Public water, private rights
Water in Nevada belongs to the public, and anyone who wants to use it needs a water right from the Division of Water Resources. The one broad exception is domestic use as defined in NRS 534.013. Nevada follows prior appropriation, summed up as first in time, first in right: the first to obtain and perfect a right has priority over later users.
Vested rights and a 2027 deadline
Uses that began before Nevada's water statutes are called pre-statutory or vested rights. NRS 533.085, for example, protects surface appropriations begun before March 22, 1913. These rights are confirmed through adjudications that end in court decrees.
Anyone holding an unproven vested claim should act now. Under NRS 533.087, the claimant must submit proof to the State Engineer on or before December 31, 2027. A claim with no proof filed by then is deemed abandoned.
Domestic wells
NRS 534.180 lets a household well draw up to 2 acre-feet a year without a permit. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre one foot deep. In basins the State Engineer designates, the driller must register the well within 10 days of finishing it.
Domestic wells drilled on or after July 1, 1981 can be ordered plugged once a public water system can serve the site, but only if the well is within 1,250 feet of a municipal system.
How rights are lost
Groundwater and surface water are treated differently. Under NRS 534.090, five successive years without beneficial use forfeits a groundwater right to the extent it went unused. When records show four years of nonuse, the State Engineer must send the owner of record a notice, and the owner then has one year to resume use or seek an extension.
Surface water rights are not forfeited for nonuse under NRS 533.060. They can still be lost through abandonment, which turns on intent.
Conveying a right
Water rights are real property and are conveyed by deed recorded in the county where the water is used. Since October 1, 1995, the buyer must also file a Report of Conveyance with the Division. It needs an abstract of title, copies of the deeds back to the owner currently in Division records, and the fee. If the place of use is inside an irrigation district, the district gets copies too.
Until the report is confirmed, the State Engineer keeps treating the prior owner as the holder for all notices and decisions. Confirmation does not guarantee the right is in good standing or that the amount listed is what can legally be used. Shares in a ditch company are outside this process.
Finding the record
The Division's Basic Water Right Search, also called the Permit Database, looks up rights by permit, certificate or owner. The Advanced Water Right Search produces a hydrographic abstract of every right matching your criteria. Ownership Update Status tracks a pending Report of Conveyance, and decrees are searchable by stream system or county. For a contested title, a water-rights attorney or licensed water right surveyor is often needed.