How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Nevada

The public records law that gets you the video

Nevada Public Records Act, NRS chapter 239

Response by the 5th business day

Unless a law declares them confidential, all public books and public records of a governmental entity must be open at all times during office hours to inspection by any person, and may be fully copied (NRS 239.010(1)). The Act’s stated purpose is prompt access; it must be construed liberally, and any exemption, exception or balancing of interests that limits access must be construed narrowly (NRS 239.001(1) to (3)). An agency may not deny a request because a record contains confidential information if it can redact or separate that information (239.010(3)), must provide an electronic copy in an electronic format if you ask, with limited exceptions, and must prepare the copy itself rather than make you do it (239.010(4), (5)). Deadline: not later than the end of the fifth business day after the records custodian receives your written or oral request, the agency must do one of the following: give you the record or a copy; tell you in writing that it does not have the record and, if known, who does; if it cannot make the record available by then, tell you in writing the earliest date and time it reasonably believes the record will be available, and make a reasonable effort to help you focus the request; or, if it must deny the request because the record or part of it is confidential, tell you so in writing with a citation to the specific statute or other legal authority that makes it confidential (NRS 239.0107(1)). A record that is readily available must be provided as expeditiously as practicable (239.0107(2)). If the record is not ready by the date given, the agency must explain why in writing and give a new date (239.0107(1)(c)(1)). Fees: an agency may charge for a copy, but the fee may not exceed its actual cost unless a specific statute or regulation sets the fee (NRS 239.052(1)); actual cost means the direct cost of providing the record, including ink, toner, paper, media and postage, and excludes costs the agency incurs whether or not anyone asks for the record (NRS 239.005(1)). The agency may waive fees under a posted written policy, and must keep and post a list of its fees (239.052(2), (3)). The Attorney General’s 2019 training on the Act says costs generally may include only actual costs such as toner, paper and postage, and not employee time unless the request is extraordinary, and, on a separate slide, that the extraordinary use fee in former NRS 239.055 was repealed in the 2019 session. The Act sets no separate rule for video. Example, Department of Public Safety only (Highway Patrol and other State Police divisions): requests go through its online Public Records Request Center or its paper form by fax or mail to the Public Records Official, 555 Wright Way, Carson City, NV 89711, phone 775 684-4953; its records page says it charges actual cost, including ink, toner, paper, media and postage, and its request form says you will get a written estimate first if the cost is expected to be over $25.00, payable in full before inspection or reproduction. Its fee FAQ says no fees are charged until the total cost exceeds $25, that staff time will not be charged, that electronic media is billed at actual state cost, and that requests needing more than two hours of staff time are “extraordinary” and may be billed $0.50 per page copied or placed on storage media, in addition to its copying charges; that FAQ does not cite a statute for the extraordinary charge.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Public record, requested per incident

Body cameras: every county sheriff’s office, metropolitan police department, police department of an incorporated city, city or town department, division or municipal court that employs marshals, county school district board of trustees that employs or appoints school police officers, and the Nevada Highway Patrol must require its uniformed officers who routinely interact with the public to wear a portable event recording device while on duty (NRS 289.830(1), (3)(a)). A portable event recording device is a device issued by the agency, worn on the officer’s body, that records both audio and video of encounters with the public (289.830(3)(b)). Each agency’s policy must, among other things, require activation whenever an officer responds to a call for service or starts any other law enforcement or investigative encounter with a member of the public, prohibit deactivation until the encounter ends, protect the privacy of people in a private residence, people reporting a crime or giving information anonymously, and people claiming to be crime victims, and require that any video recorded by the device be retained by the agency for not less than 15 days (289.830(1)(a) to (e)). Release: “Any record made by a portable event recording device pursuant to this section is a public record which may be: (a) Requested only on a per incident basis; and (b) Available for inspection only at the location where the record is held if the record contains confidential information that may not otherwise be redacted” (289.830(2)). So ask for the specific incident (date, time, location, the crash or report number and the people involved), not for all footage of an officer or a day. Body camera video is also subject to the Public Records Act’s general rules and the court-made balancing test described in the next section. Dashcams: we found no Nevada statute specifically governing police dashboard camera video; NRS 289.830 covers only body-worn devices, so in-car video is governed by the general Public Records Act. Retention: the 15-day figure is a floor that each agency’s policy must meet, not a statewide schedule, and we found no statute setting a retention period for dashcam video; ask the agency in your first request to preserve every recording of the crash. Fees: the Act limits copy fees to actual cost (NRS 239.052). Example, Reno Police Department only: its adopted fee schedule for fiscal year 2026/27 lists Body-Worn Camera Copy of Recording at $34.00 per hour, charged as $8.50 for 1 to 15 minutes (the minimum charge), $17.00 for 16 to 30 minutes, $25.50 for 31 to 45 minutes and $34.00 for 46 to 60 minutes.

