The punishment for violating Nevada domestic violence law varies depending on the case. A first- or second-time offense that involves no deadly weapons, strangulation, or serious injuries carries little jail if any. Otherwise, defendants face years in prison.

Continue reading to learn specific sentencing schemes for the Nevada crime of “battery domestic violence” (abbreviated “BDV“). On this page, our Las Vegas domestic violence lawyers also provide related information about probation, plea bargains, restraining orders, and child custody.

Penalties for BDV with NO deadly weapons, strangulation, major injuries, or pregnant victim

A first domestic violence offense within a seven (7)-year period is a misdemeanor in Nevada. The punishment includes:

• 2 days – 6 month in jail,
• 48 – 120 hours of community service,
• $200 – $1,000 in fines plus a $100 program assessment fee, and
• At least 6 months of weekly domestic violence counseling classes at the defendant’s expense. Classes last 1 ½ hours each, and judges typically impose a 26-week program. (For an example go to the Las Vegas Municipal Court domestic violence program page.)

Note that judges usually suspend the jail sentence requirement as long as the defendants comply with all other sentencing terms.

Also, note that judges may permit defendants to serve any jail time intermittently as long as each incarceration period spans at least twelve (12) consecutive hours.¹

A second domestic violence offense within a seven (7)-year period is also a misdemeanor. However, the sentence is a little harsher:

• 20 days – 6 months in jail,
• 100 – 200 hours of community service,
• $500 – $1,000 in fines, and
• At least 12 months of weekly domestic violence counseling classes at the defendant’s expense. Classes last 1 ½ hours each.

A third domestic violence offense within a 7-year period is a category B felony even if the incident was relatively minor.² Penalties include:

• 1 – 6 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• $1,000 – $5,000 in fines

Note that any domestic violence incident will be charged as a category B felony if the defendant has a prior conviction of felony domestic violence or domestic violence with a deadly weapon. The penalty is two to fifteen years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000 in fines.

Penalties for BDV with strangulation

Committing battery domestic violence by strangulation in Nevada is a category C felony carrying penalties of:

• 1 – 5 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• up to $10,000 in fine at the judge’s discretion.³

Las Vegas domestic violence attorney Michael Becker gives an example of how these charges are prosecuted:

Hannah from Henderson gets into a verbal argument with her husband. She gets so angry that she reaches out with her hands and rings his neck for a moment. If caught, Hannah could be booked at the Henderson Detention Center for violating NRS 200.485 by strangulation.

Note that it does not matter in the above example if Hannah has no past domestic abuse convictions or that her husband was not hurt. Merely a momentary act of strangling makes Hannah criminally liable for felony BDV in Clark County and throughout Nevada.

Learn more about domestic violence by strangulation.

Penalties for BDV with deadly weapons or serious injuries

A domestic violence incident where the defendant uses no deadly weapon but the victim sustains substantial bodily harm is a category B felony. The sentence is:

• 1 – 6 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• $1,000 – $5,000.⁴

Meanwhile, a domestic violence incident where the victim sustains no serious injuries but the defendant uses a deadly weapon is also a category B felony. But the punishment is much more severe:

• 2 – 10 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• a mandatory fine of $10,000.

Finally, the harshest punishment is reserved for violations of Nevada battery domestic violence law where the defendant uses a deadly weapon AND the victim sustains substantial bodily harm. The category B felony penalties include:

• 1 – 6 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• $1,000 – $5,000

Penalties for BDV if the victim was pregnant

When the victim is pregnant and the defendant knows this — or should know this — a first-time offense is a gross misdemeanor in Nevada, carrying:

• up to 364 days in jail, and/or
• up to $2,000 in fines

Any subsequent conviction is a category B felony, carrying:

• 1 – 6 years in Nevada State Prison, and
• $1,000 – $5,000

Probation and Plea Bargains

Judges may not grant probation or a suspended sentence in felony domestic violence cases.⁵ For misdemeanors, prosecutors routinely offer plea bargains with lesser penalties in exchange for the defendant pleading guilty to BDV and waiving the right to a trial.

The typical plea bargain for a first-time misdemeanor charge of battery constituting domestic violence in Nevada includes the following terms:

• $430 fine,
• 48 hours of community service,
• 26 weeks of weekly domestic violence counseling, and
• a 30-day suspended jail sentence that will not be imposed as long as the defendant picks up no new arrests until the case is closed and completes all other sentencing terms.

Note that district attorneys are not legally allowed to dismiss or reduce BDV charges to lesser offenses unless the state’s evidence is weak. Las Vegas battery domestic violence lawyer Neil Shouse provides an illustration:

Jim is booked at the North Las Vegas Detention Center for hitting his girlfriend. There are several eyewitnesses to the incident as well as surveillance video from a nearby store. The prosecutor offers a plea bargain where Jim would plead guilty to BDV and do the minimum required penalties.

Since the D.A. in the above example seems to have a solid case against Jim, it is probably in his best interest to accept the plea deal. Unless Jim’s attorney can show that the eyewitnesses are unreliable and that the video is inadmissible evidence, the prosecution is unlikely to dismiss or lower the charges.

Restraining Orders

Victims of domestic abuse in Nevada may try to take out “restraining orders” against the alleged abuser. Restraining orders are when courts mandate that an alleged abuser stay away from the victim and possibly surrender their firearms. There are two types of restraining orders in Nevada:

• temporary protective orders (TPOs) that last up to 45 days, and
• extended protective orders that last up to 1 year.⁶

Note that family courts issue protective orders without first allowing the alleged abuser to defend him/herself. However, the alleged abuser may schedule a hearing afterward to argue against the order. In the meantime, he/she must abide by the order or face misdemeanors penalties of:

• up to 6 months in jail, and/or
• up to $1,000 in fines.

Possessing a firearm when ordered not to under a restraining order is a category B felony, carrying one to six (1 – 6) years in Nevada State Prison and maybe a $5,000 fine.

Learn more about violating a restraining order.

Child custody

Parents with BDV convictions are at a grave disadvantage if they ever have a child custody dispute. Family courts presume it is not in the best interest of a child to be in the custody of a parent with battery domestic violence on his/her criminal record. That is why people accused of BDV are encouraged to retain counsel to try to get the charges reduced or dismissed.⁷

Contact our Nevada criminal defense attorneys for a consultation.

• Go back to our main page on battery domestic violence law.
• Learn about battery domestic violence defenses.
• Learn about the battery domestic violence definition.
• Learn about sealing battery domestic violence criminal records.

¹NRS 200.485(1) – Battery Which Constitutes Domestic Violence; Penalties.

²State v. English, 116 Nev 828, 835-836, 9 P.3d 60, 64 (2000) (Outlines procedure for proving past BDV convictions).

³NRS 200.485(2) – Battery Which Constitutes Domestic Violence; Penalties.

⁴NRS 200.481 – Battery: Definitions; penalties.

⁵NRS 200.485(11) – Battery Which Constitutes Domestic Violence; Penalties. AB 51 (2023).

⁶NRS 33.017 – Definitions. (see an example of a TPO application at Clark County Family Court.).

⁷NRS 125C.0035 – Best interest of the child.