Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Last amended March 1, 2019 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 15 spells out when a party may change its pleadings and when a later amendment counts as if it had been filed on the original date.
(1)Amending as a Matter of Course. A party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course within:
(A)21 days after serving it, or
(B)if the pleading is one to which a responsive pleading is required, 21 days after service of a responsive pleading or 21 days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f), whichever is earlier.
(2)Other Amendments. In all other cases, a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or the court’s leave. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.
(3)Time to Respond. Unless the court orders otherwise, any required response to an amended pleading must be made within the time remaining to respond to the original pleading or within 14 days after service of the amended pleading, whichever is later.
(1)Based on an Objection at Trial. If, at trial, a party objects that evidence is not within the issues raised in the pleadings, the court may permit the pleadings to be amended. The court should freely permit an amendment when doing so will aid in presenting the merits and the objecting party fails to satisfy the court that the evidence would prejudice that party’s action or defense on the merits. The court may grant a continuance to enable the objecting party to meet the evidence.
(2)For Issues Tried by Consent. When an issue not raised by the pleadings is tried by the parties’ express or implied consent, it must be treated in all respects as if raised in the pleadings. A party may move—at any time, even after judgment—to amend the pleadings to conform them to the evidence and to raise an unpleaded issue. But failure to amend does not affect the result of the trial of that issue.
(c)Relation back of amendments. An amendment to a pleading relates back to the date of the original pleading when:
(1)the amendment asserts a claim or defense that arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out—or attempted to be set out—in the original pleading; or
(2)the amendment changes a party or the naming of a party against whom a claim is asserted, if Rule 15(c)(1) is satisfied and if, within the period provided by Rule 4(e) for serving the summons and complaint, the party to be brought in by amendment:
(A)received such notice of the action that it will not be prejudiced in defending on the merits; and
(B)knew or should have known that the action would have been brought against it, but for a mistake concerning the proper party’s identity.
(d)Supplemental pleadings. On motion and reasonable notice, the court may, on just terms, permit a party to serve a supplemental pleading setting out any transaction, occurrence, or event that happened after the date of the pleading to be supplemented. The court may permit supplementation even though the original pleading is defective in stating a claim or defense. The court may order that the opposing party plead to the supplemental pleading within a specified time.
Notes
Drafter’s Note, Amendment Effective January 1, 2005: The amendments are technical. Subdivision (c) remains unchanged and thus does not conform to the 1966 or 1991 amendments to subdivision (c) of the federal rule.
Advisory Committee Note — 2019 Amendment: Rule 15(a)(1) tracks FRCP 15(a)(1) and permits a plaintiff to amend as a matter of course later than former NRCP 15(a) allowed. Rule 15(c)(2) incorporates text from FRCP 15(c)(1)(C). Rule 15(c) governs relation-back of amendments generally, while Rule 10(d) governs replacing a named party for a fictitiously named party. The express provision Rule 10(d) makes for pleading fictitious defendants, which the FRCP does not have, avoids the problem that has arisen in federal cases attempting to apply FRCP 15(c)(1)(C) to fictitious defendants. While Rule 15(c) and Rule 10(d) are distinct tests, if a fictitious-party replacement does not meet the Rule 10(d) test, it may be treated as an amendment to add a party under Rule 15 if the standards in Rule 15 are met.
Every case starts with pleadings, and pleadings are rarely perfect on the first try. Rule 15 gives a party a short window — 21 days after serving the pleading, or 21 days after a response or a motion under Rule 12 — to amend without asking anyone’s permission. After that window closes, a party needs the opposing side’s written consent or the court’s leave, which courts are told to grant freely when justice calls for it. The rule also covers amendments that surface during or after trial, including when an issue not raised in the pleadings gets tried anyway because both sides went along with it.
The trickier piece is relation back. Ordinarily, an amendment filed after a deadline or a statute of limitations would be too late. But if the new claim grows out of the same conduct or events already described in the original pleading, the amendment relates back to the filing date of that original pleading. The same goes for correcting the identity of a party, so long as the new party got timely notice of the suit and knew or should have known it was the one who should have been named from the start. Rule 15 rounds out with supplemental pleadings, which let a party add events that happened after the original pleading was filed, rather than fix something that was wrong when filed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a party have to amend a pleading without asking permission?
Generally 21 days after serving the original pleading, or 21 days after a required response or a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f), whichever comes first.
What happens once the deadline to amend as of course has passed?
The party needs the opposing side’s written consent or the court’s leave. Courts are directed to grant leave freely when justice requires it.
What is relation back, and why does it matter?
Relation back treats an amendment as if it were filed on the date of the original pleading. It matters most when a statute of limitations would otherwise bar the new claim or party.
Can a party fix the name of the wrong defendant after the limitations period has run?
Sometimes. The new party must have gotten timely notice of the suit and known or should have known it was the intended target, so it isn’t prejudiced in defending on the merits.
What is a supplemental pleading, and how does it differ from an amended one?
A supplemental pleading adds facts about events that happened after the original pleading was filed, while an amendment corrects or adds to what was already alleged as of that filing date.
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:amending a complaintamend pleading deadlinerelation back doctrinesupplemental pleading rulecorrecting wrong defendant nameleave to amend freely given