Nebraska Expungement Cost — Filing Fees, Court Costs, and Fee Waivers

Total Cost Breakdown

The cost of record relief in Nebraska depends on which pathway you pursue and which court your case is in. Here is what you can expect to pay at each stage.

Record Gathering (Required for All Pathways)

Before filing anything, you need to pull your records:

• Nebraska State Patrol RAP sheet: $30.00 (name-based or fingerprint-based search, non-refundable)
• JUSTICE court database search: $17.00 per name online (limited to 30 results, valid for 3 calendar days) — or free if you search in person at a courthouse public access terminal
• Certified copies of court documents: Varies by county, typically $1.00 to $2.00 per page

Minimum records cost: $47.00 if you use both the online RAP sheet and JUSTICE search

Judicial Set-Aside (§ 29-2264)

• County court filing fee: $87.00
• District court filing fee: $144.00
• No attorney required (you can represent yourself)

Most misdemeanor convictions were heard in county court, so $87.00 is the typical filing cost. Felonies heard in district court cost $144.00.

Total set-aside cost (county court): approximately $134.00 ($47.00 records + $87.00 filing)

Total set-aside cost (district court): approximately $191.00 ($47.00 records + $144.00 filing)

Record Sealing (§ 29-3523)

• Post-2016 dismissals: $0.00 — automatically sealed, no filing required
• Pre-2017 dismissals: Standard filing fees apply ($87.00 county / $144.00 district)
• Post-pardon sealing: Standard filing fees apply

Executive Pardon (Board of Pardons)

• Application fee: $0.00 (no charge to apply)
• RAP sheet for application: $30.00
• Certified court documents: Varies (typically $10.00-$50.00 for sentencing orders, probation records, discharge documentation)
• Travel to Lincoln for hearing: Variable (you must appear in person at the State Capitol)

The pardon itself is free to apply for. The real costs are the supporting documentation and the time — the Board's backlog means a two-to-five-year wait from application to hearing.

How to Get Filing Fees Waived

If you cannot afford the filing fee, Nebraska allows you to apply for a fee waiver using the In Forma Pauperis (IFP) process.

Forms needed:

• Form DC 6:7.1 — Affidavit and Application to Proceed Without Payment of Fees
• Form DC 6:7.2 — Proposed Order to Proceed In Forma Pauperis

Submit both forms along with your set-aside petition or sealing motion. The judge reviews your financial affidavit — income, expenses, assets, dependents — and decides whether to waive the fee.

What the waiver covers: Court-imposed filing fees only.

What the waiver does not cover: Third-party costs such as sheriff service fees for serving the prosecutor, certified mail charges, and copying fees. These costs are typically modest (under $20.00) but are not eliminated by the IFP waiver.

Costs Compared to Hiring a Lawyer

Private criminal defense attorneys in Nebraska typically charge $1,500 to $4,000 for record relief representation, depending on the complexity of the case and whether it involves a set-aside or a pardon application.

Filing pro se (representing yourself) eliminates attorney fees entirely. The trade-off is that you handle the paperwork, the hearing preparation, and the courtroom testimony yourself. For a straightforward, uncontested set-aside — where you clearly meet the eligibility criteria and the prosecutor is unlikely to object — self-representation is common and manageable.

Cases where professional representation becomes more valuable:

• The prosecutor has filed a written objection to your petition
• You are applying for a pardon and must present before the Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State
• You have convictions in multiple jurisdictions
• Your case involves immigration consequences

Hidden Costs to Watch For

Post-order verification: After your set-aside or sealing order is granted, you should run another RAP sheet check ($30.00) four to six weeks later to confirm the databases have been updated. This is optional but strongly recommended — discovering that your record was not updated only when an employer runs a background check is worse than spending $30 to verify proactively.

Commercial background check disputes: Private background check companies (Checkr, LexisNexis, TruthFinder, GoodHire) pull from multiple databases and do not always update when court records change. If they still show the old record after a set-aside or sealing, you need to mail each company a certified copy of the court order and file a formal dispute under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Certified copy costs vary by county, typically $1.00 to $2.00 per page.

Multiple convictions: Each conviction requires a separate petition with a separate filing fee, filed in the court where that conviction was entered. Three convictions in three counties means three filing fees, three hearings, and potentially three trips to different courthouses. Budget accordingly.

Travel costs for rural filings: If you were convicted in a county far from where you currently live, you must still file in the original sentencing court and appear in person at the hearing. There is no provision for transferring the hearing to a more convenient county.

Cost Comparison by Pathway

The government costs for a pardon application are low (just the RAP sheet and document copying), but the total investment of time — and attorney fees if you choose representation for the Board hearing — makes it the most expensive pathway overall.

The Nebraska Expungement & Record Sealing Guide includes a cost calculator worksheet and step-by-step instructions for the IFP fee waiver application — helping you budget for the full process before you start filing.

See more Nebraska guides →