NRS § 199.335 - “Failure to Appear” in Court

Q: What is 'failure to appear' under NRS 199.335?

If you miss a required court hearing in your criminal case, the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest. Then if 30 days pass and you are still missing, you face an additional criminal charge called failure to appear (FTA).

Q: What are the Nevada penalties for failure to appear?

The punishment for failure to appear (FTA) depends on what criminal offense(s) you were originally arrested or cited for. But if you purposely left the state of Nevada to avoid being prosecuted, then FTA is always a felony charge.

Q: Will I lose my license if fail to appear in traffic court?

If you miss court on your traffic ticket, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will suspend your driver's license in 31 days unless: the judge dismisses your traffic citation or agrees to a payment plan; or you request a DMV hearing to contest the license suspension. If you request the DMV hearing, you can continue driving pending the results of the hearing. If your license does get suspended, you will need to apply for a new license once the suspension ends.

Q: Do I have a bench warrant? If so, what do I do?

If you missed a Nevada court date that you were required to appear for, then the judge issued a bench warrant for your arrest. As soon as possible, contact a Nevada criminal defense lawyer about filing a motion to quash the warrant. If you wait more than 30 days, the state may also charge you with FTA. Once the motion to quash is filed with the court, the judge will schedule a new court date - usually within the next week. But until then, your bench warrant remains outstanding. So be sure to drive safely and avoid any run-ins with law enforcement. If police officers pull you over for a traffic violation and run your name, they will take you into custody right away once they see the warrant. Your attorney will let you know if you need to be present for the motion to quash hearing. If your original charge was for just a misdemeanor - and you do not have a long history of missing court - your attorney can usually appear on your behalf. And in most cases, judges grant motions to quash and will recall the bench warrant.

NRS § 199.335 is the Nevada law making it a crime for a defendant in a criminal case to fail to appear (FTA) for a required court proceeding.

If you fail to appear in court on one or more misdemeanor charges, then you can be charged with failure to appear as a misdemeanor in Nevada. The sentence includes

up to 6 months in jail, and/or
up to $1,000 in jail.

But penalties get more severe if

the underlying charge was more serious or
you fled Nevada to avoid the case.

NRS 199.335 reads as follows:

1. If a person:
(a) Is admitted to bail, whether provided by deposit or surety, or released without bail;
(b) Is not recommitted to custody; and
(c) Fails to appear at the time and place required by the order admitting him or her to bail or releasing him or her without bail, or any modification thereof,
the person is guilty of failing to appear and shall be punished pursuant to the provisions of this section, unless the person surrenders himself or herself not later than 30 days after the date on which the person was required to appear.

2. If a person who fails to appear in violation of subsection 1 was admitted to bail or released without bail incident to prosecution for:
(a) One or more felonies, the person is guilty of a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
(b) One or more gross misdemeanors but no felonies, the person is guilty of:
(1) A gross misdemeanor; or
(2) If the person left this State with the intent to avoid prosecution, a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.
(c) One or more misdemeanors but no felonies or gross misdemeanors, the person is guilty of:
(1) A misdemeanor; or
(2) If the person left this State with the intent to avoid prosecution, a category D felony and shall be punished as provided in NRS 193.130.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss:

1. What is “failure to appear” under NRS 199.335?

If you miss a required court hearing in your criminal case, the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest.¹ Then if 30 days pass and you are still missing, you face an additional criminal charge called failure to appear (FTA).²

Examples of court hearings in Nevada criminal cases include the:

Depending on the case, defendants may be able to skip their arraignment and some other court appearances as long as their attorney appears in their place.

Court reprimanding defendant (standing next to defense attorney) for missing court

FTA penalties depend on the facts of the case.

2. What are the Nevada penalties for failure to appear?

The punishment for failure to appear (FTA) depends on what criminal offense(s) you were originally arrested or cited for. But if you purposely left the state of Nevada to avoid being prosecuted, then FTA is always a felony charge.

Underlying criminal charge	Nevada penalties for FTA on the underlying criminal charge
At least one misdemeanor (and no felonies or gross misdemeanors)	Misdemeanor: Up to 6 months in jail, and/or Up to $1,000 in fines*
At least one gross misdemeanor (and no felonies)	Gross Misdemeanor: Up to 364 days of jail time, and/or Up to $2,000 in fines*
At least one felony	Category D felony: 1 to 4 years in Nevada State Prison, and Up to $5,000 in fines (at the court’s discretion)
* If you left Nevada with the intent to avoid prosecution, then FTA is instead charged as a category D felony carrying 1 to 4 years in prison and a possible maximum fine of $5,000.

Note that the judge may allow you to do community service if you cannot afford to pay the fine.³

3. Will I lose my license if fail to appear in traffic court?

If you miss a court date on your traffic ticket, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will suspend your driver’s license in 31 days unless:

the judge dismisses your traffic citation or agrees to a payment plan; or
you request a DMV hearing to contest the license suspension.

If you request the DMV hearing, you can continue driving pending the results of the hearing. If your license does get suspended, you will need to apply for a new license once the suspension ends.⁴

4. How do I fight FTA charges?

If you are charged with FTA for leaving Nevada to avoid prosecution, there are two primary defenses:

You never left Nevada. Your phone’s GPS records can help prove that you remained in the state; or
You had no intent to avoid prosecution. Proving a state of mind can be very difficult for the district attorney.

Otherwise, the best way to fight FTA charges depends on the facts of the case. The prosecution might agree to drop the charge if there were extenuating circumstances that made it impossible for you to appear in court. Examples are being unconscious in the hospital or being deployed overseas.

Nevada driver's license, which can be suspended if defendants ignore their traffic tickets

Ignoring Nevada traffic tickets can result in a driver’s license suspension.

5. Do I have a bench warrant? If so, what do I do?

If you missed a court date that you were required to appear for, then the judge issued a bench warrant for your arrest. As soon as possible, contact a Nevada criminal defense lawyer about filing a motion to quash the warrant. If you wait more than 30 days, the state may also charge you with FTA.

Once the motion to quash is filed with the court, the judge will schedule a new court date – usually within the next week. But until then, your bench warrant remains outstanding. So be sure to drive safely and avoid any run-ins with law enforcement. If police officers pull you over for a traffic violation and run your name, they will take you into custody right away once they see the warrant.

Your attorney will let you know if you need to be present for the motion to quash hearing. If your original charge was for just a misdemeanor – and you do not have a long history of missing court – your attorney can usually appear on your behalf. In most cases, judges grant motions to quash and will recall the bench warrant.

For legal advice call our Las Vegas, NV DUI law office. See our related articles on arrest warrants, search warrants, and contempt of court (NRS 199.340).

In California? See our articles on Penal Code 1320 and 1320.5 PC and Vehicle Code 40508 VC.

Helpful Links

Legal References

Nevada Revised Statute 178.508.
NRS 199.335 – Failure to appear after admission to bail or release without bail. See, for example, Woolsey v. State, (1995) 111 Nev. 1440, 906 P.2d 723, 111 Nev. Adv. Rep. 167. See, for example, State v. Sargent, (2006) 122 Nev. 210, 128 P.3d 1052, 122 Nev. Adv. Rep. 18.
Same.
NRS 483.465.

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NRS § 199.335 – “Failure to Appear” in Court – Nevada Law