Nevada Extortion and Blackmail Laws: Penalties (2026)

Nevada does not have a crime named blackmail: the conduct is charged under NRS 205.320, the statute titled "Threats" that NRS Chapter 205 groups under the heading Extortion. A threat to accuse someone of a crime, injure a person or property, publish a libel, expose a deformity or disgrace, or expose a secret, made with intent to extort or gain money or property (or one of the other aims the statute lists), is a category B felony punishable by 1 to 10 years in state prison, whether or not the threat succeeds. For other states, see our guide to extortion and blackmail laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-17. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Nevada's state criminal statutes on extortion and related threats: NRS 205.320 and 205.322, NRS 197.170, NRS 200.560, NRS 200.770 and 200.785, NRS 207.180 and 207.190, and the sentencing provisions in NRS Chapter 193. It does not cover what to do if you are being threatened or how to get images taken down (see our sextortion scams guide), the crime of posting intimate images itself (see revenge porn laws by state), federal extortion offenses (covered on the hub), or city and county ordinances.

Is blackmail a crime in Nevada?

Yes, under NRS 205.320. Nevada's Chapter 205 extortion group contains two sections, NRS 205.320 (Threats) and NRS 205.322 (extortionate collection of debt), and neither uses the word blackmail as an offense name. A separate section in NRS Chapter 197, NRS 197.170, covers extortion by a public officer or employee. Blackmail is the everyday word for the conduct NRS 205.320 punishes: a threat made to get money, property or another listed result.

The full offense reads:

"A person who, with the intent to extort or gain any money or other property or to compel or induce another to make, subscribe, execute, alter or destroy any valuable security or instrument or writing affecting or intended to affect any cause of action or defense, or any property, or to influence the action of any public officer, or to do or abet or procure any illegal or wrongful act, whether or not the purpose is accomplished, threatens directly or indirectly: 1. To accuse any person of a crime; 2. To injure a person or property; 3. To publish or connive at publishing any libel; 4. To expose or impute to any person any deformity or disgrace; or 5. To expose any secret, is guilty of a category B felony."

Two features stand out. The offense is complete when the threat is made with the required intent, "whether or not the purpose is accomplished," so no money has to change hands. And the threat can be made "directly or indirectly."

Nevada extortion offenses and penalties

NRS 193.130(2)(b) defines a category B felony as one with a minimum prison term of not less than 1 year and a maximum of not more than 20 years, "as provided by specific statute." NRS 205.320 sets its own maximum of 10 years. Under NRS 193.130(2)(d), a category D felony carries 1 to 4 years in state prison, and "the court may impose a fine of not more than $5,000, unless a greater fine is authorized or required by statute." NRS 193.140 punishes a gross misdemeanor by up to 364 days in county jail, a fine of up to $2,000, or both, "unless the statute in force at the time of commission of such gross misdemeanor prescribed a different penalty." NRS 193.150 punishes a misdemeanor by up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, unless the statute in force at the time prescribed a different penalty.

Restitution is mandatory for both Chapter 205 extortion crimes. NRS 205.320 and 205.322 each state: "In addition to any other penalty, the court shall order the person to pay restitution."

An attempt is graded one step down. Under NRS 193.153(1)(a)(3), an attempt to commit a category B felony "for which the maximum term of imprisonment authorized by statute is 10 years or less" is punished as a category C felony. Under NRS 193.130(2)(c), a category C felony carries 1 to 5 years in state prison, and the court may add a fine of up to $10,000.

What threats count as extortion in Nevada?

NRS 205.320 lists five threats, and they can be made "directly or indirectly":

1. To accuse any person of a crime.
2. To injure a person or property.
3. To publish or connive at publishing any libel.
4. To expose or impute to any person any deformity or disgrace.
5. To expose any secret.

The threat must be paired with one of the intents the statute names: to extort or gain money or other property; to compel or induce someone to make, sign, alter or destroy a valuable security, instrument or writing affecting a cause of action, defense or property; to influence the action of a public officer; or to do, abet or procure an illegal or wrongful act.

Nevada's list does not include a threat to report someone's immigration status. Item 1 refers to accusing "any person," so the accusation threatened does not have to target the person being asked to pay.

Is it extortion to threaten to sue, report someone, or post a bad review?

NRS 205.320's list of five threats does not include a threat to file a civil lawsuit, and the text of NRS 205.320 contains no exception for a demand made under a claim of right. The list does include a threat "to accuse any person of a crime," a threat "to publish or connive at publishing any libel," and a threat "to expose any secret." The list does not separately name a threat to post a negative review.

Threats involving libel also have their own statute. NRS 200.560 makes it a gross misdemeanor for any person to "threaten another with the publication of a libel concerning the latter, or his or her spouse, parent, child or other family member," and for any person who "offers to prevent the publication of a libel upon another person upon condition of the payment of, or with intent to extort, money or other valuable consideration from any person." Whether a particular demand falls within these statutes depends on its facts, and a lawyer licensed in Nevada can assess a specific situation.

Is sextortion a crime in Nevada?

Nevada has no statute named sextortion or sexual extortion; NRS Chapters 200, 205 and 207 contain no offense by either name. Two statutes reach common sextortion patterns:

• Threats under NRS 205.320. A threat to expose a secret or to expose or impute a disgrace, made with intent to extort or gain money or other property, is a category B felony. The statute's listed aims are money, property, documents, official action and illegal or wrongful acts; it does not name sexual conduct or images as the thing demanded.
• Removal-for-payment demands under NRS 200.785. "Any person who demands payment of money, property, services or anything else of value from a person in exchange for removing an intimate image from public view is guilty of a category D felony."

