# Nevada

Nevada’s Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (POST) certifies Department of Corrections officers as category III peace officers after a 160-hour basic course, and certifies parole and probation officers as category I officers. No state body sets or inspects county jail standards. Since 2023 the State has capped solitary confinement in state prisons at 15 consecutive days, required a report within 5 hours whenever a pregnant or postpartum offender is restrained, limited cross-gender searches, added new disqualifiers and National Decertification Index checks, opened a reciprocity route for out-of-state corrections officers, and extended occupational disease coverage to all category III officers. Entries are dated by effective date.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/nevada

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (POST). It certifies category III peace officers, whose authority is “limited to correctional services, including the superintendents and correctional officers of the Department of Corrections” ([NRS 289.480](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-289.html#NRS289Sec480)), and parole and probation officers of the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Parole and Probation (289.180). Every person with peace officer powers must be certified within 1 year of starting, with one extension of up to 6 months; the Director of Corrections and the Chief Parole and Probation Officer are exempt (289.550). POST is covered on the [Nevada Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/nevada).
- **Statute:** NRS 289.450 to 289.680 (POST, certification, decertification); NRS 289.010 to 289.120 (peace officer rights in investigations, which cover correctional officers); NRS chapter 209 (Department of Corrections, including staff training in 209.1315 and solitary confinement in 209.368 to 209.369); NRS chapter 211 (local jails). Rules: [NAC chapter 289](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html).
- **Minimum standards:** By statute, no one may serve as a category I, II, or III officer if convicted of a felony or of battery constituting domestic violence (even if sealed or expunged), if reported to the National Decertification Index, or if decertified by POST or another state (NRS 289.555). By rule: a documented background investigation showing good moral character, U.S. citizenship, age 21, a high school diploma or equivalency, and a medical exam; the investigation includes employment, criminal, driving, and financial history, a drug screen, a psychological evaluation, and an implicit-bias evaluation, and “may include” a lie-detector test for category III ([NAC 289.110(1) to (3)](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html#NAC289Sec110)). Also barred by rule: convictions involving moral turpitude or the unlawful use, sale, or possession of a controlled substance (except marijuana offenses no longer unlawful, since December 15, 2023), a documented history of physical violence, or a termination or resignation in lieu of termination for substantiated dishonesty (NAC 289.110(4), (5)).
- **Basic training:** Category III (corrections): a 160-hour basic course covering correctional law, institution searches, use of force, care of persons in custody, classification and receiving, crisis intervention, supervision of offenders, arrest and control tactics, active-assailant and firearms training, mental illness, and first aid ([NAC 289.160](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html#NAC289Sec160)). Training category I (officers whose primary functions include patrol, criminal investigation, and traffic enforcement): 480 hours (NAC 289.140). Each agency administrator assigns its officers’ training category (NAC 289.130); the training category used for parole and probation officers was not verified. An enrollee may be required to pass the state physical fitness examination (NAC 289.300(1)(b)). Since April 19, 2024, an out-of-state or FLETC-trained corrections officer may earn a category III certificate by reciprocity after a 40-hour course and the state exam (NAC 289.201).
- **In-service training:** Every peace officer, including category III, must complete at least 12 hours of continuing education a year on listed topics, with interactions with persons with developmental disabilities added October 1, 2025 (NRS 289.510; see the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/nevada)). Department of Corrections facility training, a program the Director “may continue to develop and implement” under NRS 209.1315(1), must include evidence-based practices, domestic violence and trauma, behavioral health and disability topics, and, since 2023, cultural competency for transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex offenders; staff in units that use solitary confinement get additional training in communication, crisis intervention, and de-escalation ([NRS 209.1315](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-209.html#NRS209Sec1315)).
