Obtaining Criminal History Records

Applicable to sealing records after a conviction, acquittal or dismissal (NRS 179.245 , 179.255 , 176A.265, 179.259 and/or 453.3365).

Prior to preparing a Petition and Order, a request for a current, verified copy of applicants criminal history for the purpose of sealing records (including offline microfiche entries) should be made of the local law enforcement agency of the city or county in which the conviction was entered or in which the petitioner appeared in court.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department maintains a criminal history (SCOPE printout) for most arrests and/or citations within Clark County.   There is a fee for this service.   If you have questions relative to obtaining a criminal history for the purpose of sealing records or need an interpretation of SCOPE entries, you should call (702) 229-3475.

Court of Jurisdiction

The Clark County District Attorney cannot stipulate to Petitions to Seal Records that include arrests or convictions under Municipal Court jurisdiction. Arrests or convictions that occurred under the jurisdiction of one of the municipal courts or prosecuted by a city attorney must be ruled on by the municipal court that handled the case. Requests for stipulations to seal municipal criminal records should be submitted to the city attorney of proper jurisdiction.

The Eighth Judicial District Court, the highest Court in the County, can be petitioned to seal all charges within justice and district courts of Clark County.
There are several Justice Courts within Clark County. Therefore, the specific township where the case was, or would have been, prosecuted, should be the heading of the Petition and Order. If there are multiple arrests in more than one Township (i.e., Henderson JC case and North Las Vegas JC case), use the District Court forms.

Preparation of Forms

There are two (2) legal documents (a Petition and an Order) which the applicant must prepare when requesting a record sealing.   If petitioning through the district or justice court system, these forms should be submitted to the District Attorneys Office along with all appropriate attachments within 30 days of receipt of criminal history information.   A sample of each form can be found in the Forms section of this booklet.   The Petition and Order should accurately and completely identify each record to be sealed.   Minimally, the following information is required:

Date of Arrest, Arresting Agency, Charge and Final Disposition.

Supporting information, such as the arresting agency report number, court case number and PCN#, if available and documented for each arrest/citation, may also be included in the forms.

Additionally, it is extremely important that the Petition and Order include a list of any public or private agency, company, official or other custodian of records who is reasonably known to have possession of records of the conviction, acquittal or dismissal, and to whom the order to seal records, if issued, will be directed (ie: law enforcement agencies, justice/municipal/district court(s), city and/or county prosecuting agencies)

The following is a list of agencies that could be involved.   Please choose only those agencies involved in your situation and insert them appropriately in the petition and order.

Click here for List of Agencies
 
All information must be provided.   Receipt of partial information may be cause for denial of a request for sealing of records.   It shall be the responsibility of the petitioner to provide written documentation of the final disposition if the criminal history, as received from the law enforcement agency, does not include a final disposition for an arrest/citation.   This documentation may be obtained from the court where the arrest/citation was filed or from the law enforcement agency involved in the incident.   

Submittal of Forms

Once the legal documents are prepared and the originals are signed by the applicant, the following should be taken to the District Attorneys Office, 200 Lewis Avenue, 3rd Floor Reception, Las Vegas, Nevada  89101:

• Original and minimum of one copy of the Petition (including Affidavit)
• Original and minimum of one copy of the Order
• Criminal history record as received from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. If a criminal history, for the purpose of sealing records, is not available from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, a criminal history should be obtained from each law enforcement agency involved.
• Copy of the Judgment of Conviction and documentation of successful completion of requirements should also be provided if petitioning to seal records pursuant to NRS 176A.265, 179.259 and/or 453.3365.   Judgment of Conviction and discharge papers can be obtained from the Clerk of the Court, 200 Lewis Avenue, 3rd Floor, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101.

The District Attorneys Office will retain one copy of all documents for their files and will notify you by telephone or mail when the Petition and Order are ready for pick up.   In the event you do not hear from the District Attorneys Office within 3-4 weeks from their receipt of your request, you can call (702) 671-2765 to inquire about the status of your record sealing.

Approval

If the District Attorneys Office has stipulated to sealing records, take the originals and necessary copies of the Petition and Order to the Clerk of the appropriate court.  District Court documents are filed on the 3rd Floor of the Regional Justice Center, 200 Lewis Avenue.  Justice Court documents are filed in the appropriate township.  You should contact the Clerk of the Court and inquire if there is a filing fee for sealing records and acceptable form of payment.

The Clerk of the Court will retain your paperwork and submit your Order to the Judge for his/her signature.  Ask the Clerk if you will be notified to pick up your forms.  When you pick up your documents, you should ask the Clerk for as many certified copies of the signed Order as needed for distribution to the law enforcement agencies, courts, and prosecuting officials involved in the sealing of records as specifically named in the Petition and Order.  (Henderson, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Gaming Control Board, Nevada Parole and Probation, Nevada Department of Corrections, etc.)  A certified copy of the Order should also be retained for your records.

Except where the Court orders otherwise, it shall be the responsibility of the Petitioner to serve each of the agencies named within the Order with a copy of the Order.

Denial

If the Order has not been signed by the District Attorneys Office, there will be an explanation accompanying your paperwork.  You can either correct/change the paperwork as requested or take the Petition to the Clerk of the Court and request a hearing before the Judge.  The petitioner must notify the District Attorneys Office if a hearing is scheduled.