Nevada Child Abduction Prevention Orders

Part of my Nevada Family Law Overview.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against Nevada Revised Statutes Title 11, chapters 121 through 130 (current through the 2025 legislative session and 2026 special session revisions)

In This TopicNevada Family LawTopic 15 of 15: Abduction Prevention

When a parent or other person fears that a child may be taken or hidden in violation of custody or visitation rights, Nevada law allows a court to order measures to prevent it. These rules are in chapter 125D of the Nevada Revised Statutes, which may be cited as the Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act (NRS 125D.010).

This page explains who may ask for protection, what the court looks at, and what kinds of orders are available. It also includes a brief note on chapter 125E, which adds safeguards in certain proceedings involving Indian children.

Key Terms

• Abduction: the wrongful removal or wrongful retention of a child (NRS 125D.030).
• Wrongful removal: taking a child in a way that breaches rights of custody or visitation given or recognized under Nevada law (NRS 125D.120).
• Wrongful retention: keeping or concealing a child in a way that breaches those rights (NRS 125D.130).
• Child: an unemancipated individual under 18 years of age (NRS 125D.040).
• Child custody proceeding: a proceeding in which legal custody, physical custody or visitation is at issue, including divorce, separation, neglect, abuse, dependency, guardianship, paternity, termination of parental rights and protection from domestic violence (NRS 125D.060).

Who Can Ask for Abduction Prevention Measures

A court may order abduction prevention measures on its own motion in a child custody proceeding if it finds that the evidence establishes a credible risk of abduction (NRS 125D.150(1)). A request is not always needed.

A petition may be filed by a party to a child custody determination, or by another individual or entity with a right under Nevada law or the law of any other state to seek a custody determination for the child (NRS 125D.150(2)). A district attorney or the Attorney General acting under NRS 125A.565 may seek a warrant to take physical custody of a child or other appropriate prevention measures (NRS 125D.150(3)).

Which Court Can Hear the Petition

A petition may be filed only in a court that has jurisdiction to make a child custody determination for the child under chapter 125A of NRS (NRS 125D.160(1)). Chapter 125A may be cited as the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (NRS 125A.005). A Nevada court has temporary emergency jurisdiction under NRS 125A.335 if it finds a credible risk of abduction (NRS 125D.160(2)).

To learn how Nevada decides which state’s courts can act, see Home State Jurisdiction and Temporary Emergency Jurisdiction. The rules in chapter 125A on communication and cooperation between courts also apply to abduction prevention cases (NRS 125D.140).

What the Petition Must Include

The petition must be verified and must include a copy of any existing child custody determination, if available (NRS 125D.170). It must specify the risk factors for abduction, including the relevant factors listed in NRS 125D.180 (NRS 125D.170).

Subject to NRS 125A.385(5), and if reasonably ascertainable, the petition must also contain (NRS 125D.170):

• The child’s name, date of birth and gender;
• The child’s customary address and current physical location;
• The respondent’s identity, customary address and current physical location;
• Whether a prior action to prevent abduction or domestic violence was filed, with its date, location and disposition;
• Whether a party has been arrested for a crime related to domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect, with the date, location and disposition; and
• Any other information required for a child custody determination under NRS 125A.385.

How the Court Decides Whether There Is a Credible Risk

In deciding whether there is a credible risk of abduction, the court must consider any evidence that the petitioner or respondent (NRS 125D.180(1)):

• Has previously abducted or attempted to abduct the child;
• Has threatened to abduct the child;
• Has recently done things that may indicate a planned abduction, such as abandoning employment, selling a primary residence, ending a lease, closing accounts or liquidating assets, hiding or destroying financial documents, applying for a passport or visa or obtaining travel documents, or seeking the child’s birth certificate or school or medical records;
• Has engaged in domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect;
• Has refused to follow a child custody determination;
• Lacks strong familial, financial, emotional or cultural ties to Nevada or the United States;
• Has strong familial, financial, emotional or cultural ties to another state or country;
• Is likely to take the child to a country with certain characteristics, described below;
• Is undergoing a change in immigration or citizenship status that would adversely affect the respondent’s ability to remain in the United States legally;
• Has had an application for United States citizenship denied;
• Has forged or presented misleading or false evidence on government forms or supporting documents to obtain or try to obtain a passport, visa, travel documents, or government identification, or has made a misrepresentation to the United States Government;
• Has used multiple names to attempt to mislead or defraud; or
• Has engaged in any other conduct the court considers relevant to the risk of abduction.

