Nebraska Public Records

Is It Easy to Access Nebraska Public Records?

Some states make it easy to access their public records. Other states make it a little bit more difficult. Nebraska public records are somewhere in the middle. Your ability to access these records is broken down as follows:

  • Requesting Person
  • Nebraska's public records law is a little broad, but the language of the law says that anyone that is a resident of Nebraska may see the records, and anyone that has interest in the inner workings of Nebraska may see it as well. The second part of that message implies that anyone can see Nebraska public records.

  • Requesting Reason
  • Nebraska does not require that you state the reason that you want to access these records. This allows you to access the records for any reason, regardless of what you're going to use them for.

  • Requesting Time
  • According to Nebraska public records law, you must be given your records within 4 days, however the state is allowed to delay providing you with those records if they submit a written request for delay and a valid reason for delaying your request.

    Nebraska is in the middle of the road when it comes to the ease of accessing their public records. It's not as easy as some other states, but they do not make it very difficult either.

    Nebraska Birth Records

    The state of Nebraska officially started registering Births occurring within the state since 1904. There are still some records of the births that took place before then. For information about those birth records you need to contact the State office.If you, for any reason need the copy of a Nebraska Birth Record then you have to write an application to the Vital Records Office at 1033 O Street, Suite 130, P.O. Box 95065, Lincoln, NE 68509-5065. The personal check or money order should be made payable to Vital Records Office. To obtain more information on how to obtain certified copies of you birth records, you can go to the website www.hhss.ne.gov/vitalrecods.The legal copy of Nebraska Birth Records cannot be obtained without any proper purpose. You can only request for a birth record of yourself, your wife, your parents or your children. Even for the birth records that you are allowed to access, you need a government certified photograph of yourself; may it be your driver’s license or State ID card.The processing of your application may take 7 to 10 working days once it gets to the Vital Records Office, so it is advised that you wait for around two weeks before calling to check on the progress.

    Nebraska Death Records

    Nebraska death records are maintained through the States Department of Health and Human Services. They have death records that have occurred from the year 1904 to present.

    The State of Nebraska does not view certified copies of records as a form of public information, therefore to obtain this information you must meet certain requirements, what the state of Nebraska considers proper purpose. However, anyone may view the records, as they are themselves public information; however, the copy you receive will be missing any medical information, or information that has been acquired only for keeping statistics.

    You may send a request by mail for a certified copy of the death certificate as this information is often required to settle the estate of a loved one who has passed. The State of Nebraska requires you must have legal use, meaning the records is legally required information, and they require certified documentation of the death, and you must also provide proof your identity. Legal reason may be to establish the death as is often needed in insurance claims, to prove the relationship to property rights, dealing with dependency and inheritance.

    Other reasons to acquire a death certificate can be for scientific or medical use; in this case, you must provide identification, proof of qualification from either your employer, or from the university you are researching with, or a certificate from the public health department. Law enforcement must also provide identification and proof of what department they are employed with.

    Nebraska death records older than fifty years are available by mail, or if they are less than fifty years old, the researcher must provide consent of a family member of the deceased.