Nevada Child Support

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 11 of 15: Child Support

In Nevada, the parents of a child have a duty to provide the child necessary maintenance, health care, education and support (NRS 125B.020(1)). Chapter 125B of the Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) sets out this duty and how it is enforced, and it applies to all parents of all children, whether or not the child has been legitimated (NRS 125B.010).

It is Nevada’s stated policy that parents have an “equivalent” duty to provide their minor children with necessary maintenance, health care, education and financial support. “Equivalent” does not mean both parents are responsible for the same amount of financial support (NRS 125C.001(3)). This page covers who may collect support, how the amount is set, how long support lasts, how orders are reviewed and changed, and how they are enforced.

What Parents Owe

Besides ongoing support, parents are liable for the child’s funeral expenses if the child dies (NRS 125B.020(2)). The father is also liable for the expenses of the mother’s pregnancy and confinement (NRS 125B.020(3)). If parentage has not been established, see Nevada Parentage and Paternity.

Who May Seek Support

When the parents do not live together, the child’s physical custodian may recover a reasonable portion of the cost of the child’s care, support, education and maintenance from the parent without physical custody (NRS 125B.030). The duty of support also gives a cause of action to either parent’s legal representatives and to third persons or public agencies that provide support for the child (NRS 125B.040(1)).

The 4-Year Limit on Past Support

If there is no court order for support, a parent with physical custody may recover no more than 4 years’ support furnished before the action to establish support is filed (NRS 125B.030). The same 4-year limit applies to reimbursement sought by others who provided support (NRS 125B.040(2)).

If there is no support order, a written demand for support mailed to the last known address of the parent without physical custody tolls (pauses) the statute of limitations for bringing an action for that support (NRS 125B.050(1)).

When the Child Moves to a New Caregiver

A support order follows the child to the person who obtains lawful physical custody (NRS 125B.040(3)). That person is entitled to receive the payments and may enforce the order or ask to modify it without petitioning for a new order (NRS 125B.040(4)). “Lawful physical custody” means custody obtained by court order, or with the consent of the person who was awarded physical custody by a court (NRS 125B.040(12)).

A new caregiver who was not a party to the original case and wants to enforce the order must give the Division of Social Services a written declaration, under penalty of perjury, of having obtained lawful physical custody, and may have to give notice to the obligor and file the declaration with the court (NRS 125B.040(6)). Failing to do so does not end the right to payment, but a court may consider it in deciding the amount of arrears owed (NRS 125B.040(8)). Past-due support belongs to whoever had lawful physical custody when the payment was due (NRS 125B.040(9)). Visitation rights are not treated as a change of custody for these purposes (NRS 125B.040(10)).

How the Amount of Support Is Set

A Nevada court must apply the guidelines established by the Administrator of the Division of Social Services under NRS 425.620 to determine support in any case involving the support of children, or to change the amount of support (NRS 125B.080). The dollar figures and formulas in those guidelines are not set out in chapter 125B.

A support judgment or order ordinarily must be for periodic payments, which may vary in amount (NRS 125B.090). In the child’s best interest, the court may order a lump-sum payment or the purchase of an annuity instead (NRS 125B.090).

Before issuing or changing a support order, the court must determine whether any party is receiving or has ever received public assistance (NRS 125B.065). If so, the court may not waive any child support arrearages until the Division of Social Services has had notice and an opportunity to be heard (NRS 125B.065).

Within 10 days after a Nevada court issues a support order, each party must file with the Division of Social Services his or her social security number, residential and mailing addresses, telephone number, driver’s license number, and employer’s name, address and telephone number (NRS 125B.055(2)). Each party must update this information within 10 days after it becomes inaccurate (NRS 125B.055(2)).

How Long Child Support Lasts

Unless the parties have a contract under NRS 123.080 providing otherwise, the obligation for a child’s care, education, maintenance and support created by a custody order under NRS 125C.0045 ends (NRS 125C.0045(9)):

• When the person ordered to pay dies; or
• When the child reaches 18, if the child is no longer enrolled in high school; otherwise, when the child reaches 19.

Several other rules affect when support ends:

• Child with a handicap. A parent must support a child with a handicap beyond the age of majority until the child is no longer handicapped or becomes self-supporting, if the handicap occurred before the age of majority (NRS 125B.110(1)). “Handicap” means an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months in a row (NRS 125B.110(4)).
• Unpaid support after emancipation. A parent who is behind on court-ordered support when the child becomes emancipated must keep making the ordered payments until the arrearages are paid (NRS 125B.100). See Nevada Minors and Emancipation.
• Adoption. The child’s adoption into another family ends the natural parents’ obligation for the period after the adoption (NRS 125B.120(2)).
• Death of a parent. A parent’s support obligation can be enforced against his or her estate in an amount the court decides, considering factors such as the child’s age, the custodial parent’s ability to support the child, the property left, the lawful issue, if any, and the rights of any surviving spouse (NRS 125B.130(1)).

Reviewing and Changing a Support Order

A parent or legal guardian of the child, or the Division of Social Services, its designated representative or the district attorney when they have jurisdiction in the case, may file a request for review. The court must then review the order at least every 3 years to decide whether it should be modified or adjusted (NRS 125B.145(1)). Each review must be in response to a separate request (NRS 125B.145(1)). The court must make sure each person subject to a support order is notified of the right to request a review, either at least once every 3 years or in the order itself (NRS 125B.145(3)).

