Nevada
Nevada’s Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (POST) certifies officers and, by regulation, will revoke a certificate for a felony. A 2023 law disqualified anyone convicted of domestic violence, reported to the National Decertification Index, or decertified elsewhere, and required POST to report revocations to the Index and search it for every applicant. Since then the State has added annual behavioral wellness visits and a developmental-disabilities training topic, and widened officers’ rights in misconduct interviews. The regulations have not caught up with every 2023 statutory duty.
- Sources checked
- Part of
- Officer Ledger
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission (POST). Its Executive Director certifies officers and recommends denial, suspension, or revocation to the Commission (NRS 289.500, 289.510, 289.530).
- Statute
- NRS 289.450 to 289.680 (POST, standards, certification), including 289.555 (disqualification), 289.557 (application affidavit and Index search), and 289.585 (agency notice); NRS 289.010 to 289.120 (officer rights in investigations); NRS 193.305 to 193.309 (chokeholds, medical aid, duty to intervene, use-of-force data); NRS 289.824 (copyrighted works). Rules: NAC ch. 289.
- Minimum standards
- No one may serve as a category I, II, or III officer if convicted of a felony, of battery constituting domestic violence (NRS 200.485), or in another state of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33), even if the conviction was expunged or sealed or civil rights were restored; if reported to the Index or an equivalent database; or if decertified or revoked by POST or another state (NRS 289.555). By regulation: a documented background investigation, U.S. citizenship, age 21, high school or equivalent, a medical exam, an FBI fingerprint check, a psychological evaluation, a drug screen, an implicit-bias evaluation, and a polygraph for category I, II, and reserve officers (optional for category III). An agency may not appoint a person who resigned in lieu of termination, or was terminated, for substantiated dishonesty (NAC 289.110).
- Decertification
- Statute: Commission regulations “must” require decertification when the Commission determines an officer knowingly gave false or misleading information on the certification application, and may not require it solely for lawful cannabis use (NRS 289.510(2)(a)(8) to (10)). Regulation: listed grounds “constitute cause” to revoke, refuse, or suspend; a felony conviction or plea means “the certificate will be revoked”; misdemeanor domestic-violence convictions may lead to suspension or revocation (NAC 289.290). Agencies must immediately notify POST of qualifying criminal charges and of officers who separate while a misconduct investigation is pending (NRS 289.585). The regulation still treats willful falsification as discretionary cause and still lets a revoked officer seek reinstatement after 5 years; since October 1, 2023, the statute requires decertification for a knowingly false application and makes anyone revoked by the Commission unqualified to serve. Where they conflict, the statutory disqualifications in NRS 289.555 apply directly; the false-application duty in NRS 289.510 is a directive to the Commission's regulations, which have not yet been amended.
- Public decertification list
- None found. No statute or regulation requires one, and none appears on the POST website.
- National Decertification Index
- Required by statute. The Executive Director “shall” report each officer whose certification is revoked to the Index of IADLEST or an equivalent database; the Commission “shall” search the Index for each applicant; and a person reported to the Index is disqualified (NRS 289.530(2), 289.557(3), 289.555(2)). NAC ch. 289 has no Index provision.
- Continuing training
- At least 12 hours of continuing education each year on racial profiling, mental health and crisis intervention, officer well-being, implicit bias, de-escalation, human trafficking, and firearms. Since October 1, 2025, interactions with persons with developmental disabilities is also required (NRS 289.510(2)(a)(3)). NAC 289.230 still lists only the first 7 topics. Firearms and other proficiency requirements apply, and agencies must require an annual behavioral wellness visit (NAC 289.345).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Annual continuing education must cover interactions with persons with developmental disabilities
An eighth required topic joins the 12 annual hours: interactions with persons with developmental disabilities, which may include autism spectrum disorder. Certification training on developmental disabilities may now cover listed autism-specific topics. The 12-hour minimum was not raised.
For officers: Your 12 annual hours must now include developmental-disabilities training.
Specific misconduct notice before an interrogation; 48 hours’ notice for witness officers
The written notice to an officer under investigation must state the alleged acts or omissions “with specificity,” with the date, time, and location, or say these are unknown. Before, a summary of the alleged misconduct was enough. Officers compelled to appear as witnesses must get written notice at least 48 hours before the interview.
For officers: Before an interrogation you get specific written allegations, and as a witness you get 48 hours’ notice.
Denying a seniority or pay increase counts as punitive action
“Punitive action” now includes denying an increase in seniority or compensation for punishment, which brings officer-rights protections into play. Unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise, an agency may not deny such an increase during an investigation, unless the investigation may lead to dismissal or demotion, until all investigations end.
For officers: A pending investigation alone generally cannot hold up your step or pay increase.