- **Decertification:** The same POST process applies to category III officers. A felony conviction or plea means the certificate will be revoked; other listed grounds “constitute cause” to revoke, refuse, or suspend ([NAC 289.290](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html#NAC289Sec290)). Agencies must immediately notify POST of qualifying criminal charges and of resignations during pending misconduct investigations (NRS 289.585), and the Executive Director must report each revocation to the National Decertification Index (289.530(2)). Grounds, procedure, and the gaps between statute and regulation are on the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/nevada). No public decertification list was found.
- **Jail standards:** No state board that sets or inspects county or city jail standards was found in NRS chapter 211; jails are run by the sheriff, chief of police, or town marshal. Chapter 211 imposes specific duties, including HIV treatment (211.152), medical-release notification (211.153), medication-assisted treatment (211.400), and the labor-and-delivery restraint limit (211.155).
- **Probation and parole officers:** Parole and probation officers of the Division of Parole and Probation have peace officer powers ([NRS 289.180](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-289.html#NRS289Sec180)), must be POST-certified within 1 year of hire (289.550), are category I officers by statute (NRS 289.460), though the agency administrator assigns their training category and basic-course length (NAC 289.130), and carry the same 12-hour annual continuing education requirement.
- **Restrictive housing:** Statutory limits since January 1, 2024. “Solitary confinement” means confinement to a cell at least 22 hours a day. The Department of Corrections or a private prison may not hold an offender in solitary for more than 15 consecutive days, within 90 days of projected release, or with a serious mental illness or other significant mental impairment unless a provider of health care orders it for safety. Each person in solitary gets a daily health and welfare check by a provider of health care. Continuation past 15 days is allowed only if the offender refuses removal, for medical necessity, or on a multidisciplinary team’s finding of threat, for no more than another 15 consecutive days. Disciplinary segregation is capped at 15 consecutive days with listed exceptions ([NRS 209.0843, 209.368 to 209.369](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-209.html#NRS209Sec3683)).
- **Corrections use of force:** No restraints of any kind may be used on a prison offender or jail prisoner who is in labor, delivering, or in the postpartum period (prison) or recuperating from delivery (jail), unless there are compelling reasons to believe she presents a serious and immediate threat of harm or a substantial flight risk that cannot be managed by other means; only the least restrictive restraints may be used ([NRS 209.376](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-209.html#NRS209Sec376); 211.155). Since October 1, 2023, a Department of Corrections staff member who orders restraints on a pregnant or postpartum offender must report to the warden or manager within 5 hours. NRS 171.1455 (de-escalation, objectively reasonable force) is framed around arrests; no other corrections-specific use-of-force statute was found.

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Jul 1, 2026 — **All category III officers count as police officers for occupational disease coverage** — AB 93 (2025), ch. 396, Statutes of Nevada 2025, sec. 1, amending NRS 617.135 · Sections 1 and 2 effective July 1, 2026 (sec. 3) — NRS 617.135 already listed uniformed Department of Corrections employees with regular offender contact, parole and probation officers, and certain forensic-facility correctional officers. AB 93 adds: “Any category I peace officer ... category II peace officer ... and category III peace officer ... who is not otherwise included in subsections 1 to 20, inclusive.” Other statutes borrow this definition, so the change also reaches industrial insurance, jury-service exemption, temporary-disability pay, and survivor group insurance. — **For corrections staff:** Any category III officer not already listed in NRS 617.135 now gets the occupational disease coverage that applies to police. — [Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 396](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/83rd2025/Stats202520.html)[NRS 617.135](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-617.html#NRS617Sec135)
