Nebraska Free Expungement Help — Legal Aid, Clinics, and Clean Slate Resources
Hiring a private attorney for a Nebraska set-aside or record sealing case typically costs $1,500 to $4,000. That's out of reach for a lot of people — especially when the record blocking your employment is the same thing keeping your income low. The good news is that Nebraska has several free resources that can help with the process, from full legal representation to guided self-help.
Legal Aid of Nebraska — Clean Slate Project
Legal Aid of Nebraska operates the Clean Slate Project, the most comprehensive free record-relief program in the state. They provide free legal representation to qualifying applicants for set-asides and record sealing — not just advice, but actual attorney representation in court.
Eligibility: You must meet Legal Aid's income guidelines, which are generally based on federal poverty levels. Middle-income applicants who don't qualify for Legal Aid are the group most underserved in Nebraska's record-relief landscape — too much income for free help, not enough for a private attorney.
What they cover: Set-aside petitions under § 29-2264, record sealing motions under § 29-3523, and guidance on pardon applications. They'll help with form preparation, filing, and court appearances.
How to apply: Contact Legal Aid through their website or by phone. They conduct an intake interview to assess your eligibility and the merits of your case. Wait times vary — when clinic calendars are full, you may wait several weeks for an appointment.
Legal Aid also partners with the Nebraska State Bar Association on volunteer attorney programs, where private attorneys take set-aside cases pro bono.
Set-Aside and Record Sealing Clinics
Legal Aid and partner organizations hold periodic clinics in locations across Nebraska — typically in Lincoln and Omaha, but sometimes in other communities. These clinics are usually half-day or full-day events where attorneys help attendees:
- Review their criminal history records
- Determine which cases are eligible for set-aside or sealing
- Complete the required court forms
- Prepare for court hearings
Clinics are free and open to anyone, regardless of income level. They're announced on Legal Aid of Nebraska's events page and sometimes promoted through county court clerk offices and community organizations. If you're in a rural area, check whether Legal Aid offers remote consultations — in-person clinics are concentrated in the Omaha and Lincoln metro areas.
Law Help Interactive — Online Form Assembly
The Nebraska Supreme Court's Self-Represented Litigant Committee partnered with Law Help Interactive to create an online guided interview that walks you through completing the Petition to Set Aside Criminal Conviction (Form CC 6:11) and related documents.
The tool asks you questions about your case — conviction date, court, sentence type, offense — and generates the completed forms based on your answers. It doesn't replace legal advice, but it eliminates the most common form errors that cause clerk rejections.
The tool is free and available online. You'll need your case details handy — ideally from your RAP sheet and JUSTICE court records search.
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What Free Resources Don't Cover
There are limits to what these programs can do:
Filing fees. Legal Aid can help you apply for an In Forma Pauperis fee waiver (Form DC 6:7.1), but the fee waiver is granted by the judge — not by Legal Aid. If the judge denies the waiver, you'll need to pay the $87 to $144 filing fee yourself.
Pardon applications. Legal Aid provides guidance on pardon applications, but the multi-year Board of Pardons process — including the public hearing at the State Capitol — typically requires sustained legal advocacy that stretches beyond what a free clinic can offer.
Commercial background check disputes. After you receive a set-aside or sealing order, private background check companies may still display outdated information. Disputing these reports requires sending certified copies of your court order to each vendor individually — a process that free legal resources generally don't have capacity to manage for you.
If you don't qualify for Legal Aid or can't attend a clinic, the Nebraska Expungement & Record Sealing Guide provides the same step-by-step walkthrough that clinic attorneys use — form preparation, filing instructions, hearing preparation, and post-order follow-up — in a format you can work through on your own schedule.
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