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Nevada · Western Nevada · #485
Lyon County, Nevada
Stretching between Reno and the Walker River basin, Lyon County is Nevada's fastest-growing county by percentage - Fernley's position on I-80 east of Reno has turned it into a logistics and residential hub drawing warehouse workers and Reno commuters who have discovered that Nevada's high desert can be genuinely livable at a price point Reno no longer offers.
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Office: Lyon County Emergency Management – 27 S. Main Street, Yerington, NV 89447 | (775) 463-6531 or (775) 557-5037.
Sheriff: Lyon County Sheriff’s Office – 911 Harvey Way #1, Yerington, NV 89447 | (775) 463-6600 | Fax: (775) 463-6610 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM (24/7 operations); additional office at 555 East Main Street, Fernley, NV 89408 | (775) 575-3350; substations in Dayton and Silver Springs. Sheriff Brad Pope.
Dispatch: Lyon County Sheriff’s Communications Division – (775) 463-6620; handles dispatch for law enforcement, fire, EMS, Animal Control, and Juvenile Probation countywide, plus the Yerington Police Department and Yerington Paiute Tribal Police.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-95A serves Yerington, the county seat; I-80 serves Fernley, the county’s largest city and one of Nevada’s fastest-growing communities as a Reno exurb.
Notes: Lyon County was one of Nevada’s nine original counties, created November 24-25, 1861, and named for Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union general killed in the Civil War.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Lyon County – confirm current phone via lyon-county.org.
Notes: Lyon County is genuinely the site of Nevada’s first gold discovery – Abner Blackburn, a former member of the Mormon Battalion, found gold in Gold Canyon near what became Dayton in July 1849, with a second discovery by William Prouse in 1850; the continuous mining settlement that followed at the mouth of Gold Canyon is considered Nevada’s first non-Native American settlement, and it fed directly into the discovery of the Comstock Lode ten years later. Dayton, originally called Chinatown/Nevada City, served as Lyon County’s first seat from 1861 until a courthouse fire in 1909, after which Yerington became the county seat in 1911. Dayton was historically known as the “Cordwood Capitol” of Nevada.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Lyon County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via lyon-county.org.
Federal: VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System (Reno, accessible north).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Lyon County Library System – multiple branches: Yerington Branch (confirm hours via lyon-county.org), Dayton Branch (321 Old Dayton Valley Road, Dayton, NV 89403 | (775) 246-6212 | Fax: (775) 246-6213), plus Fernley, Silver Stage, and Smith Valley branches.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Dayton State Park (site of the 1849 gold discovery, historic Rock Point stamp mill ruins), the Virginia & Truckee Railway (heritage rail excursions near Dayton), and the Yerington Theater for the Arts/Jeanne Dini Center are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine site of Nevada’s first gold discovery is one of the most historically significant local facts in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Lyon County Assessor – confirm current contact via lyon-county.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Lyon County Animal Services – dispatched through the Sheriff’s Communications Division, (775) 463-6620; confirm current shelter address/hours via lyon-county.org.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Lyon County – confirm current contact via lyon-county.org.
NOTES: Lyon County is the fourth jurisdiction in the Nevada v2 A+ sourced redo’s second batch (Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye, Pershing). The genuine site of Nevada’s first gold discovery (1849) is a distinctive and historically significant local fact. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Lyon County
Lyon County’s growth story is essentially two different stories running simultaneously. Fernley, in the county’s northwestern corner on I-80, has exploded with warehousing and distribution development drawn by the same logistics corridor that made the Reno-Sparks metro a major West Coast distribution hub – Amazon, Home Depot, and numerous other companies operate facilities there, and the workforce commutes from Fernley’s rapidly expanding residential communities at prices well below Reno. The county’s population has grown more than 25% since 2010, making it one of Nevada’s fastest-growing jurisdictions.
