By Milan Chatterjee | Founding Attorney, Milan Legal |
The Nevada DUI process runs as two separate cases at once, and the faster of the two gives you seven days. The order of revocation an officer hands you at the roadside is also your temporary license, and under NRS 484C.220 it is effective for only 7 days including the day it was issued. Miss that window and your license is revoked before the criminal case has its first hearing.
This guide covers the Nevada DUI process end to end: the two tracks, the deadlines on each, what the law actually says after the changes that took effect on October 1, 2025, and how long a conviction follows you afterwards.
The Nevada DUI Process Is Two Cases, Not One
An arrest opens a Department of Motor Vehicles proceeding and a criminal court proceeding. They have different decision makers, different standards of proof and different deadlines, and one can be won while the other is lost.
The DMV case, and the seven days
The administrative case is about your license and nothing else. It begins at the roadside. NRS 484C.220 provides that the temporary license is effective for only 7 days including the date of issuance, and that an order of revocation becomes effective 5 days after mailing. A hearing has to be requested inside that window under NRS 484C.230. Nothing about this waits for the criminal case, and no one at the DMV will remind you.
If no hearing is requested, the revocation simply takes effect. There is no second chance built into the process.
The criminal case
The criminal charge under NRS 484C.110 proceeds separately, in the justice or municipal court with jurisdiction over where the stop happened. It carries the jail exposure, the fines and the conviction itself, and it runs on the court’s calendar rather than the DMV’s.
Why the split matters
The two proceedings apply different standards. It is entirely possible to keep a license at the DMV hearing and still be convicted in court, or to be acquitted in court after the license has already gone. Treating them as one case, or assuming that resolving one resolves the other, is the most common and most expensive misunderstanding in the whole process.
What Changed in Nevada DUI Law on October 1, 2025
Senate Bill 309 of the 83rd Session amended five sections of NRS Chapter 484C and repealed a sixth. Most Nevada DUI pages online still describe the law as it stood before it.
| What changed | Before | From October 1, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol concentration triggering mandatory evaluation and the enhanced first offense provisions | 0.18 | 0.16 |
| Minimum confinement, second offense within 7 years | 10 days | 20 days |
| NRS 484C.040, defining “concentration of alcohol of less than 0.18” | In force | Repealed |
| Participation in a treatment program | Not counted | Counts as a prior offense for recidivism purposes |
The 0.16 figure now appears in NRS 484C.030, 484C.320, 484C.350, 484C.400 and 484C.410. The practical effect is that a band of drivers who previously fell below the enhanced threshold now sit above it, and face mandatory evaluation and the additional requirements that follow.
The second offense change is the larger one in real terms. Doubling the minimum from 10 days to 20 days removes most of the room that previously existed to structure a second offense sentence around employment.
What Nevada Charges as a DUI
NRS 484C.110 makes it unlawful to drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, or with a concentration of alcohol of 0.08 or more in blood or breath. The statute also covers controlled substances and prohibited substances at specified thresholds.
NRS 484C.120 sets a lower line for commercial motor vehicles: a concentration of 0.04 or more but less than 0.08.
Two features of NRS 484C.110 are worth reading carefully. The first is that impairment and the 0.08 number are separate routes to the same charge, so a result under 0.08 does not by itself end the case. The second is “actual physical control”, which does not require the vehicle to have been moving.
Penalties for a First Offense
A first DUI within 7 years is a misdemeanor, and the sentencing structure in NRS 484C.400(1)(a) is narrower than most people expect.
- Imprisonment or residential confinement for not less than 2 days nor more than 6 months, or 48 to 96 hours of community service.
- A fine of not less than $400 nor more than $1,000.
- Tuition for an educational course on alcohol and controlled substances.
- License revocation for 185 days under NRS 483.460.
- An ignition interlock device for 185 days under NRS 484C.460, installed at the driver’s own expense.
The interlock requirement is not discretionary on a first offense. NRS 484C.460 allows a court to waive it only in narrow circumstances, including where a person is medically certified as unable to provide a breath sample, or lives more than 100 miles from a device manufacturer.
Where the concentration was 0.16 or more, the mandatory evaluation provisions in NRS 484C.350 are triggered, which since October 2025 catches a materially larger group of first offense cases than the old 0.18 line did.
The Deadlines Do Not Wait for a Decision
Most of what can be done in a Nevada DUI case has to be done early: requesting the DMV hearing inside the seven days, preserving the calibration and maintenance records for the testing device, obtaining any body camera or dashboard footage before retention periods expire, and identifying witnesses while they can still be found.
Second and Third Offenses Within Seven Years
Nevada counts prior offenses on a rolling seven year window, and the step up at each level is steep.
Second offense
Under NRS 484C.400(1)(b) as amended by SB 309, imprisonment or residential confinement for not less than 20 days nor more than 6 months, and a fine of not less than $750 nor more than $1,000 or an equivalent number of hours of community service. License revocation under NRS 483.460 is 1 year, and the interlock requirement under NRS 484C.460 is 1 year.
Third offense
A third offense within 7 years is a category B felony. NRS 484C.400(1)(c) provides for imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, and a fine of not less than $2,000 nor more than $5,000. License revocation is 3 years, and the interlock period is 3 years.
