Free Nevada 5-Day Notice to Pay Rent or Quit

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In Nevada, nonpayment is a two-notice sequence. First the landlord serves a 7-day notice to pay rent or quit under NRS 40.253(1)(a). If the tenant still has not paid or moved, the landlord serves this 5-day notice of unlawful detainer under NRS 40.2512 and NRS 40.253 — the second-step notice that warns of summary eviction and gives the tenant 5 judicial days to contest by affidavit. Build a compliant notice below.

5-Day Unlawful Detainer NRS 40.253 & 40.2512 Judicial Days Free PDF

A Nevada 5-Day Notice of Unlawful Detainer for Nonpayment is the second notice in Nevada’s nonpayment eviction sequence. It is served only after a 7-day notice to pay rent or quit under NRS 40.253(1)(a) has expired without payment or surrender. This notice — grounded in NRS 40.2512 (unlawful detainer for nonpayment) and NRS 40.253 (the summary eviction procedure) — tells the tenant that eviction will be pursued and that the tenant has 5 judicial days to contest by filing an affidavit with the justice court before a summary eviction order may issue. Service must follow NRS 40.280. The form below builds a compliant notice; our Nevada eviction notice laws guide covers the full process, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

The Nevada 5-Day Notice of Unlawful Detainer for Nonpayment is the second written notice in a nonpayment eviction. It presupposes that a 7-day notice to pay rent or quit under NRS 40.253(1)(a) has already been served and has expired without the tenant paying the past-due rent or surrendering the unit. This second notice moves the matter toward a court-ordered summary eviction in the justice court that has jurisdiction over the rental.

The notice does three things in one document. First, it fixes the tenant in unlawful detainer. By continuing to hold the premises after the 7-day pay-or-quit expired without cure, the tenant is in unlawful detainer for nonpayment under NRS 40.2512. The notice states that status and identifies the rent that remains due.

Second, it opens the 5-judicial-day contest window. The tenant is told of the right to contest the eviction by filing an affidavit or answer with the justice court — within 5 judicial days — stating why the tenant is not guilty of unlawful detainer (for example, that rent was tendered or is not in default). The notice must identify the court so the tenant knows where to file.

Third, it warns of summary eviction. The notice states that if the tenant does not pay, surrender, or file a timely affidavit, the landlord may file its own affidavit and the court may issue a summary order for removal under NRS 40.253 — directing the sheriff or constable to post the order and remove the tenant. The form on this page assembles all three elements and computes the 5-judicial-day deadline from the date of service.

The nonpayment eviction is governed by a small cluster of Nevada Revised Statutes. The core sequence lives in NRS 40.253. Subsection (1)(a) authorizes the initial 7-day notice to pay rent or quit — the tenant must pay or surrender before the close of business on the seventh judicial day following the day of service. Subsection (1)(b) provides a shorter 4-day option for a tenant who pays by the week and whose tenancy has not continued more than 45 days.

The unlawful-detainer ground for nonpayment is NRS 40.2512, which is why the Nevada court form for this step is captioned as a notice of unlawful detainer for non-payment of rent. This 5-day notice is the operative document that bridges the expired 7-day demand and the landlord’s summary-eviction affidavit.

The summary-eviction procedure is set out in NRS 40.253(3) through (6). The notice served under subsections (1) or (2) must identify the court with jurisdiction and advise the tenant of the right to contest by filing an affidavit within the time specified. If the tenant files a timely affidavit, the court sets a hearing; if not, the landlord files its own affidavit and the court may issue a summary order for removal. NRS 40.253(3)(b)(2) provides that the order directs the sheriff or constable to post it in a conspicuous place within 24 hours of receipt, and to remove the tenant not earlier than 24 hours but not later than 36 hours after posting.