The county seat of Yerington, about 60 miles to the south in the Walker River basin, is an entirely different Nevada – a small agricultural city in a high desert valley where alfalfa and onion farming, copper mining (the historic Anaconda copper mine), and the Walker River Paiute Tribe’s territory define the landscape. The two communities share a county government but almost nothing else in their economic character. Lyon County’s copper mining legacy has also produced one of Nevada’s most significant Superfund sites at the Mason Valley area – an environmental consideration that affects some land values and water planning in the county’s agricultural regions.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Nevada assesses property at 35% of taxable value. Effective tax rates in Lyon County vary by location, approximately $2.80–$3.10 per $100 of assessed value. Property owners may appeal to the State Board of Equalization (July 1 or 60 days after notice). Nevada has no income, estate, or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Lyon County Senior Services
10 East Goldfield Avenue, Yerington, NV 89447
Phone: (775) 463-6600
Senior transportation, meals, social activities, and aging resource referrals for Lyon County residents.
Senior Services
Lyon County Senior Services
10 East Goldfield Avenue, Yerington, NV 89447
Phone: (775) 463-6600
Senior transportation, meals, social activities, and aging resource referrals for Lyon County residents.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
27 S. Main St., Yerington, NV 89447
(775) 463-6541
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Third Judicial District Court, Lyon County (probate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1911-12 Lyon County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Lyon County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Third Judicial District Court, Lyon County 911 Harvey Way, Yerington, NV 89447 (775) 463-6571
Lyon County was one of Nevada’s nine original counties, created November 25, 1861, named for Union general Nathaniel Lyon, part of the Reno metro area, seated in Yerington (though Fernley is the county’s largest city). The 1911-12 Lyon County Courthouse, Beaux Arts in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
In Nevada, probate is handled by the DISTRICT COURT in the county where the decedent resided. Nevada recently overhauled its small-estate thresholds through SB 404, effective October 1, 2025 – these are current, higher figures; older sources online may still show the previous, lower amounts.
Affidavit of Entitlement (small estate affidavit, NRS 146.080) – available when the estate has no real property in Nevada and the gross value does not exceed $30,000 for most heirs, or $150,000 if the person claiming the property is a surviving spouse. At least 40 days must have passed since death. This skips court entirely – the affidavit is presented directly to the institution holding the property, along with a certified death certificate.
Set Aside Without Administration (NRS 146.070) – available when the estate’s net value does not exceed $150,000. Unlike the affidavit, this requires filing a petition with the court and can be used to transfer real property. If there’s a surviving spouse or minor children, the court can set aside the entire estate for their support, ahead of creditors.
Summary Administration (NRS Chapter 145) – available for estates valued between $150,000.01 and $500,000. Still requires an attorney and court filing, but with expedited notice requirements and fewer formal hearings than general administration.
General (Formal) Administration – required for larger or more complex estates, or when there’s a will contest or dispute over the personal representative.
STEP 2: FILING FOR SET ASIDE, SUMMARY, OR GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
File a petition with the District Court in the county where the decedent resided.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (for summary/general administration).
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors; creditors generally have a limited window to file claims.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid, the personal representative (or the court, in a set-aside) distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
Court filing fees vary by county – commonly ranging from about $72 for set-aside petitions up to several hundred dollars for general administration.
Attorney fees for summary or general administration commonly follow the statutory percentage schedule: 4% on the first $100,000 of the estate, 3% on the next $100,000, and declining percentages above that – though many attorneys quote flat fees instead.
The Affidavit of Entitlement has no court filing fee.
Nevada has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
27 S. Main St., Yerington, NV 89447
(775) 463-6620
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
27 S. Main St., Yerington, NV 89447
(775) 463-6541
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Lyon County Human Services – 620 Lake Avenue, Silver Springs, NV 89429 | (775) 577-5009.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Yerington
Population: 57,000
Area: 2,010 sq mi
Established: 1861
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Lyon County facilities via Amazon.