Nevada's definition of "intimate image" in NRS 200.770, as amended by SB 213 in 2025, includes "a photorealistic image, digital image, computer image or computer-generated image that a reasonable person would believe depicts: (1) The genitals, anus or fully exposed nipple of the female breast of another identifiable person; or (2) One or more identifiable persons engaged in sexual conduct."

Neither NRS 205.320 nor NRS 200.785 contains an enhancement based on the victim's age. Separately, NRS 200.710 makes it a category A felony to knowingly coerce a minor to be the subject of a sexual portrayal in a performance, which NRS 200.700 defines to include a photograph or computer-generated image.

If you or someone you know is being threatened, our sextortion scams guide covers reporting and image-removal steps. For Nevada's rules on AI-generated sexual images, see Nevada deepfake laws. The separate crime of unlawful dissemination of an intimate image, a category D felony under NRS 200.780, is covered on our revenge porn laws by state page.

Crimes often confused with extortion in Nevada

• Coercion (NRS 207.190). Coercion does not require a demand for property. It covers a person who, "with the intent to compel another to do or abstain from doing an act which the other person has a right to do or abstain from doing," uses or threatens violence or injury to the person, the person's family or the person's property, deprives the person of "any tool, implement or clothing," or attempts "to intimidate the person by threats or force." It is a category B felony only "where physical force or the immediate threat of physical force is used," and a misdemeanor where neither is used.
• Threatening letters (NRS 207.180). Knowingly sending or delivering a letter or writing that threatens to accuse another of a crime or misdemeanor, or to expose or publish the person's infirmities or failings, with intent to extort money or another valuable thing, is a misdemeanor. The section also reaches written threats to accuse another of a crime or expose the person's infirmities where nothing is demanded.
• Extortionate collection of debt (NRS 205.322). This crime covers causing a debtor "to have a reasonable apprehension that a delay in repaying the debt could result in the use of violence or other criminal means" to physically harm the debtor or any other person, or to damage property belonging to or in the custody of the debtor.
• Robbery (NRS 200.380). Robbery is "the unlawful taking of personal property from the person of another, or in the person's presence, against his or her will, by means of force or violence or fear of injury, immediate or future." Nevada's other property crimes are covered on our Nevada theft laws page.
• Fraud and scams. NRS 205.320 is built on threats. Schemes that obtain money through deception are covered on our Nevada scam and fraud laws page.

Recent changes

In 2025, SB 213 amended the definition of "intimate image" in NRS 200.770 to include photorealistic, digital and computer-generated images that a reasonable person would believe depict an identifiable person, as quoted above.

Federal law separately reaches extortionate threats sent across state lines (18 U.S.C. 875) and threats to publish intimate images (47 U.S.C. 223(h)(6), added by the TAKE IT DOWN Act); the extortion laws by state hub covers those offenses.

Related pages

• Extortion and blackmail laws by state
• Sextortion scams: what to do if you are targeted
• Nevada deepfake laws
• Nevada scam and fraud laws
• Nevada theft laws
• California extortion laws

This article provides general legal information about Nevada law, not legal advice. Statutes change and their application depends on specific facts. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Nevada or your local law enforcement agency.

Last updated: 2026-10-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is blackmail illegal in Nevada?

Nevada does not have an offense named blackmail. Threatening to accuse someone of a crime, injure a person or property, publish a libel, expose a deformity or disgrace, or expose a secret, with intent to extort or gain money or property (or another aim the statute lists), is a category B felony under NRS 205.320.

Is extortion a felony in Nevada?

Extortion by threat under NRS 205.320 is a category B felony punishable by 1 to 10 years in state prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, with mandatory restitution. Two related offenses are lower: threatening to publish a libel is a gross misdemeanor (NRS 200.560), and coercion without physical force or an immediate threat of physical force is a misdemeanor (NRS 207.190).

Does the threat have to work for it to be extortion in Nevada?

No. NRS 205.320 applies to a person who makes one of the listed threats with the required intent whether or not the purpose is accomplished.

What threats count as extortion in Nevada?

NRS 205.320 lists threats to accuse any person of a crime, to injure a person or property, to publish or connive at publishing any libel, to expose or impute to any person any deformity or disgrace, or to expose any secret, made directly or indirectly.

Is sextortion a crime in Nevada?

Nevada has no statute named sextortion. A threat to expose a secret or a disgrace made with intent to gain money or property is a category B felony under NRS 205.320, and demanding anything of value in exchange for removing an intimate image from public view is a category D felony under NRS 200.785.

Is it illegal to demand money to take down an intimate image in Nevada?

Yes. NRS 200.785 makes it a category D felony to demand payment of money, property, services or anything else of value from a person in exchange for removing an intimate image from public view, punishable by 1 to 4 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 unless a greater fine is authorized (NRS 193.130).

Is threatening to sue someone extortion in Nevada?

NRS 205.320's list of five threats does not include a threat to file a civil lawsuit. The list does include threats to accuse any person of a crime, to publish a libel and to expose any secret.

Is coercion a felony in Nevada?

Only in one situation. Under NRS 207.190, coercion is a category B felony punishable by 1 to 6 years, with a possible fine of up to $5,000, where physical force or the immediate threat of physical force is used; where neither is used, it is a misdemeanor.