Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Last amended March 1, 2019 · Last verified July 14, 2026
(a) Time to Serve a Responsive Pleading.
(1) In General. Unless another time is specified by Rule 4.2(c)(3)(E), this rule, or a statute, the time for serving a responsive pleading is as follows:
(A) A defendant must serve an answer:
(i) within 21 days after being served with the summons and complaint; or
(ii) if the defendant has timely waived service under Rule 4.1, within 60 days after the request for a waiver was sent, or within 90 days after the request for a waiver was sent to the defendant outside of the United States.
(B) A party must serve an answer to a counterclaim or crossclaim within 21 days after being served with the pleading that states the counterclaim or crossclaim.
(C) A party must serve a reply to an answer within 21 days after being served with an order to reply, unless the order specifies a different time.
(2) The State of Nevada, Its Public Entities and Political Subdivisions, and Their Officers and Employees. Unless another time is specified by Rule 12(a)(3) or a statute, the following parties must serve an answer to a complaint, counterclaim, or crossclaim within 45 days after service on the party, or if required service on the Attorney General, whichever date of service is later:
(A) the State and any public entity of the State;
(B) any county, city, town or other political subdivision of the State, and any public entity of such a political subdivision; and
(C) any current or former public officer or employee of the State, any public entity of the State, any county, city, town or other political subdivision of the State, or any public entity of such a political subdivision, who is sued in his or her official capacity or his or her individual capacity for an act or omission relating to his or her public duties or employment.
(3) Effect of a Motion. Unless the court sets a different time, serving a motion under this rule alters these periods as follows:
(A) if the court denies the motion or postpones its disposition until trial, the responsive pleading must be served within 14 days after notice of the court’s action; or
(B) if the court grants a motion for a more definite statement, the responsive pleading must be served within 14 days after the more definite statement is served.
(b) How to Present Defenses. Every defense to a claim for relief in any pleading must be asserted in the responsive pleading if one is required. But a party may assert the following defenses by motion:
(1) lack of subject-matter jurisdiction;
(2) lack of personal jurisdiction;
(3) insufficient process;
(4) insufficient service of process;
(5) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted; and
(6) failure to join a party under Rule 19.
A motion asserting any of these defenses must be made before pleading if a responsive pleading is allowed. If a pleading sets out a claim for relief that does not require a responsive pleading, an opposing party may assert at trial any defense to that claim. No defense or objection is waived by joining it with one or more other defenses or objections in a responsive pleading or in a motion.
(c) Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings. After the pleadings are closed—but early enough not to delay trial—a party may move for judgment on the pleadings.
(d) Result of Presenting Matters Outside the Pleadings. If, on a motion under Rule 12(b)(5) or 12(c), matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion must be treated as one for summary judgment under Rule 56. All parties must be given a reasonable opportunity to present all the material that is pertinent to the motion.
(e) Motion for a More Definite Statement. A party may move for a more definite statement of a pleading to which a responsive pleading is allowed but which is so vague or ambiguous that the party cannot reasonably prepare a response. The motion must be made before filing a responsive pleading and must point out the defects complained of and the details desired. If the court orders a more definite statement and the order is not obeyed within 14 days after notice of the order or within the time the court sets, the court may strike the pleading or issue any other appropriate order.
(f) Motion to Strike. The court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter. The court may act:
(1) on its own; or
(2) on motion made by a party either before responding to the pleading or, if a response is not allowed, within 21 days after being served with the pleading.
(1) Right to Join. A motion under this rule may be joined with any other motion allowed by this rule.
(2) Limitation on Further Motions. Except as provided in Rule 12(h)(2) or (3), a party that makes a motion under this rule must not make another motion under this rule raising a defense or objection that was available to the party but omitted from its earlier motion.
(h) Waiving and Preserving Certain Defenses.
(1) When Some Are Waived. A party waives any defense listed in Rule 12(b)(2)-(4) by:
(A) omitting it from a motion in the circumstances described in Rule 12(g)(2); or
(B) failing to either:
(i) make it by motion under this rule; or (ii) include it in a responsive pleading or in an amendment allowed by Rule 15(a)(1) as a matter of course.
(2) When to Raise Others. Failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, to join a person required by Rule 19(b), or to state a legal defense to a claim may be raised:
(A) in any pleading allowed or ordered under Rule 7(a);
(B) by a motion under Rule 12(c); or
(C) at trial. (3) Lack of Subject-Matter Jurisdiction. If the court determines at any time that it lacks subject- matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.
(i) Hearing Before Trial. If a party so moves, any defense listed in Rule 12(b)(1)-(6)—whether made in a pleading or by motion—and a motion under Rule 12(c) must be heard and decided before trial unless the court orders a deferral until trial.
Amended eff. 9-27-71; Amended 12-13-85, eff. 2-11-86; Amended 2-27-98, eff. 4-24-98; Amended eff. 3-1-19.
A defendant ordinarily must answer within 21 days of being served with the summons and complaint, or, if the defendant timely waived service, within 60 days after the plaintiff sent the waiver request (90 days if the request was sent to the defendant outside the United States). Answers to a counterclaim or crossclaim are due within 21 days of service, and a court-ordered reply is due within 21 days of the order unless the order says otherwise. Nevada extends the clock for government defendants: the State, its political subdivisions and public entities, and current or former public officers or employees sued over their official duties get 45 days to answer, running from whichever service (including any required service on the Attorney General) comes later. Filing a motion under this rule can also reset the clock — a denied or deferred motion leaves 14 days to answer after the court's ruling, and a granted motion for a more definite statement leaves 14 days after the more definite statement is served.
Instead of answering right away, a party may raise six defenses by motion: lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficient process, insufficient service of process, failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, and failure to join a required party under Rule 19. Notably, failure to state a claim sits at Rule 12(b)(5) in Nevada rather than 12(b)(6) as in federal court, and Nevada has no improper-venue defense in this list at all — under Nevada practice, a venue problem is raised through a separate change-of-venue motion under NRS 13.050, not as a Rule 12(b) motion. Any of these motions must be made before the responsive pleading, and combining several defenses in one motion or pleading does not waive any of them.
If matters outside the pleadings come before the court on a Rule 12(b)(5) or 12(c) motion and are not excluded, the motion converts into one for summary judgment under Rule 56, with both sides given a fair opportunity to present material on the point. After the pleadings close, a party may move for judgment on the pleadings under Rule 12(c); a party may also move to strike an insufficient defense or scandalous material, or move for a more definite statement when a pleading is too vague to answer. A party generally gets only one bite at a pretrial Rule 12 motion — omitting an available defense from that motion forfeits it, with defenses like personal jurisdiction, insufficient process, and insufficient service waived if left out of the first motion or answer. Failure to state a claim, failure to join a required party, and failure to state a legal defense survive longer and can be raised in a later pleading, a Rule 12(c) motion, or at trial. A challenge to subject-matter jurisdiction can never be waived, and the court must dismiss the action the moment it recognizes it lacks that jurisdiction. When a party asks, the court must decide any Rule 12(b) defense and a Rule 12(c) motion before trial unless it chooses to defer the ruling.