Revocation notice by personal service; inactive certificates renewable for 10 years
R098-24: POST may notify an officer of a pending revocation or suspension by personal service as well as by certified mail. R091-24: an inactive basic certificate need only be renewed through the full initial requirements after 10 consecutive inactive years (was 5), with reactivation requirements for 5 to 10 years.
For officers: A revocation notice may be handed to you in person.
Annual behavioral wellness visits; category III certificate by reciprocity
R190-22: each agency must require every officer to attend an annual behavioral wellness visit with a mental health professional. The professional confirms attendance by letter, may not disclose what was said, and may not diagnose. R118-23: the Executive Director may award a category III (corrections) basic certificate by reciprocity to someone currently, or within the last 60 months, in an equivalent out-of-state position, who meets the appointment standards, scores at least 70% on the state exam, and completes at least 40 hours of training.
For officers: Attend a wellness visit each year; what you say there stays confidential.
Reciprocity standards for out-of-state and federal category III officers
Commission regulations must provide reciprocity for persons certified as category III officers in another state, or who completed equivalent federal law enforcement training. R118-23 implements it.
For officers: Corrections officers certified elsewhere have a path to Nevada certification.
Past marijuana convictions no longer bar appointment if the conduct is now lawful
The controlled-substance conviction bar in NAC 289.110 no longer covers a conviction for marijuana use, sale, or possession if the offense is not unlawful when the person applies for certification.
For officers: An old marijuana conviction for conduct now legal does not bar appointment.
Wider disqualification, Index reporting and search, sworn application, and agency notice
Before the act, NRS 289.555 disqualified only felony convictions. It now also disqualifies anyone convicted of domestic-violence battery or an out-of-state misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (even if expunged or sealed), reported to the Index or an equivalent database, or decertified or revoked by POST or another state. Applicants must swear they are not disqualified and have not been discharged, disciplined, or asked to resign, and did not separate while an investigation was pending, for conduct that would be grounds to deny or revoke. POST “shall summarily deny” an application without the affidavit and “shall” search the Index. The Executive Director “shall” report revoked officers to the Index. Agencies “shall immediately notify” POST of qualifying criminal charges and of separations during a pending misconduct investigation, and must send a written summary of the outcome.
For officers: Leaving during a misconduct investigation is reported to POST, and a revocation goes to the national Index.
Mandatory decertification for a false application; cannabis carve-outs
Agencies may not require an officer to attest to cannabis use before the employment application. They may still require attestations about later use, and drug screening. Commission standards “must not” bar certification, or require decertification, solely for adult or medical cannabis use. They “must” require decertification when the Commission determines the officer knowingly gave false or misleading information on the certification application. The 12-hour continuing-education list was moved within 289.510, not created.
For officers: By statute, a knowingly false certification application requires decertification, though the regulations do not yet say so.
Medical aid for a person in custody who cannot breathe; no playing copyrighted music to block recordings
When a person in custody indicates they cannot breathe, the officer “shall ensure” medical aid by an emergency medical attendant, physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse as soon as practicable. Each agency “shall adopt” policies that bar officers from performing copyrighted works to prevent or interfere with the sharing of recordings of their official duties, with undercover, non-public, and safety exceptions. Retaliation against officers who report violations is barred.
For officers: If a person in custody says they cannot breathe, get them medical aid as soon as practicable.
Not yet in force and pending
- SB 155 (2025), vetoed: would have let non-citizens legally authorized to work, with prior out-of-state officer service, become officers, and limited certain POST regulations. It passed both houses (Assembly 27-15 on May 22, 2025) and was vetoed on June 2, 2025. It is not law. SB 155 (NELIS)
These 2025 bills died under Joint Standing Rule 14.3.1: AB 400 (would have let agencies require cannabis attestations from applicants), SB 57 (body-worn camera scope and non-public recordings), SB 302 (peace officer powers for federal agents enforcing state law), and SB 267 (jail immigration notification and Attorney General model policies). A screen of all 1,134 measures of the 2025 session found no other bill on officer masks, identification, certification, or decertification. Nevada holds no regular session in 2026; the next is in 2027.
No POST regulation yet implements the 2023 Index duties or the mandatory false-application decertification (NAC ch. 289, rev. June 2026).
Checked and unchanged
- NRS 171.1455 (deadly force to effect arrest): last amended 2021. NRS 193.308 (duty to intervene and report): unchanged since 2020. NRS 289.830 (body-worn cameras): no 2023–2026 amendment.
- NRS 193.309 (use-of-force data): 2025 SB 226 changed only legislative committee references.
- The November 2025 special session enacted AB 4 and AB 6; neither changes certification.
- Not counted: 2023 SB 8 (category definitions in 289.470 and 289.480) and Adopted Regs. R005-23, R006-23, R007-23, R025-24, R031-23, and R032-23 (fitness, inactive status, and command and executive certificates).
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Nevada officer certification: Officer Ledger,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/nevada (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.