Provides immunity from civil liability to persons returning a firearm under certain circumstances. (BDR 3-920)

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Danielle Gallant

Immunity from civil liability is created for private persons who hold and return a firearm under a firearm hold agreement, with an unlawful-conduct exception.

(Pursuant to Joint Standing Rule No. 14.3.1, no further action allowed.)

AB 181 — Summary (2025)

Status: Pursuant to Joint Standing Rule No. 14.3.1, no further action allowed (inactive as of 2025-04-12)
Introduced: Jan 8, 2025 (prefiled Feb 2, 2025)
Jurisdiction: Nevada (bill text amends Nevada Revised Statutes, NRS)
Effective trigger for causes of action: applies to causes of action accruing on or after Oct 1, 2025

Purpose / Intent

AB 181 would create civil-liability immunity for private persons who take temporary possession of, hold, and then return a firearm to its owner pursuant to a “firearm hold agreement.” It also exempts such transfers from the statutory requirement to conduct a background check. The bill is presented as amending existing Nevada law governing civil immunity (Chapter 41, NRS) and exemptions to background-check requirements (NRS 202.2548).

Key provisions

Adds a new immunity provision to Chapter 41, NRS:

Generally grants immunity from civil liability to a person who returns a firearm to its owner at the termination of a firearm hold agreement.
Immunity does NOT apply if the person engaged in unlawful conduct while holding the firearm or while returning it.

Defines “firearm hold agreement” as a written or oral agreement in which one person:

Takes physical possession of an owner’s lawfully possessed firearm at the owner’s request;
Holds the firearm for an agreed period; and
Returns the firearm according to the agreement’s terms.

Amends NRS 202.2548 to add an exemption: transfers pursuant to a firearm hold agreement are exempt from the background check requirement that otherwise applies to certain private sales/transfers.

Retains other existing exemptions (law enforcement, antique firearms, immediate family transfers, transfers by operation of law on death, temporary transfers to prevent imminent death/great bodily harm, and other limited temporary transfers for range/competition/hunting).

Who is affected

Private individuals who voluntarily take temporary custody of another person’s firearm (e.g., friends, family, custodians) would receive civil-immunity protection when returning the firearm, provided no unlawful conduct occurred.

Owners of firearms who use informal hold agreements to temporarily transfer custody may no longer trigger a background-check requirement for that transfer.

Law enforcement, courts, and plaintiffs in civil suits involving returned firearms would be affected by the new immunity standard and the Oct. 1, 2025 accrual date.

Procedural / timeline notes

Assembly passage: Read third time and passed Assembly on March 20, 2025 (Ayes 53, Noes 17).

Referred to Senate (read first time March 20); subsequently to Senate committees, with referral to B. & F. R. on April 2, 2025.

On April 12, 2025 the bill was subject to Joint Standing Rule No. 14.3.1 and no further action was allowed (bill inactive).

Fiscal note: bill reported as having no effect on state or local government finances.

Potential impacts (concise)

Lowers civil-liability risk for private custodians returning firearms, potentially encouraging voluntary temporary transfers for safety reasons.

Exempting these transfers from background checks could raise concerns about circumvention of background-screening safeguards for some observers; the immunity is limited by the unlawful-conduct exception.