Juvenile and other courts, and law enforcement and other public agencies maintain a variety of records regarding juveniles who become involved in the juvenile justice system and the criminal justice system—including arrest records, school records, medical or behavioral health records, and family and social history. Many states have laws that restrict access to these records to protect youth from the stigma of a record in the juvenile justice system or criminal justice system. The confidentiality of juvenile records is in contrast with the open records laws that apply to adults in the criminal justice system. Laws regarding access to juvenile records, sealing of juvenile records, and expungement (destruction or deletion) of juvenile records vary from state to state, and are usually located in a state’s statutes.

In Nevada, juvenile records are treated with a high degree of confidentiality to protect the privacy of young individuals who have had encounters with the juvenile justice system. Access to these records is generally limited to certain parties, such as court personnel, law enforcement, and specific agencies involved in the juvenile's case. Nevada law allows for the sealing of juvenile records, which essentially hides them from public view, under certain conditions. This process is governed by Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) 62H.130 to 62H.150. Once sealed, the records are treated as if the juvenile's transgressions never occurred. Additionally, Nevada has provisions for the automatic sealing of certain juvenile records once the individual reaches 21 years of age, provided that they have not been convicted of a felony or a gross misdemeanor since their last contact with the juvenile court, and no proceedings are pending. Expungement, which is the destruction or deletion of records, is not explicitly provided for in Nevada's juvenile justice statutes, but sealing achieves a similar effect in terms of limiting access to a juvenile's past records.