Battery Domestic Violence in Nevada (NRS 200.485)

How is battery constituting domestic violence different from a simple battery under Nevada law?

Quick answer: Nevada treats BDV differently from ordinary battery. A first or second offense within 7 years is a misdemeanor with mandatory jail, fines, community service, and counseling. A third within 7 years — or cases involving strangulation, substantial bodily harm (SBH), pregnancy, deadly weapons, or certain priors — can be felonies with prison time. BDV is also the only Nevada misdemeanor that carries a right to a jury trial.

What the State must prove

• Battery: Any willful, unlawful force against another.
• Domestic relationship: The person is a spouse/former spouse, dating partner, co-parent, certain household/guardian relation, or specified minor-child relation.

Practice note : Many cases turn on who used force first, primary aggressor designations, injury documentation, and whether the relationship qualifies under the statute. If you have an argument with your significant other and you leave the house, be sure to document the condition you were in and the condition your significant other was in before you leave. Battery domestic violence, because of the mandatory arrest and cooling off period, can be be a tool used by both sides to control and manipulate the other side.

Penalties & variations at a glance

• Any domestic violence conviction will forever strip you of your rights under the 2nd Amendment to own, possess, or carry a firearm. You will become a “prohibited person” and be charged with a felony for possession of a firearm. This applies both at the state level and the federal level. Additionally, even if you seek to seal your record under NRS 179, you do not get your firearm or gun rights back. The only way to restore your gun rights after a battery domestic violence conviction is to have the Governor of the State of Nevada and the Pardons Board grant you an unconditional pardon.
• 1st BDV (7 years): Misdemeanor; 2 days – 6 months in jail, $200–$1,000 fine, 48–120 hours community service, ≥6 months counseling with attendance at least once a week.
• 2nd BDV (7 years): Misdemeanor; 20 days – 6 months in jail jail, $500–$1,000 fine, 100–200 hours community service, 12 months counseling with attendance at least once a week.
• 3rd BDV (7 years): Category B felony, 1–6 years, possible $1,000–$5,000 fine, and you are not eligible for probation. Additionally, you will be forever branded a felon for purposes of future battery domestic violence offenses. This means that any BDV in the future, regardless of how much time has past, is now a felony for which you cannot receive probation and the sentencing range is between 2 to 15 years in state prison.
• Any felony domestic violence conviction requires incarceration in the Nevada Department of Corrections. NRS 200.485(11).
• If you are alleged to have strangled your partner, it is a Category C felony which is punishable by 1 to 5 years in the Nevada Department of Corrections.
• If you are alleged to have caused substantial bodily harm to your accuser, it is a Category B felony and punishable by 1 to 6 years in NDOC.