Since October 2025, participation in a treatment program counts as a prior offense for the purpose of that count, which changes the arithmetic for anyone who has previously been diverted into treatment rather than sentenced.
Refusing the Test
Refusal is its own administrative consequence, decided at the DMV and separate from whether a DUI is ultimately proven. A refusal carries a one year license revocation, and that revocation can stand even where the DMV does not conclude that the driver was over the limit.
Refusal is also admissible. NRS 484C.240 provides that evidence of a refusal is admissible in a criminal or administrative action arising out of the acts alleged.
How Long a Nevada DUI Stays With You
Three different periods apply, and they are frequently confused with one another.
- Seven years, for sentencing. Prior offenses count against you within a rolling seven year window under NRS 484C.400.
- Seven years, for record sealing. A misdemeanor DUI may be sealed under NRS 179.245 after 7 years, measured from release from actual custody or from the date the person is no longer under a suspended sentence, whichever is later. That is seven times the one year wait that applies to most other misdemeanors.
- Never, for a felony DUI. NRS 179.245 excludes a violation of NRS 484C.110 or 484C.120 punishable as a felony from sealing altogether.
Nevada has no expungement. Sealing is the only remedy, and it does not destroy the record. It restricts who can see it.
Where the Case Will Be Heard
Las Vegas and Clark County
Clark County generates the largest share of Nevada DUI cases, and where the stop occurred decides the court: the Las Vegas Municipal Court for stops inside city limits, the Las Vegas Justice Court for the unincorporated areas including most of the Strip corridor, and separate municipal courts for Henderson and North Las Vegas. A felony charge moves to the Eighth Judicial District Court.
Reno and Washoe County
Reno Municipal Court and Sparks Municipal Court handle stops inside those city limits, with the Reno Justice Court covering the unincorporated county and the Second Judicial District Court taking felony matters. The DMV runs a northern office as well, and the seven day window is the same statewide regardless of which office holds the hearing.
Lake Tahoe
Tahoe cases carry a complication the rest of the state does not have. The lake sits on the Nevada and California line, and the two states have different limits, different penalties and separate licensing systems. A stop a short distance from where the driver assumed they were can put the case in a different state’s court entirely, and a Nevada driver convicted in California will still see consequences applied to a Nevada license.
Milan Legal Perspective
Before founding Milan Legal, Milan Chatterjee served as Associate Compliance Counsel at Las Vegas Sands Corporation, a Fortune 500 hospitality company, advising senior leadership on compliance, governance and risk across global operations. A UCLA School of Law graduate admitted in Nevada (Bar No. 15159) and California, he was appointed to the Nevada Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission and serves as Founding President of the South Asian Bar Association of Las Vegas.
Milan Legal works with individuals, families and business owners across Las Vegas, Clark County, Reno, Washoe County and the Lake Tahoe region.
Frequently Asked Questions
As two separate cases. A Department of Motor Vehicles proceeding decides your license and starts at the roadside, where the order of revocation doubles as a temporary license effective for only 7 days under NRS 484C.220. A criminal case under NRS 484C.110 proceeds in the justice or municipal court and decides the conviction, the fine and any jail term. They have different standards and can reach different outcomes.
Seven days. NRS 484C.220 makes the temporary license effective for only 7 days including the date of issuance, and a hearing must be requested within that window under NRS 484C.230. If it is not, the revocation takes effect.
Senate Bill 309 took effect on October 1, 2025. It lowered the enhanced threshold from 0.18 to 0.16 across NRS 484C.030, 484C.320, 484C.350, 484C.400 and 484C.410, repealed NRS 484C.040, raised the minimum confinement for a second offense within 7 years from 10 days to 20 days, and made participation in a treatment program count as a prior offense.
Under NRS 484C.400(1)(a), 2 days to 6 months of jail or residential confinement or 48 to 96 hours of community service, a fine of $400 to $1,000, and an educational course. NRS 483.460 sets license revocation at 185 days, and NRS 484C.460 requires an ignition interlock device for 185 days at the driver’s own expense.
No. A first and second offense within 7 years are misdemeanors. A third within 7 years is a category B felony under NRS 484C.400(1)(c), carrying 1 to 6 years in state prison and a fine of $2,000 to $5,000.
Refusal carries a one year license revocation, decided administratively and separate from whether a DUI is proven. Under NRS 484C.240, evidence of the refusal is also admissible in the criminal and administrative proceedings.
Nevada has no expungement. A misdemeanor DUI may be sealed under NRS 179.245 after 7 years from release from custody or the end of a suspended sentence, whichever is later. A DUI punishable as a felony cannot be sealed at all.
No. Prior offenses count on a rolling 7 year window under NRS 484C.400. Since October 2025, participation in a treatment program also counts as a prior within that window.
Conclusion
The Nevada DUI process rewards early attention more than almost any other area of state law, because its shortest deadline arrives first. Seven days for the DMV hearing. A 185 day revocation and a 185 day interlock period on a first offense. A seven year window in which a second offense now carries a 20 day minimum rather than 10. Seven years before a misdemeanor conviction can be sealed, and no sealing at all for a felony.
None of those numbers move because a case is complicated or because someone has not decided what to do yet. They run from the arrest.
Protect Your Rights Before Important Deadlines Pass
If an arrest has already happened, the first question is not what the case is worth. It is how many of the seven days are left and what can still be preserved inside them.
