(a) When Court Is Open. Every district court is considered always open for filing any paper, issuing and returning process, making a motion, or entering an order.
Rule 77.Conducting business; clerk's authority
Group X: District Courts and Clerks · Last amended March 1, 2019 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 77 keeps Nevada's district courts open at all times for filing and routine business, sets clerk's office hours, and lists the ministerial actions a clerk may take without a judge's involvement.
Full Text of Rule 77
(b) Place for Trial and Other Proceedings. Every trial on the merits must be conducted in open court and, so far as convenient, in a regular courtroom, but a private trial may be had as provided by statute. Any other act or proceeding may be done or conducted by a judge in chambers, without the attendance of the clerk or other court official, or anywhere inside or outside the judicial district. But no hearing—other than one ex parte—may be conducted outside this state unless all the affected parties consent.
(c) Clerk’s Office Hours; Clerk’s Orders.
(1) Hours. Every clerk’s office and branch office must be open—with a clerk or deputy on duty—during business hours every day except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.
(2) Orders. Subject to the court’s power to suspend, alter, or rescind the clerk’s action for good cause, the clerk may:
(A) issue process;
(B) enter a default;
(C) enter a default judgment under Rule 55(b)(1); and
(D) act on any other matter that does not require the court’s action.
(d) Reserved.
Notes
Drafter’s Note, Amendment Effective January 1, 2005: Subdivision (e) is deleted because of the 2001 legislative repeal of the statutes that had required district court clerks to publish lists of submitted cases and because the issue is better handled by local rule.
Advisory Committee Note — 2019 Amendment: The amendments to Rule 77(c)(1) clarify that in jurisdictions with more than one clerk’s office, the main office and all branch offices must remain open during business hours.
Amendment History
Amended eff. 3-16-64; Amended eff. 9-27-71; Amended eff. 1-1-05; Amended eff. 3-1-19.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 77 draws a line between the court as an institution and the courtroom as a physical space. The court itself never closes — you can file a paper, ask the clerk to issue process, or seek an order any day of the year. A judge can hold a hearing in chambers, travel outside the judicial district, or handle matters informally, so long as an actual trial happens in open court and no contested hearing takes place outside Nevada without every affected party's consent.
The rule also spells out what the clerk's office does on its own authority. Clerks and deputies keep regular business hours, Monday through Friday except legal holidays, at the main courthouse and any branch office. Within those hours, a clerk can issue process, enter a default against a party who hasn't responded, enter a default judgment for a sum certain under Rule 55(b)(1), and handle other matters that don't call for a judge's discretion — though a judge can always step in and undo a clerk's action for good cause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I file a document with the court on a weekend or holiday?
The court is considered open for filing every day, so nothing in Rule 77 bars a weekend or holiday filing. Whether the clerk's office is staffed to accept it in person that day is a separate question — check the local rules or the clerk's posted hours, and remember Rule 6 governs how filing deadlines are counted when the last day falls on a weekend or holiday.
Does "always open" mean I can walk into a courthouse and find a clerk at midnight?
No. "Always open" describes the court's legal availability for filings, process, and orders — not staffing. The clerk's office keeps set business hours under Rule 77(c), closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.
Can a judge hold a hearing outside the county or even outside Nevada?
A judge may handle most matters in chambers or outside the judicial district. The one firm limit is that no contested hearing may take place outside Nevada unless every affected party consents; ex parte matters aren't subject to that restriction.
Can the court clerk enter a default judgment against me without a judge signing off?
Yes, for the limited category covered by Rule 55(b)(1) — typically a claim for a specific, calculable sum. Anything requiring judgment about the amount owed or the merits goes to a judge.
What happens if a clerk makes a mistake, like issuing process it shouldn't have?
The court retains full authority to suspend, change, or cancel any action the clerk took, on a showing of good cause, so a clerical error doesn't lock in an unjust result.
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: is court open on weekends nevadaclerk office hours nevada district courtclerk default judgment without judgehearing outside nevada consentNRCP 77trial in judge chambers