- Oct 1, 2025 — **Annual continuing education must cover developmental disabilities** — SB 380 (2025), ch. 389, Statutes of Nevada 2025 · Effective October 1, 2025 (sec. 5) — The 12 hours of annual continuing education required of every peace officer, including category III corrections officers, now include “Interactions with persons with developmental disabilities which may include, without limitation, training on recognizing and responding to persons with an autism spectrum disorder.” Certification-level training under NRS 289.605 may cover listed autism topics, including safety challenges for people with autism in correctional facilities. — **For corrections staff:** Your 12 annual continuing-education hours must include a developmental disabilities topic. — [Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 389](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/83rd2025/Stats202520.html)[NRS 289.510](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-289.html#NRS289Sec510)
- Oct 1, 2025 — **Investigation rights: specific notice of allegations, 48 hours’ notice for witness interviews, and no raise freezes as punishment** — SB 279 (2025), ch. 191, and SB 298 (2025), ch. 395, Statutes of Nevada 2025, amending NRS chapter 289 · Effective October 1, 2025 (no effective-date section; default date under NRS 218D.330) — These peace officer rights apply to category III corrections officers. SB 279 requires the written notice to an officer under investigation to set out “with specificity” the alleged acts or omissions and their date, time, and location (or state that they are unknown), and bars interviewing an officer as a witness on less than 48 hours’ written notice. SB 298 adds a denial of an increase in seniority or pay, for purposes of punishment, to the definition of “punitive action” and, with exceptions, bars such a denial while an investigation is pending. — **For corrections staff:** If you are under internal investigation, you must get a specific written summary of the allegations, and a pending investigation alone cannot freeze a step raise. — [Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 191](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/83rd2025/Stats202509.html)[Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 395](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/83rd2025/Stats202520.html)
- May 29, 2025 — **Women’s screening exams follow age and risk; regimental discipline program repealed** — AB 25 (2025), ch. 99, Statutes of Nevada 2025 · Approved May 29, 2025; effective on passage and approval (sec. 7) — NRS 209.3817 now requires the Department of Corrections to provide an annual pelvic exam and mammogram only if the woman is over a set age or a provider recommends it based on history or risk factors. The act repeals the requirement that the Director run a program of regimental discipline (boot camp) and the related court authority. — **For corrections staff:** The Department no longer has to operate a regimental discipline program. — [Statutes of Nevada 2025, ch. 99](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/83rd2025/Stats202505.html)
- Nov 15, 2024 — **Notice of a pending revocation may be served in person** — POST regulation LCB File R098-24, amending NAC 289.290 · Effective November 15, 2024, per the NAC history note — NAC 289.290(4) required notice of a pending revocation or suspension by certified mail. It now reads: “The Commission will notify the officer by personal service or by certified mail at the officer’s last known address of any pending revocation or suspension action.” The grounds for revocation did not change. — **For corrections staff:** Notice that POST is moving to revoke or suspend your certificate may now be handed to you in person. — [R098-24](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Register/2024Register/R098-24A.pdf)[NAC 289.290](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html#NAC289Sec290)
- Apr 19, 2024 — **Category III certificate by reciprocity for out-of-state and federally trained corrections officers** — SB 323 (2023), ch. 158, Statutes of Nevada 2023; POST regulation LCB File R118-23, adding NAC 289.201 · SB 323 effective January 1, 2024 (sec. 2); NAC 289.201 effective April 19, 2024, per the NAC history note — SB 323 required POST to adopt reciprocity standards for people certified as category III officers, or the equivalent, in another state, or who completed an equivalent federal program. NAC 289.201 followed: “The Executive Director may award a basic certificate by reciprocity to any person if the person: (a) Is currently employed in another state in a position that is equivalent to the position of a category III peace officer in this State,” or held one within 60 months, meets the NAC 289.110 hiring standards, shows unrevoked equivalent certification, equivalent training, or a FLETC custody and detention program, scores at least 70 percent on the state exam, and completes a POST-approved course of at least 40 hours. The hiring agency may require the physical fitness test. — **For corrections staff:** A corrections officer certified in another state or trained by FLETC can be certified in Nevada through a 40-hour course and the exam instead of the 160-hour academy. — [Statutes of Nevada 2023, ch. 158](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/82nd2023/Stats202308.html)[R118-23](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Register/2023Register/R118-23A.pdf)[NAC 289.201](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html#NAC289Sec201)
