(a) Caption; Names of Parties. Every pleading must have a caption with the court’s name, the county, a title, a case number, and a Rule 7(a) designation. The caption of the complaint must name all the parties; the caption of other pleadings, after naming the first party on each side, may refer generally to other parties.
Rule 10.Form of pleadings
Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Last amended March 1, 2019 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 10 governs how a pleading's caption and paragraphs must be formatted and lets a plaintiff name an unidentified defendant with a fictitious name until the real name is discovered.
Full Text of Rule 10
(b) Paragraphs; Separate Statements. A party must state its claims or defenses in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances. A later pleading may refer by number to a paragraph in an earlier pleading. If doing so would promote clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence—and each defense other than a denial—must be stated in a separate count or defense.
(c) Adoption by Reference; Exhibits. A statement in a pleading may be adopted by reference elsewhere in the same pleading or in any other pleading or motion. A copy of a written instrument that is an exhibit to a pleading is a part of the pleading for all purposes.
(d) Using a Fictitious Name to Identify a Defendant. If the name of a defendant is unknown to the pleader, the defendant may be designated by any name. When the defendant’s true name is discovered, the pleader should promptly substitute the actual defendant for a fictitious party.
Notes
Drafter’s Note, Amendment Effective January 1, 2005: The amendment is technical.
Advisory Committee Note — 2019 Amendment: The amendments generally conform Rule 10 to FRCP 10, except that Rule 10 retains the Nevada-specific provisions relating to captions of pleadings and permitting a party to name fictitious defendants. The federal rules do not have a provision permitting a pleader to name a fictitious defendant. The amendment moves the fictitious-party provision from former NRCP 10(a) to Rule 10(d). This move represents a stylistic, not a substantive, change to existing Nevada law.
Amendment History
Amended eff. 1-1-05; Amended eff. 3-1-19.
Plain-English Summary
Every pleading needs a caption showing the court's name, the county, a title, a case number, and a designation of which Rule 7(a) pleading it is. A complaint must name every party in its caption, but later pleadings can name just the first party on each side and refer to the rest generally. Claims and defenses go in numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practical to a single set of circumstances, so later filings can reference an earlier paragraph by number; when it would make things clearer, each claim from a separate transaction and each defense other than a denial should get its own separate count.
A pleading can adopt a statement made elsewhere in the same or another pleading by reference, and an exhibit attached to a pleading — such as a copy of a contract — becomes part of the pleading for every purpose, saving a party from retyping the document's contents. Nevada also keeps a feature the federal rules lack: when a pleader does not yet know a defendant's name, that defendant can be sued under a fictitious name, with the pleader expected to substitute the real name promptly once it is discovered. This fictitious-defendant provision moved from an earlier subsection to Rule 10(d) in the 2019 restyling, a change in location rather than substance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue someone in Nevada if I don't yet know their name?
Yes. Rule 10(d) allows a defendant whose name is unknown to be designated by any name, commonly called a "Doe" defendant, until the pleader learns the true name.
What has to appear in my pleading's caption?
The court's name, the county, a title, the case number, and a designation of which Rule 7(a) pleading is being filed.
Do all my later filings need to list every party by name?
No. Only the complaint's caption must name every party; later pleadings can name just the first party on each side and refer to the others generally.
Can I attach a document to my complaint instead of copying its terms into the pleading?
Yes. Rule 10(c) makes a written instrument attached as an exhibit part of the pleading for all purposes.
Once I learn a Doe defendant's real identity, how quickly must I update the pleading?
Rule 10(d) directs the pleader to promptly substitute the actual defendant's name once it is discovered.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Advisory Committee
Notes, and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Nevada Rules of Civil
Procedure, adopted by the Supreme Court of Nevada. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: doe defendant nevadafictitious defendant nevadapleading caption requirements nevadanumbered paragraphs complaint nevadanrcp 10