Nevada Advance Directive Lockbox: Secretary of State Registry

What the Lockbox Is

Nevada's Secretary of State maintains an Advance Directive Lockbox for storing advance directives. Families can register an executed healthcare directive so it is accessible to hospital staff when needed.

For families of adults with disabilities, the Lockbox can help solve a real operational problem: you've signed a healthcare power of attorney, but it's sitting in a folder at home when your child arrives at the ER across town. Registering it can help make the directive available when your child is treated away from home.

How to Register

Registration is handled through the Nevada Secretary of State's office. Follow the office's current Lockbox instructions for the documents and identifying information required, and keep the registration details with your family records.

If the directive is replaced or revoked, contact the Secretary of State about updating the Lockbox record.

Why This Matters for Guardianship Alternatives

If your family is using a durable power of attorney for healthcare instead of guardianship — as Nevada's legal framework encourages — the Lockbox registration adds a critical safety layer. The POA is only useful if providers know it exists and can access it when needed.

Consider the scenario: your adult child with an intellectual disability is taken to a hospital you've never visited. You're en route, but the treatment team needs to make decisions now. The registered directive is intended to be accessible to hospital staff when needed.

This is especially important for the Nevada-specific healthcare POA form under NRS 162A.865, which is designed for adults with intellectual disabilities. That form allows the agent to make healthcare decisions when the principal cannot communicate their choices — exactly the situation where rapid document access matters most.

What to Register

At a minimum, register:

The durable power of attorney for healthcare. This designates the agent who can make medical decisions. If you've used the NRS 162A.865 form designed for adults with intellectual disabilities, register the executed document according to the Lockbox instructions.

Other advance directives. Before submitting a do-not-resuscitate order, POLST form, or other document, ask the Secretary of State whether the Lockbox accepts it and how it should be submitted.

Updates and revocations. If the POA is revoked or a new one is executed (changing the designated agent, for example), contact the Secretary of State about submitting the update to the Lockbox.

Because the Lockbox is for healthcare advance directives, confirm with the Secretary of State whether a particular document belongs in it before submitting it.

Practical Steps

1. Execute the healthcare POA (see our healthcare POA guide for Nevada for the full process)
2. Register the executed document with the Secretary of State's Lockbox
3. Inform your child's primary care physician, specialists, and any hospitals they visit regularly
4. Keep a copy in your own files and keep the registration details accessible
5. Add a reminder to review and update the registration if circumstances change

The advance directive Lockbox is one piece of the non-court support framework Nevada families can build for adults with disabilities. For the complete decision path — from supported decision-making through healthcare POA, educational representative, and guardianship alternatives — our Nevada Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide provides the full framework.

See more Nevada guides →