NRS: CHAPTER 564 - BRANDS AND MARKS

[Rev. 6/29/2024 4:31:24 PM--2023]

CHAPTER 564 - BRANDS AND MARKS

NRS 564.020 Owner may adopt brand or mark; recording; unlawful earmark.

NRS 564.025 Branding or marking of all animals grazing on open range required; application for temporary use of brand recorded or registered in another state; exception.

NRS 564.030 Powers and duties of Director.

NRS 564.040 Application for recording of brand or marks.

NRS 564.050 One brand to be awarded or recorded for each owner; brands for separate and distinct livestock units; identical or similar brands; applicability; recording of unlawful earmarks prohibited.

NRS 564.055 Recording of cattle brands.

NRS 564.060 Award of brand upon receipt of application; contents of recording certificate; precedence of applications; refusal or inability of Department to award or record brand.

NRS 564.070 Recording of brands by Department; procedure; certificate to be transmitted to owner; evidentiary effect of certificate.

NRS 564.075 Amendment of record of brands and marks; application; form.

NRS 564.080 Fees.

NRS 564.090 Evidentiary effect of certificates of recordation.

NRS 564.100 Legal status of certificates of rerecordation issued pursuant to 1923 law.

NRS 564.110 Brands and marks subject to transfer; recording of instruments transferring ownership; notice to Department of existence of security agreement, assignment or lien.

NRS 564.115 Transfer of brands and marks upon death of owner.

NRS 564.120 Rerecording of brands and marks: Application; fee; notice; abandonment; certificates; limitation on recording new brands.

NRS 564.130 Brand books and supplements: Issuance by Department; costs.

NRS 564.140 Unlawful to use brand on position on animal or in area other than those authorized; application for change of position, new position or change in area; unlawful to deface or remove recorded brand.

NRS 564.150 Penalties.

_________

NRS 564.010 Definitions. As used in this chapter:

1. “Animals” means:

(a) All cattle or animals of the bovine species.

(b) All horses, mules, burros and asses or animals of the equine species.

(d) All sheep and goats.

(e) Alternative livestock as defined in NRS 501.003.

2. “Department” means the State Department of Agriculture.

3. “Director” means the Director of the Department.

[Part 2:26:1923; NCL § 3791] + [12:26:1923; NCL § 3801]—(NRS A 1961, 534; 1973, 408; 1981, 684; 1993, 433, 1733; 1995, 514; 1999, 3671)

NRS 564.020 Owner may adopt brand or mark; recording; unlawful earmark.

1. Every owner of animals in this State may design and adopt a brand or brands, or brand and mark, or brands and marks, with which to brand or brand and mark his or her animals.

2. It shall be unlawful for any owner of such animals to brand or brand and mark, or cause to be branded or branded and marked, his or her animals with a brand or brand and mark not at the time of legal record as provided in this chapter.

3. It shall be unlawful for any owner of such animals to use an earmark which involves the removal of more than one-half of the ear, measuring from the extreme tip of the ear to the head, or which brings the ear to a point by removing both edges of the ear.

[1:26:1923; NCL § 3790]—(NRS A 1959, 175; 1961, 534)

NRS 564.025 Branding or marking of all animals grazing on open range required; application for temporary use of brand recorded or registered in another state; exception.

1. As used in this section, “open range” means all unenclosed lands outside of cities and towns upon which animals by custom, license, lease or permit are grazed or permitted to roam.

2. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, every owner of animals in this State, who permits his or her animals to graze upon the open range, shall design, adopt and record a brand or a brand and mark and shall brand or brand and mark his or her animals as provided in this chapter.

3. Every owner of animals who brings such animals from another state into this State, if the animals have a recorded or registered brand of that other state, and who permits those animals to graze upon the open range, shall apply to the Department for a temporary use of the brand. The application must state the period for which the animals will remain in this State. The Department may grant a temporary use of the brand for a designated period, which may not exceed the period stated in the application, or require a new brand or a brand and mark as required by this section.

4. This section does not apply to animals that are less than 6 months of age.

(Added to NRS by 1973, 408; A 1993, 1734; 1999, 3671)

NRS 564.030 Powers and duties of Director. The Director may carry out the provisions of this chapter and, for that purpose, adopt such regulations not inconsistent therewith, and appoint such agents, under his or her direction, as the Director deems necessary therefor. All expenses in connection therewith must be paid from the Livestock Inspection Account, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

[Part 2:26:1923; NCL § 3791]—(NRS A 1961, 534; 1991, 1793; 1993, 1734; 1999, 3671)

NRS 564.040 Application for recording of brand or marks.

