The molecular mechanisms underlying the formation and patterning of the bilaterian nervous system (NS) have been investigated primarily in lophotrochozoans, ecdysozoans, and deuterostomes, while gnathifers remain largely unexplored. Gnathifera (the 4th largest clade of Bilateria) are thought to be early diverging Spiralia and include enigmatic animals, the evolution of which is unclear. Rotifers are an experimentally tractable phylum of Gnathifera; understanding their NS development could shed light on the early evolutionary history of the Protostomia. We used HCR fluorescent in situ hybridization to assay the expression of the monogonont Brachionus manjavacas orthologs of neurogenic genes including SoxB1, Elav, Ascl, Ngn, Pou4, and Coe; neuronal markers including Syt1 and TrpV; and patterning markers including FoxQ2, Six3/6 and Eve, in combination with live-imaging. The neuroblasts divide prior to ingression in the plane of the epithelium. SoxB1 is evident in part of the neuroectoderm, later neuroblasts, and some non-neural cells of neuroectodermal origin; it does not switch off after precursor commitment. Ngn marks only few cells prior to ingression. Elav is not restricted to neuroblasts and neurons; in some neurons, it is expressed only at late stages of differentiation. Ascl appears in precursors of the stomatogastric NS and followed by Pou4. Coe marks the origin of the dorsal antenna (DA) within the region surrounded by the FoxQ2 and Six3/6 expression in the head. Cells of the DA also express the sensory marker TrpV. These features, in combination with the observed morphology, suggest that the DA is a homolog of the apical organ. Coe+ cells migrate to the trunk and develop into the earliest posterior neurons, becoming the lateral nerve and initiating the cerebral ganglion, suggesting their homology to pioneer neurons. Syt1 is pan-neuronal and occurs in some migrating cells. Rotifer neurogenesis thus possesses a combination of features characteristic for other Protostomia, with additional traits unique to Bilateria. Supported by RFBR grant 19-04-01181 and the Owens Family Foundation.