State Library and Archives - A Division of the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs

The name index to the Nevada State Prison Inmate case files covers files dating from 1863 to 1972.  Only case files in the Nevada State Archives are indexed.  For information on other prison files, contact the Nevada Department of Corrections. 

The file contents vary greatly.  Early files usually contain very little information; more contemporary files can be volumnous.

Nineteenth century case files may contain correspondence and records of the Board of Parole and Pardons Commissioners. Twentieth century case files became more detailed after the creation of the Nevada State Police in 1908, who introduced the Bertillon system of physical description and photographs in 1909. There may be summaries of the crime, applications for parole and/or pardons, and correspondence to the Parole Board. Files dated after 1908 may contain information obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including arrest, conviction and incarceration in other states. There may be personal correspondence received by an inmate and inquiries from out-of-state law enforcement agencies about an inmate's criminal activity. Beginning in the 1970s there are some health records and psychological evaluations.

There are some restrictions on access to these records; see links below for additional information.