1. Any owner of animals in this State desiring to adopt and use thereupon any brand, or brand and mark, or marks, as provided for in this chapter shall, before doing so, forward to the Department an application, on a form approved and provided by the Department for that purpose, for the recording of the brand, or brand and mark or marks, and receive a certificate of recordation as provided in this chapter.

2. The application must:

(a) Include a drawing, exact except as to size, of the brand, together with any earmarks or other marks desired or intended to be used therewith, and the location upon the animal or animals concerned where the brand and earmarks or other marks are desired or intended to be used;

(b) Include a statement of the kinds of animals upon which the brand or brand and mark or marks are used or will be used;

(c) Include a statement of the approximate boundaries of that part of the State within which it is intended to use the brand, brand and mark or marks;

(d) Include the full name and address of the applicant; and

(e) Be accompanied by a fee of $200 for the recording of the brand, or brand and mark, or marks. The fee must not be prorated for any unused portion of the period for which the brand, or brand and mark, or marks are recorded.

3. For the purpose of this chapter, the post office address included in the application must be considered the legal address of the applicant until the Department receives from the applicant, in writing, a notice of the change of the address, the latest address of record with the Department remaining the legal address.

[6:26:1923; A 1945, 225; 1943 NCL § 3795]—(NRS A 1961, 14, 534; 1993, 1734; 1999, 3672; 2021, 1832)

1. Only one brand may be awarded or recorded for each owner of animals, except that the owner or owners of separate and distinct livestock units may, under the provisions of this chapter and within the discretion of the Department, record one brand for use in connection with and for each such distinct and separate livestock unit.

2. No brand may be recorded or used which is identical with or, in the opinion of the Department, so similar to any brand previously recorded and remaining of legal record, or any abandoned brand which has not been abandoned for 1 year, as provided in NRS 564.120, that it may cause confusion as to the identity or ownership of animals, or which may be readily used to obliterate or alter any legally recorded brand that is used in the same area in this State.

3. The provisions of this section do not apply to the rerecording of any brand legally recorded on July 1, 1961, and remaining of legal record in this State under the provisions of this chapter insofar as the legal owners of the brand on July 1, 1961, are concerned, until July 1, 1976, or to brands legally transferred as provided for in NRS 564.110.

4. After July 1, 1959, an earmark may not be recorded which violates the provisions of subsection 3 of NRS 564.020.

[7:26:1923; A 1945, 225; 1943 NCL § 3796]—(NRS A 1959, 175; 1961, 535; 1967, 317; 1993, 1735; 1999, 3672)

NRS 564.055 Recording of cattle brands.

1. Brands for cattle shall be recorded for use in only two of the following positions:

(a) The hip on the right-hand side;

(b) The hip on the left-hand side;

(d) The shoulder on the left-hand side;

(e) The rib cage on the right-hand side; or

(f) The rib cage on the left-hand side.

2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the use of date brands.

(Added to NRS by 1961, 512; A 1967, 314; 1973, 873)

NRS 564.060 Award of brand upon receipt of application; contents of recording certificate; precedence of applications; refusal or inability of Department to award or record brand.

1. Upon receipt of an application, as set forth in NRS 564.040, the Department shall cause the records of previously recorded brands, remaining of legal record, or not abandoned for more than 1 year as provided in NRS 564.120, to be searched and, if the brand applied for is recordable under the provisions of NRS 564.050, award the brand set forth in the application to the applicant and proceed to record the brand, together with the mark or marks.

2. In the case of any brand awarded after July 1, 1945, the recording certificate issued by the Department must define the area within this State where the brand may be used, and the position on the animal concerned, where it may be applied, and the use of the brand outside that area, or its application to other positions, without the written approval of the Department is unlawful.

3. A brand applied for must not be awarded or recorded until after the lapse of 2 legal business days after the receipt of the application for the brand at the established office of the Department.

4. In all cases where, under the terms of this chapter, the brand or brands and mark or marks applied for cannot legally be awarded by the Department to the applicant, the applicant must promptly be so notified by the Department.

5. Applications for the awarding and recording of brands or brands and marks must take precedence in the chronological order of their receipt at the established office of the Department.

