A 2025 Nevada law flipped the default in family court from private to public. Here is what changed on October 1, 2025, and how it affects privacy in a Las Vegas divorce or custody case.
If you are filing for divorce or fighting over custody in Las Vegas, the rules about who can sit in the courtroom recently changed. A new state law that took effect on October 1, 2025, made Nevada family court hearings open to the public by default. The shift matters for any family that assumed the courtroom door would stay closed.
For years, Nevada families could ask the court to keep divorce and related hearings private, and closure was often granted on request. That earlier framework, built around statutes such as the now repealed NRS 125.080, treated privacy as something a party could largely choose. The law that took effect in late 2025 reversed that starting point.
Senate Bill 432 set a presumption that family court proceedings are open to the public. That presumption now applies across the family law docket in Clark County, including divorce, child custody and support, and legal separation matters. Unless a judge enters a specific written order closing all or part of a hearing, members of the public may attend.
Openness is the default, not an absolute rule. A judge may still close part of a hearing or seal records when a compelling interest outweighs public access, when disclosure would create a substantial risk of harm, and when the restriction is narrowly drawn with no reasonable alternative. The court has to put its reasons in writing rather than simply granting a private hearing because someone asked.
The change does not mean your private financial and medical details are suddenly public. Those categories stay protected. What changed is that the live hearing itself is presumed open, so you can no longer count on automatic privacy in the courtroom. Planning ahead with your attorney about what may need a sealing or closure request, and on what grounds, is now part of preparing a divorce or property division case.
If your case involves details you have strong reasons to keep out of an open hearing, the time to raise it is early. A focused, well supported request that ties a specific document or topic to a compelling interest is more likely to succeed than a broad ask to close everything. If you are worried about exposure in your case, call Helping Hand for a free confidential consultation at (702) 605-6347 and we can talk through your options.
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Yes. As of October 1, 2025, family court proceedings in Nevada are presumed open to the public unless a judge issues a written order closing all or part of the hearing for a compelling reason.
Generally yes. Financial disclosure forms, medical and psychological records, and custody evaluations remain confidential under the new law without a separate request, even though the hearing itself is presumed open.
You or your attorney can file a request that identifies a specific compelling interest, explains the risk of harm from disclosure, and asks for the narrowest possible closure. The judge must make written findings before restricting access.
Yes. The presumption of openness applies broadly across family law matters, including child custody and support, not just divorce.