Service rules are at NRS 40.280, which requires that the notice be served by a sheriff, constable, licensed process server, or an authorized agent of a Nevada-licensed attorney — not by the landlord personally — using one of three statutory methods, and that a signed proof of service be filed before a summary order can issue. One operational rule binds the whole framework: the sequence and the service must be exact. A skipped 7-day notice, a self-served notice, or a miscounted judicial-day period each hands the tenant a defense and restarts the clock.

The single most important thing to understand about this page is that the 5-day notice of unlawful detainer is not the first step. Nevada nonpayment runs in two notices, and using them out of order defeats the eviction.

Step one — the 7-day notice to pay rent or quit (NRS 40.253(1)(a)). When rent is past due, the landlord first serves a written notice giving the tenant 7 judicial days to either pay the full past-due rent or surrender the unit. This is the tenant’s cure opportunity. If the tenant pays in full within the 7 judicial days, the default is cured and the tenancy continues. The 7-day notice has its own dedicated form and page; use it before anything on this page applies.

Step two — this 5-day notice of unlawful detainer. Only when the 7-day notice has expired and the tenant has neither paid nor moved does the landlord serve the notice on this page. It is not a fresh demand for rent; it is the declaration that the tenant is now in unlawful detainer and the opening of the 5-judicial-day contest window before summary eviction.

The 5-day contest window is measured in judicial days, not calendar days. The count excludes the day the notice is served, every Saturday and Sunday, and Nevada legal holidays. Five judicial days routinely spans a week or more of the calendar, and treating them as calendar days produces a short notice a tenant can defeat.

What counts as a judicial day. A judicial day is a day the courts are open for business. The day of service itself never counts — the count begins the next judicial day. Weekends are always excluded, and Nevada state holidays observed by the courts are excluded as well. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the observed weekday is the day excluded.

Nevada legal holidays that fall inside a typical count include New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Nevada Day (the last Friday in October), Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after, and Christmas Day. Nevada Day is a distinctive Nevada holiday that out-of-state landlords routinely forget, and it lands in late October — a common eviction-season window.

Worked example. A 5-day notice served on a Monday of a normal week (no holiday) opens the count on Tuesday and closes at the end of the fifth judicial day, which is the following Monday — Saturday and Sunday are skipped. The tenant has until the close of business that Monday to pay, surrender, or file a contesting affidavit.

Worked example with a holiday. A 5-day notice served in late October that spans Nevada Day (the last Friday in October) loses that Friday from the count as well as the weekend. What looks like five calendar days on the wall calendar can stretch to eight or nine actual days. The generator on this page carries the Nevada court holidays for 2026 and 2027 so the computed deadline always reflects the correct judicial-day count.

Why the cushion helps. Because a miscount is the most common reason a correctly-drafted Nevada notice is later thrown out, many landlords give a day or two beyond the statutory minimum. Extra days work in the tenant’s favor and create no defect, while a short count is fatal. If you serve near a holiday cluster — the Nevada Day / Halloween window or the Thanksgiving pair — recount by hand before the landlord files its summary-eviction affidavit.

Complete the form below to generate a Nevada 5-Day Notice of Unlawful Detainer for Nonpayment. The form computes the 5-judicial-day contest deadline from the date of service, states the unlawful-detainer status, and includes the affidavit-contest and summary-eviction language. Confirm the 7-day pay-or-quit has already run, and arrange service through a sheriff, constable, or licensed process server under NRS 40.280.

NRS 40.280 controls how the notice is served, and Nevada is stricter than most states on who may serve it. The notice must be served by a sheriff, constable, licensed process server, or an authorized agent of a Nevada-licensed attorney. Unlike California and many other states, the landlord may not personally serve the notice. Three methods of delivery are authorized.

Proof of service

Before the justice court can issue a summary eviction order, the landlord must file a signed statement of the date and manner of service. Under NRS 40.280 that statement includes the badge or license number of the sheriff, constable, or licensed process server who served the notice. If service was performed by an agent of a Nevada-licensed attorney, the statement also carries a declaration signed by the attorney, with the attorney’s bar number, that the attorney was retained for the eviction and believes the service complied with the law.