6. The Department may refuse to award or record a brand known to be in use at the time in this State, or in an abutting county of an adjoining state, by a person other than the applicant therefor.

[8:26:1923; A 1945, 225; 1943 NCL § 3797]—(NRS A 1961, 535; 1993, 1735; 1999, 3673)

NRS 564.070 Recording of brands by Department; procedure; certificate to be transmitted to owner; evidentiary effect of certificate.

1. Upon the awarding of a brand or brands as provided in this chapter, the Department shall immediately proceed to record the brand or brands.

2. The recording must consist of the transcribing upon a suitable and permanent record, which is a public record and prima facie evidence of the facts contained in the record, designed and approved by the Department for that purpose, of:

(a) A facsimile, except as to scale, of the brand or brand and mark or marks awarded.

(b) The location upon the animal concerned of the brand or brand and mark or marks as awarded.

(d) The date of award.

(e) The district within which the brand or brands and mark or marks are used or will be used.

(f) The kind of animals upon which the brand or brands and marks are used or will be used.

3. The Department shall promptly cause to be prepared and sent to the person to whom the award is made a certificate containing the same entries as those set forth upon the permanent record of the Department described in subsection 2 and certified to by the Department or its authorized agent. The certificate has the legal status of similar certificates as set forth in NRS 564.090.

[9:26:1923; NCL § 3798]—(NRS A 1961, 536; 1993, 1736; 1999, 3673)

NRS 564.075 Amendment of record of brands and marks; application; form.

1. The owner of a brand or brand and mark or marks whose ownership is recorded by the Department pursuant to NRS 564.070 may apply to the Department to amend the record:

(a) By changing his or her name as it appears in the record if:

(1) The owner’s name is changed by court order pursuant to an adoption, a divorce, an adjudication of paternity, a petition for a change of name or other legal proceeding;

(2) The owner changes his or her name upon marriage;

(3) The owner transfers the ownership of the brand or brand and mark or marks to or from a revocable trust of which the owner is a beneficiary;

(4) The record shows that the brand or brand and mark or marks is owned by joint tenants with the right of survivorship and the owner is the surviving joint tenant;

(5) The owner is a partnership, corporation or other business entity and the change in the name of the owner is the result of a change in the identity or form of the business entity or a transfer of the ownership of the brand, brand and mark or marks to a business entity that has identical common ownership; or

(6) The owner applies on the basis of a comparable event, transaction or other occurrence.

(b) By removing the name of a person who is included in the record in the capacity of a parent or guardian of the owner if the owner was a minor at the time his or her ownership was recorded by the Department and the owner is 18 years of age or older.

2. An application to amend the record pursuant to this section must be:

(a) On a form provided by the Department; and

(b) Accompanied by written proof of the event, transaction or other occurrence that is the basis for the application.

3. If the Department determines that the requested amendment to the record does not affect the ownership of a brand or brand and mark or marks or create confusion concerning its ownership, the Department shall:

(a) Amend the record by changing the name of the owner or removing the name of the parent or guardian of the owner; and

(b) Provide the owner with an amended certificate of recordation.

(Added to NRS by 2007, 904)

NRS 564.080 Fees. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Department may establish and collect reasonable fees for:

1. The processing of applications for new brands or new brands and marks, regardless of whether the new brand or new brand and mark is awarded;

2. The recording of instruments transferring ownership of brands or brands and marks;

3. Certificates of recordation or rerecordation of brands or brands and marks;

4. Amending the record of ownership of brands or brands and marks and furnishing amended certificates of recordation; or

5. The processing and continuing administration of a security agreement, provisional assignment or legal lien relating to a brand or brand and mark or marks of record for purposes of NRS 564.110.

[14:26:1923; NCL § 3803]—(NRS A 1961, 537; 1993, 1736; 1999, 3674; 2003, 1430; 2007, 905; 2021, 1832)

NRS 564.090 Evidentiary effect of certificates of recordation. All certificates of recordation of brands or brands and marks furnished by the Department under the provisions of this chapter are prima facie evidence of the ownership of all animals of the kind or kinds and bearing the brand or brands and mark or marks specified and as set forth therein, and those certificates must be taken as evidence of that ownership in all suits of law or in equity, or in any criminal proceedings, if the title to animals in this State is involved or proper to be proved.

