Nev. Rev. Stat. » NRS: CHAPTER 5 - MUNICIPAL COURTS
Nevada Revised Statutes

Nev. Rev. Stat. § 5.020 (2026)

Municipal judges: Election; term; oath; qualifications; justice of the peace as ex officio municipal judge

✓ current as of July 2026
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NRS 5.020  Municipal judges: Election; term; oath; qualifications; justice of the peace as ex officio municipal judge.

      1.  Except as provided in subsection 3 and NRS 266.405, each municipal judge must be chosen by the electors of the city within which the municipal court is established on a day to be fixed by the governing body of that city. The term of office of a municipal judge is the period fixed by:

      (a) An ordinance adopted by the city if the city is organized under general law; or

      (b) The charter of the city if the city is organized under a special charter.

Ê Before entering upon his or her duties, a municipal judge shall take the constitutional oath of office.

      2.  A municipal judge must:

      (a) Be a citizen of the State;

      (b) Except as otherwise provided in the charter of a city organized under a special charter, have been a bona fide resident of the city for not less than 1 year next preceding his or her election;

      (c) Be a qualified elector in the city;

      (d) Be registered to vote in the city; and

      (e) Not have ever been removed or retired from any judicial office by the Commission on Judicial Discipline.

      3.  The governing body of a city, with the consent of the board of county commissioners and the justice of the peace, may provide that a justice of the peace of the township in which the city is located is ex officio the municipal judge of the city.

      4.  For the purposes of this section, a person shall not be ineligible to be a candidate for the office of municipal judge if a decision to remove or retire the person from a judicial office is pending appeal before the Supreme Court or has been overturned by the Supreme Court.

      [36:19:1865; B § 941; BH § 2454; C § 2536; RL § 4856; NCL § 8398]—(NRS A 1983, 899; 1985, 671; 1999, 95, 1183; 2025, 2091)

     

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1999–2013 · leading case: Goodson v. State, 991 P.2d 472 (Nev. 1999).
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Goodson v. State, 991 P.2d 472 (Nev. 1999). “010(2); NRS 5.020. However, justices of the peace and municipal judges are required to receive instruction in court procedure and substantive law after they take office and in developments in the law approximately once each year.”
State v. Frederick, 299 P.3d 372 (Nev. 2013). · cites it 2× “For example, NRS 5.020(3) allows justices of the peace to simultaneously serve as municipal court judges.”
— Nev. Rev. Stat. § 5.020(3) — 1 case
State v. Frederick, 299 P.3d 372 (Nev. 2013). “For example, NRS 5.020(3) allows justices of the peace to simultaneously serve as municipal court judges.”
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