How to search Nebraska court records

Nebraska runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. Public access runs through a paid subscription vendor. Expect a per-search or per-month fee before you can see case details.

statewide fee criminal data

Open the official Nebraska portal →

What's actually there

JUSTICE covers all 93 county and district courts. Remote search is paid: a $17 one-time name search (up to 30 cases, results kept 3 days) or a $100/year Nebraska.gov subscription with $2 per case viewed. Courthouse public terminals are free.

Other official lookups for Nebraska

• NDCS inmate search

How Nebraska's courts are organized

Nebraska has two trial courts in every one of its 93 counties: a county court and a district court. County courts handle misdemeanors, traffic, small claims, probate, guardianships, and civil cases under the county court limit, plus juvenile cases in most counties. District courts handle felonies, larger civil suits, and divorce. Douglas, Lancaster and Sarpy counties each also have a separate juvenile court. Appeals go to the Nebraska Court of Appeals and then the Nebraska Supreme Court.

All of the trial courts use one statewide case management system called JUSTICE. That is why Nebraska can offer a single statewide search covering every county and district court. Appellate case records come from a separate system called SCCALES, and published appellate opinions are posted in the court's online opinion library.

Using the official online search

Remote searching of JUSTICE is paid. There are two ways to use it through Nebraska.gov. A one-time search costs $17, is paid by credit card, searches by the name of a party (not a witness), returns up to 30 cases, and keeps the results available for three days. You pay the fee even if the search finds nothing. Document images are included for filings made after April 16, 2008.

Frequent users can open a Nebraska.gov subscriber account, which carries a $100 annual charge. With a subscription, lists of search results are free and opening the details of a case is $2. Subscribers can search by party name, court type, case type, county, year, judge and attorney, and appellate case information is available only through a subscriber account.

Free access exists, but not from home. Every courthouse has a JUSTICE public terminal where you can search by party name or case number at no cost, and the Judicial Branch lists the Nebraska State Library and the law libraries at the University of Nebraska and Creighton as other free access points.

• Social Security numbers and witness names and information are not shown.
• Sealed cases are removed from public view under state law (see below).
• Each court went onto JUSTICE on its own date, so very old cases may not be in the system.
• Records destroyed under the court's records retention schedule cannot be produced.

Getting copies and certified copies

Copies come from the clerk of the county court or the clerk of the district court that handled the case. The Judicial Branch's records policy says staff will give copies and certified copies of records identified by case number, and will look up a specific record if you give the full party name and the case year or type. Staff will not sign a certificate saying no record exists.

County courts use state form CC 3:29, Request for File Copies or Certified Copies. Its posted rates are: emailed plain copies free, mailed plain copies 25 cents per page, emailed certified copies $1 per request, and mailed certified copies $1 per seal plus 25 cents per page. Costs must be paid in advance. District court clerk fees are set separately; ask that clerk before ordering.

Records that are not public

Nebraska does not have a general expungement law for convictions. Instead, Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-2264 lets a person who finished probation, paid a fine-only sentence, completed community service, or completed another sentence with no prison term over one year ask the sentencing court to set aside the conviction. A set-aside nullifies the conviction and removes most civil disabilities, but the conviction can still be used in some later situations such as sentencing for a new offense.

Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-3523 controls when records are sealed from public view. Arrests with no charges filed drop from the public record after one year, and after two years when diversion was completed. Cases that end in dismissal or acquittal are sealed when the order is entered. People who received a pardon, and sex trafficking victims whose convictions were set aside, can move to seal. Only the person whose record was sealed can request a copy of it, using a Judicial Branch form filed with the clerk. This is a summary, not legal advice; talk to a lawyer or use the Nebraska Judicial Branch Self-Help Center.

Nebraska tip: try the courthouse terminal before paying

If you live near any Nebraska courthouse, the public JUSTICE terminal searches the whole state for free, so you can find a case in another county without paying the online fee. If you must search remotely and expect more than 30 hits on a common name, a single one-time search may not be enough; narrow by county or year, or consider whether the $2-per-case subscription fits better. For prison records, the Department of Correctional Services inmate search is a separate state system.

Sources

• Nebraska Judicial Branch — Case Information eServices
• Nebraska.gov — JUSTICE One-Time Case Search
• Nebraska Judicial Branch — Court Records Search Policy
• Form CC 3:29, Request for File Copies or Certified Copies
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-2264, set aside of conviction
• Neb. Rev. Stat. 29-3523, sealing of criminal history records
• Nebraska Judicial Branch — Obtaining a copy of a sealed record
• Nebraska Judicial Branch — Self-Help Center

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in Nebraska

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Search tips

• Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
• Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
• A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
• An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search Nebraska court records online?

No — Nebraska routes public case search through a paid vendor. Budget for a per-search or subscription fee to view full case details.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. Nebraska's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

Nebraska runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.

Links move. If the Nebraska portal link above is dead, tell us on the corrections page.