[10:26:1923; A 1923, 316; NCL § 3799]—(NRS A 1961, 537; 1993, 1736; 1999, 3674)

NRS 564.100 Legal status of certificates of rerecordation issued pursuant to 1923 law. Certificates of rerecordation furnished to the legal owners of brands and marks pursuant to the provisions of section 4 of chapter 26, Statutes of Nevada 1923, shall have the legal status of brand certificates as set forth in NRS 564.090.

[Part 4:26:1923; NCL § 3793]

NRS 564.110 Brands and marks subject to transfer; recording of instruments transferring ownership; notice to Department of existence of security agreement, assignment or lien.

1. Any brand or brand and mark or marks awarded and recorded and remaining of record in accordance with the terms of this chapter, including those transferred legally as provided in this section, are the property of the person to whom they stand of record as provided in this chapter and are subject to sale, assignment, transfer, security agreement or lien, devise and descent the same as other personal property.

2. Instruments of writing evidencing the sale, assignment, transfer, security agreement, lien, devise or descent must be in that form, as to text, signatures, witnesses, acknowledgments or certifications, required by statutes, in the case of the kind of instrument concerned, but the Department may secure such competent legal advice or rulings, and require such supporting evidence as it deems necessary, as to such instruments of writing, being in fact, authentic and in legal form, before approving and recording those instruments of writing as provided in this chapter.

3. Instruments in writing evidencing the transfer of ownership of any brand or brand and mark or marks must, after approval, be recorded in the office of the Department in a book to be provided for that purpose, and are not legally binding until so approved by the Department and recorded. In addition to any other format, the Department shall prepare and maintain the book required by this subsection in an electronic format. The Department may include, in any fee collected by the Department for the recording of the instruments pursuant to NRS 564.080, any costs incurred by the Department in preparing and maintaining the book in an electronic format pursuant to this subsection.

4. The recording of those instruments has the same force and effect as to third parties as the recording of instruments affecting the sale, assignment, transfer, devise or descent of other personal property. The original, or a certified copy of any such instrument, may be introduced in evidence in the same manner as is provided for similar instruments affecting personal property, and the record of the instrument or instruments of transfer, or the transcript thereof certified by the custodian of the record, may be read in evidence without further proof.

5. If any brand or brand and mark or marks of record, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, becomes the subject of, or is included in, any security agreement, provisional assignment or legal lien, the secured party, provisional assignee or lienholder may notify the Department in writing as to the existence and conditions of the security agreement, provisional assignment or lien. After the receipt of the written notice, the Department shall not transfer the brand or brand and mark or marks, other than to the secured party, provisional assignee or lienholder until there is filed with the Department satisfactory legal evidence that the security agreement, provisional assignment or lien has been legally satisfied and removed.

6. No transfer or change, or partial, joint or complete ownership, of any brand under the provisions of this section:

(a) Grants or recognizes any change in the method or area of its use from that authorized at the time of recording, or subsequent thereto but before the transfer or change of ownership; or

(b) Waives or modifies the rerecording requirements set forth in NRS 564.120.

[11:26:1923; A 1937, 154; 1945, 225; 1943 NCL § 3800]—(NRS A 1961, 537; 1965, 943; 1993, 1737; 1999, 3674; 2011, 685)

NRS 564.115 Transfer of brands and marks upon death of owner.

1. Upon the death of the owner of a brand or brand and mark or marks, the personal representative of the deceased owner, or any other person with the legal authority to act on behalf of the deceased owner, may execute any written instrument and perform any other act required by the Department to transfer the ownership of the brand or brand and mark or marks.

2. A person who wishes to act on behalf of a deceased owner pursuant to this section must provide the Department with written proof of the person’s legal authority to act on behalf of the deceased owner.

3. As used in this section, “personal representative” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 132.265.

(Added to NRS by 2007, 905)

NRS 564.120 Rerecording of brands and marks: Application; fee; notice; abandonment; certificates; limitation on recording new brands.

1. Any owner of a brand or brand and mark or marks of record under the provisions of this chapter, including brands or marks transferred pursuant to the provisions of NRS 564.110, desiring legally to continue the use of the brand or brand and mark or marks beyond the prescribed dates shall, within 60 days before January 1, 2023, and at the end of each 5-year period thereafter, apply to the Department for the rerecording of the brand or brand and mark or marks.

2. The application must be:

(a) Submitted electronically through the Internet website of the Department or in writing on a form provided by the Department; and

(b) Accompanied by a rerecording fee of $200. The fee must not be prorated for any unused portion of the period for which the brand, or brand and mark, or marks are rerecorded.

