor behavior:
- Second-offense stalking under NRS 200.575.9Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 200.575 – Stalking
- General conspiracy under NRS 199.480, when two or more people agree to commit a crime that isn’t one of the serious offenses listed separately in the statute. Planning murder, robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping, or one of the other listed offenses is charged as a Category B felony instead.12Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 199.480 – Conspiracy
The tier is broader than it looks. Any crime that isn’t a felony and isn’t specifically labeled a misdemeanor by its own statute defaults to a gross misdemeanor.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 193.120 – Classification of Crimes
Do You Get a Jury Trial
Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the right to a jury trial attaches whenever an offense carries more than six months of potential imprisonment.13Legal Information Institute. Petty Offense Doctrine and Maximum Sentences Over Six Months Gross misdemeanors clear that line at 364 days. Standard misdemeanors, capped at six months, generally do not, and there is no automatic constitutional jury right.
Nevada has carved out exceptions. There’s a statutory jury right for misdemeanor domestic battery charges that could trigger a federal firearm prohibition. And a standard misdemeanor defendant in justice court can request a jury trial in writing at least 30 days before trial, though it isn’t guaranteed the way it is at the gross misdemeanor level.
How Long Prosecutors Have to File
The state must file charges within a fixed window or lose the case entirely. Prosecutors have one year from the offense for a standard misdemeanor and two years for a gross misdemeanor.14Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 171.090 – Limitations for Gross Misdemeanors and Misdemeanors Certain offenses like DUI and unlicensed contracting run on their own extended deadlines under separate statutes.
Consequences Beyond the Sentence
The jail time and fine are the official penalty. The consequences that follow the conviction often matter more in daily life.
Firearms
A misdemeanor domestic violence conviction triggers a federal firearm ban under the Lautenberg Amendment. The prohibition covers receiving or possessing any firearm or ammunition and applies to government employees in both their official and private roles. Violating the ban is a federal crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.15Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Misdemeanor Crimes of Domestic Violence Prohibitions The qualifying offense must involve the use or attempted use of physical force against a spouse, former spouse, co-parent, cohabitant, or dating partner. For convictions involving a dating relationship, the ban can lift after five years without a subsequent qualifying conviction. For other domestic relationships, the prohibition is permanent.
Immigration
Non-citizens face additional risk. A misdemeanor conviction for a “crime involving moral turpitude” during the statutory period for naturalization can block the applicant from establishing good moral character. Theft, fraud, and forgery convictions commonly qualify.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 5 – Conditional Bars for Acts in Statutory Period A narrow “petty offense” exception exists if the crime is the person’s only moral turpitude conviction, the sentence imposed was six months or less, and the maximum possible sentence was no more than one year. Standard Nevada misdemeanors can fit within that exception; a gross misdemeanor sentence pushes right up against the boundary.
Background Checks
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, there is no federal time limit on reporting criminal convictions. Misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor convictions can appear on background checks indefinitely, long after the sentence is served.17Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Fair Credit Reporting Act and Background Screening That is the main reason sealing matters.
Sealing a Misdemeanor Conviction
Nevada allows you to petition a court to seal your record after a waiting period that depends on the offense. The clock starts from release from custody or the end of probation, whichever comes later.18Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 179.245 – Sealing Records After Conviction
- Most misdemeanors: 1 year
- Battery, harassment, or stalking punished as a misdemeanor: 2 years
- Gross misdemeanors: 2 years
- DUI, domestic violence battery, or Medicaid fraud: 7 years
You’ll need a current copy of your criminal history from the Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History, and the petition must identify the specific conviction, the arrest date, and any agencies holding records of the case. The court grants the order only if you’ve had no new charges or convictions (aside from minor traffic violations) during the waiting period.18Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 179.245 – Sealing Records After Conviction
Sealing is not expungement. The record still exists but cannot be viewed without a court order, and some government agencies may retain access in limited circumstances. What sealing does accomplish is keeping the conviction off standard employer background checks, which is the practical result most people are after.