How to Serve Divorce Papers in Nevada

If you filed a Complaint for Divorce (not a Joint Petition), you must formally serve your spouse with a copy of the Summons, Complaint, and Joint Preliminary Injunction. This isn't optional — the court has no authority over your spouse until service is properly completed. Get it wrong and your entire case stalls.

Who Can Serve Papers

You cannot serve the papers yourself. Under NRCP 4(e), service must be performed by a disinterested third party who is at least 18 years old. Your options:

County sheriff or constable. The Clark County Sheriff's Civil Division charges $17 base plus $2 per mile. Washoe County's fees vary by zip code. If you have an approved fee waiver under NRS 12.015, the sheriff serves your papers for free.

Licensed private process server. Typically $50 to $100 for local service. Faster and more flexible than the sheriff, especially if your spouse works irregular hours or avoids being found.

Any disinterested adult. A friend, coworker, or family member (not party to the case) who is over 18 can legally serve the papers, though professional servers know how to handle reluctant recipients and their Affidavit of Service is less likely to be challenged.

The 120-Day Deadline

Under NRCP 4(e), you have 120 calendar days from the date you file the Complaint to complete service. If you miss this window, the court can dismiss your case without prejudice — meaning you'd have to refile and pay the filing fee again.

Track the deadline from the actual filing date (the date the clerk accepts and stamps your Complaint), not the date you dropped it in the mail or uploaded it to eFileNV.

Acceptance of Service

If your spouse is cooperative, they can skip the process server entirely by signing a notarized Acceptance of Service form. This is common in cases where both spouses agree the divorce should happen but disagree on specific terms (making a Joint Petition unavailable).

The Acceptance of Service must be signed voluntarily — your spouse can't be pressured or misled about what they're signing. Once filed with the court, it has the same legal effect as personal service by a process server.

Service by Publication

When your spouse genuinely can't be found after documented search efforts, you can petition the court for alternative service under NRCP 4.4(c). The judge will issue an order directing publication of the summons in a designated county newspaper once per week for four consecutive weeks.

If you discover a last known address during the search, you must also mail a copy of the summons and complaint to that address. Service by publication is considered complete 28 days after the first publication date. Your spouse then gets 20 to 21 days from that completion date to file an answer — making the full timeline 16 to 18 weeks from start to finish.

Service by publication is a last resort. The court requires evidence of diligent search — checking last known addresses, contacting relatives, searching public records. Simply not knowing where your spouse moved isn't enough to justify publication without documented efforts to locate them.

Filing Proof of Service

After service is completed, the process server files a notarized Affidavit of Service with the court, stating the date, time, and location of service. This proof is required before you can proceed with the case.

Without a properly filed Affidavit of Service (or Acceptance of Service), you can't request a default, schedule a hearing, or submit a proposed decree. The court won't act on a case where it can't verify the defendant was properly notified.

The Nevada Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a service-of-process tracker, process server instruction cover letter, and a step-by-step guide to the publication process for hard-to-locate spouses.

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