- Jan 1, 2024 — **Statutory limits on solitary confinement and disciplinary segregation in state prisons** — SB 307 (2023), ch. 407, Statutes of Nevada 2023 · Effective January 1, 2024 (sec. 17) — Solitary confinement is cell restriction of at least 22 hours a day. The Department of Corrections and private prisons “shall not place an offender in solitary confinement: (a) For a period which exceeds 15 consecutive days,” within 90 days of projected release, or with a serious mental illness or significant mental impairment unless a provider of health care orders it. A provider of health care must check each person in solitary daily, and an offender who had refused removal must be removed within 24 hours of asking. Solitary may continue past 15 days if the offender refuses removal, if a provider of health care recommends it as medically necessary, or if a multidisciplinary team (including a housing-unit correctional officer, a mental health clinician, a case worker, a correctional supervisor, and an associate warden) finds a threat. A team-based extension may not exceed another 15 consecutive days. Any continuation past 15 days must be reported to the Director within 24 hours and every 15 days, and records are kept 1 year. Disciplinary segregation is capped at 15 consecutive days with exceptions and must allow visits or phone access. Staff who work with offenders in solitary need specific training, and the Department reports yearly (first report due July 1, 2024). — **For corrections staff:** Prison staff must end solitary at 15 consecutive days unless the offender refuses removal, a provider of health care finds it medically necessary, or a multidisciplinary team documents a threat, and must make sure a provider of health care checks each person daily. — [Statutes of Nevada 2023, ch. 407](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/82nd2023/Stats202321.html)[NRS 209.3683](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-209.html#NRS209Sec3683)
- Dec 15, 2023 — **Past marijuana convictions no longer bar appointment if the conduct is now lawful** — POST regulation LCB File R004-23, amending NAC 289.110 · Effective December 15, 2023, per the NAC history note — NAC 289.110(4) bars appointing a person convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude or the unlawful use, sale, or possession of a controlled substance. New subsection 5: “The provisions of subsection 4 do not apply to a person who has been convicted of an offense involving the unlawful use, sale or possession of marijuana if the offense is not unlawful at the time the person submits an application for certification as a peace officer.” The rule applies to every category, including category III. — **For corrections staff:** A past marijuana conviction for conduct that is now legal no longer keeps an applicant out of a corrections officer job. — [R004-23](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Register/2023Register/R004-23A.pdf)[NAC 289.110](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/NAC-289.html#NAC289Sec110)
- Oct 1, 2023 — **New disqualifiers, a sworn application, separation reporting, and Index checks for category III officers** — SB 225 (2023), ch. 422, Statutes of Nevada 2023 · Effective October 1, 2023, for all other purposes (sec. 10) — NRS 289.555 had disqualified only a person “convicted of a felony.” It now also disqualifies, expressly for category I, II, and III officers, a person convicted of a domestic-violence battery or an out-of-state misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (even if expunged or sealed), a person reported to the National Decertification Index, and a person decertified by POST or another state. Applications must include an affidavit that the applicant is not disqualified and was not fired, disciplined, asked to resign, or separated during a pending investigation for conduct that would be grounds for denial or revocation; “The Commission shall summarily deny any application for certification as a peace officer if the application does not include the affidavit.” Agencies must immediately notify POST of qualifying criminal charges and of resignations during pending misconduct investigations. Details are on the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/nevada). — **For corrections staff:** A corrections officer who resigns while under investigation is reported to POST, and a domestic-violence conviction or an Index listing bars certification. — [Statutes of Nevada 2023, ch. 422](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/82nd2023/Stats202322.html)[NRS 289.555](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-289.html#NRS289Sec555)