When police can hold video back

No set exemption; Donrey balancing

We found no general open-investigation exemption in the Nevada Public Records Act itself. Instead, a record is public unless a statute or other law declares it confidential (NRS 239.010(1), 239.001(5)), and when a law enforcement agency wants to withhold a record that no statute makes confidential, Nevada courts apply the balancing test from the Nevada Supreme Court’s decision in Donrey of Nevada, Inc. v. Bradshaw. The Attorney General’s 2019 training on the Act describes that test as weighing the agency’s interests in non-disclosure against the general policy in favor of open government and the requester’s right of access, with the burden on the agency to explain, with specific legal authority, why the records should not be furnished; it also notes that when the government asserts personal privacy interests, the burden of showing the public interest in release shifts to the requester (citing Las Vegas Review-Journal v. Clark County School District, 2018). By statute, if an agency claims in court that a record is confidential, it must prove that by a preponderance of the evidence (NRS 239.0113), and any denial must be in writing with a citation to the specific statute or other legal authority (NRS 239.0107(1)(d)). Example, Reno Police Department only: its records FAQ says all of its records are public records, but under the Donrey v. Bradshaw decision not all reports are subject to disclosure at the time of a request, and to ask for a supervisor if there is a problem. Crash reports: the 7-day duty to give the crash report, witness statements and photographs to a person who claims damages does not apply when the crash involved death or substantial bodily harm, a failure to stop at the scene, or a felony (NRS 480.600, 268.900, 248.242, 280.400). We found no official statement of when a withheld investigative record must be released, so if your crash leads to criminal charges (for example impaired driving or hit and run), expect the agency to weigh the investigation in deciding what to release, and ask again after the case ends.

Do traffic cameras in Nevada record?

NDOT says it does not record

The Nevada Department of Transportation says in its Help Center article “Camera Footage and Recordings” (last updated September 11, 2020): “We do not record the video from our cameras. We use the information, real time, for operations and maintenance of our roadways, and in coordination with law enforcement or other first responders for incident response. We make the video available on our website for public viewing.” Its live camera views are on nvroads.com. So do not expect an NDOT highway camera clip of your crash. That article also quotes NRS 484A.600 in an older wording; the current section is described under red-light and speed cameras below. City, county and regional traffic or public safety cameras are separate systems; we found no official statement we could load on whether they record, so ask that agency in a written public records request right away, and ask nearby businesses and drivers, through the bounty board, for their footage. NDOT’s Help Center directory links its public records request page and lists its headquarters at 1263 South Stewart Street, Carson City, telephone 775-888-7000.

Red-light and speed cameras

Restricted by law; school bus cams OK

We found no Nevada law authorizing red-light or speed cameras. A governmental entity and its agents may not use photographic, video or digital equipment to gather evidence for a traffic citation or civil infraction citation for a violation of NRS chapters 484A to 484E unless the equipment is a portable camera or event recording device worn or held by a peace officer, is installed temporarily or permanently within a vehicle or facility of a law enforcement agency, or is privately owned by a nongovernmental entity, and except as NRS 484A.605 allows (NRS 484A.600, as amended by 2025 AB 527). We found no official guidance on how the exception for equipment privately owned by a nongovernmental entity applies. The exception: since July 1, 2025, a school district’s board of trustees may authorize a school bus infraction detection system on its buses to enforce the law on passing a stopped school bus (NRS 484B.353), with a peace officer of the traffic enforcement agency reviewing the evidence before a civil infraction citation is mailed to the registered owner; a new district must run a public awareness campaign and may issue only warnings for at least 30 days (NRS 484A.605(1) to (5)). The citation must include the date and time and a photograph or other recorded image, or the website where it can be viewed (484A.605(6)). Images must be destroyed not later than 90 days after they were produced if no citation issues, or not later than 90 days after the citation is paid, dismissed or adjudicated (484A.605(11)). We found no Nevada statute giving anyone other than the cited owner access to those images, so if a school bus camera may have caught your crash, ask the school district in writing at once.

If your request is denied

Ask district court (NRS 239.011)

The Public Records Act has no administrative appeal. If your request is denied or unreasonably delayed, or you believe the copy fee is excessive or improper, you may apply to the district court in the county where the record is located for an order letting you inspect or copy it, requiring the custodian to give you a copy, or providing relief on the fee (NRS 239.011(1)). The court must give the matter priority over other civil matters that statutes do not otherwise prioritize, and if you prevail you are entitled to recover your costs and reasonable attorney’s fees from the agency, including on an appeal the agency loses in whole or in part (239.011(2), (3)). If the court finds the agency willfully failed to comply with the Act on your request, it must also impose a civil penalty on the agency of $1,000 for a first violation within 10 years, $5,000 for a second and $10,000 for a third or later; the penalty goes to the State General Fund for the State Library, Archives and Public Records division, not to you (NRS 239.340). The agency bears the burden of proving confidentiality by a preponderance of the evidence (NRS 239.0113). An officer or employee who discloses or refuses to disclose in good faith, and the employer, are immune from damages (NRS 239.012). We found no statutory deadline for filing. The Attorney General says the Act does not authorize the Attorney General to regulate agencies’ responses to records requests or to address requesters’ complaints about them. Before going to court, ask the agency’s records official or a supervisor to reconsider, and keep the written denial with its legal citation. You may want to ask a lawyer before filing.

What to do now

1. 1

   Request body camera video today

   Write to the agency that worked the crash, citing NRS 239.0107 and 289.830, and name the single incident: date, time, location, report number and the people involved.

2. 2

   Ask them to preserve every recording

   Agency policies need only keep body camera video 15 days, and we found no rule for dashcam video. Ask in the same request that all video of the crash be kept.

3. 3

   Skip NDOT, find other cameras

   NDOT says it does not record its camera video. Ask city or county agencies about their cameras, and post the crash on the bounty board for dashcam and business footage.

4. 4

   Hold the fifth business day

   The agency must answer by the end of the fifth business day. A denial must be in writing with a legal citation; you may then ask the district court under NRS 239.011.

Frequently asked questions