Nevada has a broad state-level preemption of local firearm regulation. NRS 268.418 (incorporated municipalities) and NRS 244.364 (counties) bar local...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Nevada has a broad state-level preemption of local firearm regulation. NRS 268.418 (incorporated municipalities) and NRS 244.364 (counties) bar local jurisdictions from adopting ordinances or regulations that govern the carrying, possession, or transportation of firearms more strictly than state law. Local jurisdictions retain limited authority over firearm discharge in defined zones and over the operation of their own facilities.
Preemption ensures that a CFP holder's rights are uniform statewide and that the carrier need only navigate one set of rules (state plus federal), not 17 different county or city ordinances.
NRS 268.418 (cities):
"The Legislature reserves for itself such rights and powers as are necessary to regulate the transfer, sale, purchase, possession, ownership, transportation, registration and licensing of firearms and ammunition in Nevada, and no county, city or town may infringe upon those rights and powers."
NRS 244.364 (counties):
"The Legislature reserves for itself such rights and powers as are necessary to regulate the transfer, sale, purchase, possession, ownership, transportation, registration and licensing of firearms and ammunition in Nevada, and no county may infringe upon those rights and powers."
The two statutes are parallel; together they bar local firearm ordinances across all Nevada jurisdictions.
The preemption is field preemption for the listed subjects:
A local ordinance attempting to regulate any of these subjects is void as inconsistent with state law, regardless of whether the local ordinance is stricter or more permissive than state law.
Local jurisdictions retain authority over:
Before the current preemption was strengthened (most recently by SB 175 in 2015 and AB 286 in 2021), several Nevada cities had firearm registration ordinances (notably Las Vegas's "blue card" handgun registration ordinance, repealed effective 2015 by force of NRS 268.418). The state preemption statute now operates retrospectively: any inconsistent local ordinance is void.
Clark County, Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Reno, and other major Nevada jurisdictions have repealed or otherwise removed firearm registration ordinances. Some local-government building posting ordinances remain in force and are consistent with state law (NRS 202.3673 authorizes them).
A person aggrieved by a local ordinance inconsistent with state preemption may:
The Nevada Firearms Coalition and the NRA have litigated several preemption challenges in Nevada, with consistent results - inconsistent local ordinances are struck down.
Federal firearm law (Gun Control Act, NFA, FOPA, LEOSA) supersedes Nevada law where they are in conflict. Areas of federal supremacy:
State preemption operates horizontally (state vs. local) and does not affect the federal-state relationship.
Some Nevada constitutional-carry advocates have argued that preemption requires the state legislature to address concealed carry uniformly statewide, with no county-by-county variation in CFP issuance practices. The Nevada Supreme Court has not directly addressed this argument, and the legislature has retained the sheriff-by-sheriff issuing structure. The county sheriffs follow uniform NvSCA training standards, and each sheriff's office must comply with NRS 202.3657's shall-issue framework, so variation in issuance practices is procedural rather than substantive.
Casinos as private property may exclude firearms by posting (see PROHIBITED_PLACES). The casino's right to exclude does not arise from local-government regulation but from the property owner's right to control their own property. Preemption does not affect private property rights.
A casino's policy on firearms is a contractual/private-property matter. A CFP holder denied entry due to the casino's no-firearm policy has no preemption-based remedy because the policy is not a government regulation.
Public school districts in Nevada are subject to NRS 202.265 (state law prohibiting firearm possession on school grounds). A school district board cannot adopt a more lenient policy allowing firearms on school grounds (state law restricts); they cannot adopt a more restrictive policy that would, e.g., disqualify a peace officer from carry on school grounds (state law authorizes).
Private schools may adopt their own policies as private property under NRS 207.200.
See PROHIBITED_PLACES for the location restrictions that operate under state law, OPEN_CARRY and CONCEALED_CARRY for the carry framework that preemption protects from local interference, and OTHER for civil liability under state law that local jurisdictions cannot alter.
This page covers one part of our Nevada concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Nevada guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.