- Oct 1, 2023 — **Cross-gender search limits, prenatal care policies, and a 5-hour report on restraining pregnant or postpartum offenders** — AB 292 (2023), ch. 473, Statutes of Nevada 2023, amending NRS chapter 209 including 209.376 · Effective October 1, 2023, for all other purposes (sec. 24) — Each Department of Corrections institution must adopt standards of conduct for male staff interactions with incarcerated women. The policy must bar a male correctional staff member from searching a woman who is undressed in a private location unless there are extraordinary circumstances and a female staff member is present; a male staff member who does so must report in writing to the warden or manager within 72 hours. The act requires needs assessments, medical and behavioral health access, free menstrual products, and prenatal and postnatal care policies. New NRS 209.376(3): “A correctional staff member who orders the use of restraints on an offender who is pregnant or in the postpartum period shall submit a written report to the warden of the institution or manager of the facility,” giving the reasons, within 5 hours. The labor-and-delivery restraint limit itself dates from 2011. — **For corrections staff:** Document any restraint of a pregnant or postpartum woman within 5 hours, and a male officer may search an undressed woman only in extraordinary circumstances with a female officer present. — [Statutes of Nevada 2023, ch. 473](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/82nd2023/Stats202325.html)[NRS 209.376](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-209.html#NRS209Sec376)
- May 31, 2023 — **Corrections training must include cultural competency for transgender and intersex offenders** — SB 153 (2023), ch. 146, Statutes of Nevada 2023, amending NRS 209.1315 · Approved May 31, 2023; effective on passage and approval (sec. 10) — Department of Corrections facility training now includes “Training in cultural competency for interacting with offenders who are transgender, gender non-conforming, gender non-binary and intersex.” The Director, with the approval of the Board of State Prison Commissioners, had to adopt standards for the supervision, custody, housing, and medical and mental health care of those offenders, with regulations due by January 1, 2024. — **For corrections staff:** Department of Corrections training includes a required transgender and intersex cultural-competency component. — [Statutes of Nevada 2023, ch. 146](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/82nd2023/Stats202307.html)[NRS 209.1315](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-209.html#NRS209Sec1315)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

One enacted act waiting to take effect was found: SB 413 (2023), below, whose start date was postponed twice. No other enacted Nevada act affecting corrections staff that is waiting to take effect was found in the 2025 regular session or the 36th Special Session (November 2025). Bills from 2023 and 2025 that did not pass were not swept; this review covered the enacted chapters of the 2023 and 2025 Statutes of Nevada and the 36th Special Session.

- **SB 413 (2023), ch. 394, Statutes of Nevada 2023:** sections 1 to 10 take effect July 1, 2027 for all purposes other than adopting regulations and preparatory tasks. The act sets a revised method for computing credits that reduce an offender’s sentence, tied to the programming and placement identified in the offender’s risk and needs assessment. The Director “shall” give each offender a list of the programs identified in that assessment and the programs available at the offender’s institution or facility, and “submit a report” to the State Board of Parole Commissioners, with the parole data, listing the programs provided and those completed. The Board of State Prison Commissioners must adopt regulations on awarding, forfeiting, and restoring the credits. The act originally set July 1, 2025; chapter 507, Statutes of Nevada 2025, moved it to July 1, 2026, and AB 4 (36th Special Session, ch. 9, sec. 58.7) moved it to July 1, 2027. [2023 Statutes, ch. 394](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/82nd2023/Stats202320.html) [Statutes, 36th Special Session](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/36thSS2025/Stats2025SS3601.html)

## Checked and unchanged

- NRS 209.376 (labor-and-delivery restraint limit in prisons): dates from 2011; AB 292 added only the 5-hour report in 209.376(3).
- NRS 289.480 (category III definition): SB 8 (2023) only renumbered it.
- Not counted: AB 4 (36th Special Session, ch. 9, effective January 1, 2026) creates a Department of Corrections alternative correctional program and amends jail medication-assisted treatment (NRS 211.400); it does not change staff certification. [Statutes, 36th Special Session](https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/36thSS2025/Stats2025SS3601.html)
- Not verified: whether the Director has adopted the solitary confinement regulations NRS 209.368 requires; whether county detention officers in each county are classified as category II or category III.