Several listed factors concern the country where the child may be taken (NRS 125D.180(1)(h)). They include a country that is not a party to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and does not provide for extradition of an abducting parent or return of an abducted child, or a party country where the Convention is not in force between it and the United States or that is noncompliant according to the most recent U.S. Department of State compliance report (NRS 125D.180(1)(h)(1)-(2)). They also include a country on the State Department’s current list of state sponsors of terrorism, one without an official U.S. diplomatic presence, and one engaged in active military action or war to which the child may be exposed (NRS 125D.180(1)(h)(5)-(7)).

When the Respondent Was Trying to Avoid Harm

At the hearing, the court must consider any evidence that the respondent believed in good faith that his or her conduct was necessary to avoid imminent harm to the child or the respondent (NRS 125D.180(2)). If the court finds that the respondent’s conduct is intended to avoid imminent harm to the child or respondent, the court shall not issue an abduction prevention order (NRS 125D.180(3)).

What an Order Must Contain

When a petition is filed, the court may enter an order that must include (NRS 125D.190(1)):

• The basis for the court’s jurisdiction;
• How notice and an opportunity to be heard were given to those entitled to them;
• A detailed description of each party’s custody and visitation rights and the child’s residential arrangements;
• A statement that violating the order may subject the violator to civil and criminal penalties; and
• The child’s country of habitual residence when the order is issued.

Except where the court finds the respondent’s conduct is intended to avoid imminent harm, if the court finds a credible risk of abduction after reviewing the evidence, it shall enter an abduction prevention order (NRS 125D.190(2)). The order must include measures and conditions reasonably calculated to prevent abduction, giving due consideration to the parties’ custody and visitation rights (NRS 125D.190(2)).

The court must consider the child’s age, the potential harm to the child from an abduction, the legal and practical difficulties of returning the child if abducted, and the reasons for the potential abduction, including evidence of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect (NRS 125D.190(2)).

Measures the Court May Order

An abduction prevention order may include one or more of the following (NRS 125D.190(3)):

• Travel restrictions: a party traveling with the child outside a designated area must give the other party the child’s itinerary, contact addresses and phone numbers, and copies of all travel documents.
• Prohibitions on the respondent: directly or indirectly removing the child from Nevada, the United States or another area without court permission or the petitioner’s written consent; removing or retaining the child in violation of a custody determination; removing the child from school or child care; or approaching the child anywhere other than a supervised visitation site.
• Registration elsewhere: requiring a party to register the order in another state before the child may travel there.
• Passport measures: directing the petitioner to place the child’s name in the U.S. Department of State’s Child Passport Issuance Alert Program; requiring the respondent to surrender any passport issued in the child’s name; and barring the respondent from applying for a new or replacement passport or visa for the child.
• Other conditions: requiring the respondent, before exercising custody or visitation, to provide certain documents and proofs to government offices, the court and the petitioner, and, on the petitioner’s request, to obtain a foreign order with terms identical to the U.S. custody determination.

The court may also impose conditions on custody or visitation (NRS 125D.190(4)). It may limit visitation or require supervised visitation until the court finds supervision is no longer necessary, and order the respondent to pay the costs of supervision (NRS 125D.190(4)(a)). It may require the respondent to post a bond or other security large enough to deter abduction, which may be used to pay reasonable recovery expenses if an abduction occurs (NRS 125D.190(4)(b)). It may require the respondent to obtain education on the potentially harmful effects of abduction on the child (NRS 125D.190(4)(c)).

Emergency Warrants When Abduction Is Imminent

To prevent imminent abduction, a court may issue a warrant to take physical custody of the child, direct law enforcement to take any action reasonably necessary to locate or return the child or enforce a custody determination, or grant other relief allowed by Nevada law (NRS 125D.190(5)).

