High-Risk Protection Order ("Red Flag")
- What is it? A judge can prevent a person from purchasing or possessing any guns if they are at imminent risk of causing a self-inflicted injury or injury to another person with a firearm and they are showing high-risk behavior.
- Who can file? A family member / household member can file an application for an order for protection against high-risk behavior. Law enforcement can also file if they have probable cause to believe a person poses an imminent risk of causing self-inflicted injury or injury to another person due to a firearm.
- What happens? When an application is filed, the court must hold a hearing within 1 judicial day. The court can hold the hearing and issue an emergency order with or without notice to the person alleged to pose a risk. An emergency order can only stay in effect for 7 days; to get a longer order, all parties would need to attend a hearing with the judge.
The laws regarding this process start at NRS 33.050.
Follow these steps to apply for a protection order against high-risk behavior:
1. Fill out the forms. There are 2 forms you will need to fill out.
2. File the forms. File them with your local court.
3. Attend a hearing. The court will set a hearing within 1 judicial day.
4. Request an extension. If an order is needed for longer than 7 days, you can request an extension.
Learn more about each step below.
Step 1. Fill out the forms.
To request an emergency order for protection against high-risk behavior, fill out these two forms:
District Court Cover Sheet (pdf fillable)
Application for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior (pdf fillable)
If you are law enforcement, use this application instead of the one above:
Law Enforcement Application for Protection Against High-Risk Behavior (pdf fillable)
Step 2. File the forms
There is no fee to file the forms. File the forms at:
Eighth Judicial District Court
Regional Justice Center - 3rd floor
200 Lewis Avenue
Las Vegas, NV 89155
Step 3. Attend a hearing
A judge must hold a hearing within 1 judicial day after an application is filed. The judge may require the applicant to attend the hearing, and may or may not require the adverse party to attend. If the application is filed by law enforcement, the judge can hold the hearing by telephone, which can be done 24/7.
The judge can issue a temporary 7 day order that would require the person to surrender any firearms they have and also prevent them from having a firearm while the order is in place. The order will be provided to law enforcement so they can serve the order.
The adverse party must turn over their firearms to law enforcement immediately after being served with the order. The following notice must be filled out, signed by the adverse party and law enforcement, and filed with the court.
Firearms Surrender Notice (pdf fillable)
The judge could set a follow up hearing to determine if the order should be extended. If not, you can request an extended order separately below if you believe the person should be prevented from having a firearm for a longer period of time.
Step 4. Request an extension
The initial order will be valid for 7 days. If you believe the order should last longer, you can request an extended order (you may have already requested this in your original application). This would set a hearing for all parties to attend so a judge can decide whether the order should be extended.