Documentation retention

Retain the original signed notice, the proof of service, any date-stamped posting photographs, and the earlier 7-day notice and its proof. If the summary eviction proceeds, these become the court record. If the tenant pays or files an affidavit, the documentation supports the landlord’s response and any hearing.

The 5-day notice opens a contest window that is central to the Nevada summary-eviction design. Because the summary process can end a tenancy without a full trial, the statute builds in a tenant right to be heard.

The tenant’s affidavit. Within the 5 judicial days, the tenant may file an affidavit or answer with the justice court identified in the notice, stating the reasons the tenant is not guilty of unlawful detainer — for instance, that the rent was tendered, that the amount demanded is wrong, or that the landlord failed to maintain habitability under NRS Chapter 118A. Filing a timely affidavit converts the matter from an administrative posting into a contested hearing.

The landlord’s affidavit. If the tenant does not pay, surrender, or file an affidavit within the 5 judicial days, the landlord files its own affidavit establishing the nonpayment, the prior 7-day notice, and the service of this notice. On that record the court may proceed to a summary order for removal.

The summary order and removal. Under NRS 40.253(3)(b)(2), a summary order for removal directs the sheriff or constable to post the order in a conspicuous place at the premises within 24 hours of receiving it, and to remove the tenant not earlier than 24 hours but not later than 36 hours after posting. The landlord never performs the lockout — only the sheriff or constable executes the order.

• Skipping the 7-day notice. Serving this 5-day unlawful-detainer notice without first serving and expiring a 7-day pay-or-quit under NRS 40.253(1)(a) collapses the sequence. The 7-day notice must come first.
• Letting the landlord serve it. NRS 40.280 requires a sheriff, constable, licensed process server, or attorney’s agent. A landlord-served notice is not valid service and stops the summary eviction.
• Counting calendar days. The 5 days are judicial days — the day of service, weekends, and Nevada holidays (including Nevada Day) are excluded. A calendar-day count is short and defective.
• Overstating the amount. Adding late fees, utilities, or other charges to the rent figure creates an overstated demand the tenant can raise as a defense, delaying possession.
• Failing to identify the justice court. The notice must name the court with jurisdiction so the tenant knows where to file a contesting affidavit. Omitting it undermines the contest right the statute requires.
• Filing without proof of service. The court cannot issue a summary order until a proof of service with the server’s badge or license number is on file.

Nevada tenants served with a 5-day notice of unlawful detainer retain significant statutory rights. Understanding them helps a landlord appreciate why the sequence and service must be exact.

Right to contest by affidavit. The tenant may file an affidavit within the 5 judicial days stating why the tenant is not guilty of unlawful detainer, which forces a hearing before any removal. Right to challenge an overstated demand. If the amount folds in late fees or non-rent charges, the tenant can defend on the ground that the underlying demand was defective.

Right to raise habitability. Under NRS Chapter 118A (NRS 118A.290 and its habitability provisions), a tenant may assert that the landlord failed to maintain the premises, and habitability defenses can be raised in the summary proceeding. Right to proper service. If the notice was served by the landlord rather than a sheriff, constable, or licensed process server, or if the judicial-day count was short, the tenant can move to have the eviction dismissed on those grounds.

Right against self-help eviction. Nevada strictly prohibits self-help evictions. A landlord who changes locks, removes doors, shuts off utilities, or removes belongings without a court order exposes itself to civil liability under NRS Chapter 118A. Only the sheriff or constable, acting on a court order, may remove the tenant. Right against retaliation and discrimination. The federal Fair Housing Act and Nevada law prohibit eviction decisions based on protected characteristics or in retaliation for a tenant asserting habitability or other legal rights.

Nevada justice courts (Las Vegas, Reno/Washoe, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and the rural townships) each administer summary evictions, and local filing practices vary. Always confirm the current forms and procedures with the justice court that has jurisdiction, and see our guide to Nevada eviction procedure for the full process.

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