A support order may also be reviewed at any time based on changed circumstances (NRS 125B.145(4)). A change of 20 percent or more in the gross monthly income of a person subject to the order is deemed to be changed circumstances requiring a review for modification (NRS 125B.145(4)). If the court decides a change is appropriate, taking the child’s best interests into account, it must modify the order in accordance with the guidelines adopted under NRS 425.620 (NRS 125B.145(2)(b)).

No Retroactive Changes to Past-Due Payments

Each support payment becomes a judgment by operation of law on or after the date it is due, and that judgment may not be retroactively modified or adjusted (NRS 125B.140(1)(a)). Only payments that have not yet accrued when a party gives notice of filing a motion to modify may be changed, on a showing of changed circumstances (NRS 125B.140(1)(b)). These rules apply except as otherwise provided in chapter 130 and NRS 125B.012 for orders from other states (NRS 125B.140(1)). See Nevada Interstate Child Support.

Enforcing a Support Order

Because each due payment is a judgment, it may be enforced in the same manner as other Nevada judgments (NRS 125B.140(1)(a)). If a support order exists, there is no time limit on an action to collect arrearages or to seek reimbursement of public assistance paid for the child (NRS 125B.050(3)). A motion after judgment or an independent action to enforce a support judgment may be started at any time (NRS 125B.050(2)).

Enforcement step	Key requirement or timing	NRS
Notice before execution on a support judgment	Notice by certified mail, restricted delivery, to the responsible parent; the parent may ask for a hearing within 20 days after the notice is sent (not required if a court has already set the arrears amount)	125B.140(2)-(3)
Interest and attorney’s fees	Court must include interest on arrears at the NRS 99.040 rate and a reasonable attorney’s fee, unless this would cause undue hardship	125B.140(2)(c)
Lien on property	Order may be recorded with a county recorder and becomes a lien on the parent’s real and personal property in that county; notice must be sent within 20 days after recording (unless a Nevada court already set the arrears)	125B.142
Duration of lien	Continues until the arrearages are satisfied	125B.142(6)
Release of payment information to a reporting agency of the kind defined in 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f)	The enforcing authority must release it, but only after the responsible parent gets notice and 20 days to correct the information	125B.170(1)

At a hearing on the notice before execution, the court decides only the amount of the arrearages and the jurisdiction of the court that issued the order (NRS 125B.140(2)(b)). A lien recorded in another state to enforce an order recognized under chapter 130 receives full faith and credit in Nevada if the order and the required federal forms are recorded as NRS 125B.142 provides (NRS 125B.144(1)).

Help From the District Attorney

When asked by a parent, alleged parent, guardian or a public agency providing assistance, the district attorney must take action as necessary to establish parentage, locate the person who owes support, and take legal action, including establishing or adjusting support (NRS 125B.150(1)). The district attorney does not represent the parent, guardian or child, but acts as a representative of the State (NRS 125B.150(3)). The district attorney must also tell applicants about a procedure to collect unpaid support from the paying parent’s federal income tax refund (NRS 125B.150(6)).

A criminal prosecution for nonsupport under NRS 201.015 to 201.080 does not bar civil support proceedings, and money paid in the criminal case must be credited in the civil case (NRS 125B.180).

Security for Future Support Payments

Chapter 125B allows a court to require a parent who is behind on support (the “obligor-parent”) to deposit assets with a court-designated trustee to secure future payments (NRS 125B.210(1)). Except as NRS 125B.230 provides, the court must issue this order if (NRS 125B.210(1)):

• The person entitled to support signs a declaration under penalty of perjury that the obligor-parent is behind by an amount equal to or greater than 30 days of payments;
• The obligor-parent has been given notice and an opportunity for a hearing; and
• The court finds good cause and at least one condition in NRS 125B.240 exists.

The NRS 125B.240 conditions relate to whether income withholding or assignment would be available, sufficient, or practical, for example because of the obligor-parent’s employment history, such as multiple employers (NRS 125B.240). When the court makes this order, it also orders the obligor-parent to pay reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the person entitled to support (NRS 125B.210(1)).

• Which assets. The court gives priority to cash, then to the most liquid assets. Deposited assets must not be exempt from execution and, when possible, must equal at least the current arrears plus one year of support (NRS 125B.250(1)). With court approval, the obligor-parent may instead post a performance bond (NRS 125B.250(2)).
• Defenses. If the obligor-parent raises them, the court may consider factors such as that support was not in arrears when the declaration was filed, a serious adverse effect on immediate family members living with the obligor-parent that outweighs the effect on the other parent, substantial impairment of the ability to earn income, or another emergency condition (NRS 125B.230(1)).
• Presumption. Where evidence shows the obligor-parent is behind, he or she must dispute the presumption that nonpayment was willful, without good faith, and that he or she could pay (NRS 125B.230(2)).
• Opposing a sale. The obligor-parent may oppose use or sale of the assets by filing a motion within 15 days after service of notice of the impending use or sale (NRS 125B.230(3)).
• Restraining orders. While the proceeding is pending, the court may issue ex parte orders restraining the transfer or disposal of property (NRS 125B.260(1)). Such an order expires 1 year after it is issued or when assets are deposited, whichever comes first (NRS 125B.260(4)).
• Return of assets. The trustee must return the assets when the obligor-parent asks, all arrears are paid in full, and all support for the preceding 12 months was paid on time (NRS 125B.280(1)).

How I Can Help

I help parents and caregivers understand how Nevada’s child support statutes apply to their family, whether they are seeking support, asking for a review of an existing order, or dealing with past-due support. I can explain the process, help gather the information the court needs, and represent you in court. 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.