3. The Department shall notify every owner of a brand or brand and mark or marks of legal record in its office, including owners of brands and marks transferred under the provisions of NRS 564.110, at least 60 days before January 1, 2023, and January 1 at the end of each 5-year period thereafter, of the owner’s right to rerecord the brand or brand and mark or marks as provided in this section. At the discretion of the Department unless otherwise requested by an owner, the notice must be sent by electronic mail to each such owner or be sent in writing by mail to each such owner at the owner’s last electronic mail address or address of record, as applicable, provided to the Department by the owner. The notice is complete at the expiration of 60 days after the date of its sending by the Department.

4. The Department may also advertise the approach of any rerecording period in such manner and at such times as it deems advisable.

5. Any brands or brands and marks for the rerecording of which the owners have not applied as provided for in this section by January 1, 2023, or by January 1 of any 5-year period after that date, including all brands and marks of record as transferred as provided in NRS 564.110, shall be deemed abandoned and no longer of legal record as provided for by this chapter. Brands or brands and marks thus abandoned may not be awarded or recorded by the Department to persons other than those persons abandoning the brands or brands and marks until 1 year after the date of the abandonment. The awarding and recording of abandoned brands or brands and marks to any person must be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

6. The Department shall furnish the legal owners of any brand or brand and mark or marks rerecorded under the provisions of this section with an electronic copy of a certificate setting forth the fact of the rerecordation.

7. No new brands may be recorded during the 60 days of a rerecording period unless, in the opinion of the Director, undue hardship would be caused the applicant.

[13:26:1923; A 1925, 22; NCL § 3802]—(NRS A 1961, 538; 1975, 355; 1993, 1738; 1999, 3675; 2021, 1832)

NRS 564.130 Brand books and supplements: Issuance by Department; costs.

1. The Department may compile and issue books, and supplements thereto, containing transcripts of part or all of its records of brands and marks, so arranged and indexed as to be suitable for use in identifying any brands or marks which may be found in this State on any animals, or the hides thereof, and used in compliance with the provisions of this chapter.

2. Copies of the brand books and supplements must be made available to any person at a charge to be fixed by the Department, but the charge must not be less than the cost of compilation, publication and issuance.

3. Copies of the brand books or supplements may be furnished by the Department, without charge, to any public officer or other person whose possession of the book or supplements will, in the opinion of the Department, serve to promote the general welfare.

4. In addition to any other format, the Department shall make any copies of the brand books and supplements available pursuant to this section available in an electronic format. The Department may include, in the amount of any charge fixed by the Department pursuant to subsection 2, any costs incurred by the Department in preparing those copies pursuant to this subsection.

[5:26:1923; NCL § 3794]—(NRS A 1961, 539; 1993, 1738; 1999, 3676; 2011, 686)

1. It is unlawful for the owner of any legally recorded brand, recorded under the provisions of this chapter, to use the brand on any position, on any animal, or in any area, other than that authorized in writing at the time the brand was recorded, or subsequent thereto, by the Department. The Department may, on the written application of the owner of any legally recorded brand, authorize in writing a change of position or a new position for the application of the brand, or change or enlarge the area in which it may be used, if, in the opinion of the Department, the change in position or area of use will not jeopardize or injure the rights or property of the owner of any other brand remaining of legal record.

2. Any application for a change in position or a new position or a change in the area of use as provided in subsection 1 must set forth a sufficient reason for the change, and the Department may require such supporting evidence for the change as it deems necessary to establish the facts.

3. It is unlawful for any person to obliterate, disfigure, extend, deface or remove from any animal a brand that is recorded pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

[14b:26:1923; added 1945, 225; 1943 NCL § 3803.02]—(NRS A 1961, 540; 1993, 1739; 1999, 3676)

NRS 564.150 Penalties. Any person violating any of the provisions of this chapter:

1. Is guilty of a misdemeanor, except that any person who violates the provisions of subsection 3 of NRS 564.140 is guilty of a gross misdemeanor.

2. In addition to any criminal penalty, shall pay to the Department an administrative fine of not more than $1,000 per violation.

Ê If an administrative fine is imposed pursuant to this section, the costs of the proceeding, including investigative costs and attorney’s fees, may be recovered by the Department.

[15:26:1923; NCL § 3804]—(NRS A 1961, 540; 1993, 899; 1995, 548; 1999, 3677; 2007, 906)