If the petition contains allegations and the court finds a credible risk that the child is imminently likely to be wrongfully removed, the court may issue an ex parte warrant, which is issued before the respondent has an opportunity to be heard (NRS 125D.200(1)-(2)). The warrant must (NRS 125D.200(3)):

• Recite the facts supporting the finding of a credible risk of imminent wrongful removal;
• Direct law enforcement officers to take physical custody of the child immediately;
• State the date and time for the hearing on the petition; and
• Provide for the child’s safe interim placement pending further court order.

The respondent must have a chance to be heard at the earliest possible time after the warrant is executed, but not later than the next judicial day unless a hearing that day is impossible, in which case the hearing must be held on the first judicial day possible (NRS 125D.200(2)). The petition and warrant must be served on the respondent when or immediately after the child is taken into physical custody (NRS 125D.200(5)).

If feasible, the court may order a search of National Crime Information Center and similar state databases for any history of domestic violence, stalking, or child abuse or neglect (NRS 125D.200(4)). A warrant issued by Nevada or another state is enforceable throughout Nevada, and in some circumstances the court may authorize officers to enter private property, including by forcible entry at any hour if exigent circumstances require it (NRS 125D.200(6)).

If the court finds after a hearing that a petitioner sought an ex parte warrant for harassment or in bad faith, the court may award the respondent reasonable attorney’s fees, costs and expenses (NRS 125D.200(7)).

How Long an Abduction Prevention Order Lasts

An abduction prevention order stays in effect until the earliest of these events (NRS 125D.210):

Event That Ends the Order	Source
The time stated in the order	NRS 125D.210(1)
The child’s emancipation	NRS 125D.210(2)
The child turns 18	NRS 125D.210(3)
The order is modified, revoked, vacated or superseded by a court with jurisdiction under NRS 125A.305, 125A.315 and 125A.325	NRS 125D.210(4)

For more on emancipation, see Minors and Emancipation in Nevada.

Other Remedies Still Available

The remedies in chapter 125D are cumulative and do not affect the availability of other remedies to prevent abduction (NRS 125D.190(6)). The chapter also does not affect relief allowed under other Nevada law (NRS 125D.200(8)). For general custody and visitation rules, see Nevada Child Custody and Visitation and Relocation. For enforcing custody orders across state lines, see Registering and Enforcing Custody Orders.

A Note on Indian Child Custody Proceedings (Chapter 125E)

Chapter 125E creates additional safeguards for Indian children, including to improve the treatment of and services provided to Indian children and families in the child welfare system (NRS 125E.170(3)). There, “child custody proceeding” means a matter under chapter 432B of NRS in which legal or physical custody of a child is at issue, not including an emergency proceeding (NRS 125E.030). An “Indian child” is an unmarried person under 18 who is a member or citizen of an Indian tribe, or who is eligible for membership or citizenship and is the biological child of a tribal member (NRS 125E.080).

In these proceedings, each petitioner and anyone else required by the court or law must determine whether there is reason to know the child is an Indian child, and the court may not enter a custody order until the chapter’s inquiry and notice requirements are met (NRS 125E.200). Unless the court has already found the child is an Indian child, at the start of each hearing the court must ask each person present whether they have reason to know the child is an Indian child (NRS 125E.210(3)).

Except as otherwise provided, the court’s jurisdiction is concurrent with the child’s tribe, and the tribe has exclusive jurisdiction if the child is a ward of its tribal court or resides or is domiciled within its reservation (NRS 125E.270(1)-(2)). For how Nevada’s custody jurisdiction law treats tribes, see International and Tribal Custody Cases.

How I Can Help

If you are worried that a child may be taken from Nevada or hidden, or if you have been accused of planning an abduction, the process moves quickly and the stakes are high. I can explain how Nevada’s Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act applies to your circumstances, help prepare or respond to a petition, and address related custody and jurisdiction issues. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Nevada family law, based on the Nevada Revised Statutes as currently revised, and is not legal advice. Court rules, regulations (including the child support guidelines), and case law also affect family law matters. Every family is different; consult an attorney about your situation. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.