How a Background Check Works in Nebraska

Nebraska is an open record state. The State Patrol, as the central repository, lets the public request a Record of Arrest and Prosecution, a RAP sheet, for any individual: the Nebraska arrests where the person was fingerprinted and the dispositions that followed, from convictions and acquittals to declined prosecutions, charges never filed and convictions nullified by set asides and pardons. Its FAQ answers the question people actually ask, whether you can check a babysitter, a neighbor or a daughter's boyfriend, with yes: adult arrest records are public, and paying the fee is the interest the law requires.

The public view is redacted. Under Nebraska Statute 29-3523 an arrest with no charges filed leaves the public record a year after the arrest, an arrest resolved by completed diversion leaves after two years, and an arrest whose charges were dismissed by the court or ended in acquittal leaves at once. The complete criminal history, with those entries restored, is released only when the subject signs a release before a notary.

  • Fee: $45.00 per person checked, non refundable whatever the outcome, by card online, or by cashier's check, personal check or money order payable to the Nebraska State Patrol by mail or in person; the form also lists cash.
  • Where: the online request, any State Patrol troop area office, or the Criminal Identification Division, 4600 Innovation Drive, Lincoln, NE 68521, 402-479-4971.
  • Speed: statute allows up to three business days from a request received in good order; online, a No Record answer downloads at once and a Request is being researched answer returns within three business days.
  • Not in it: juvenile arrests, arrests in other states, arrests where no fingerprints were taken or the card never reached the Patrol, since only felony arrests must be submitted.

Written by SearchSystems.net from Nebraska's own systems: the Nebraska State Patrol Criminal History Record Requests page, the State Patrol Criminal History Record Request form NSP 752, the Nebraska State Patrol online limited criminal history search, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.

What a Nebraska RAP sheet contains

The State Patrol page defines the Nebraska RAP sheet as Nebraska arrests where the individual was fingerprinted and the resulting dispositions, which may include convictions, acquittals, declined prosecutions, no charges filed and convictions nullified through set asides and pardons. A person's own criminal history reflects all adult arrests in Nebraska where they were fingerprinted; arrests in other states are not on it. The Patrol explains why a report can read No criminal record found for someone who was arrested: the person was probably not fingerprinted, or the arresting agency never forwarded the fingerprint arrest card, since Nebraska statute requires only felony arrests to be submitted to the repository, or the arrest happened in another state. Juvenile arrests are not public record by statute and are never released on a criminal history request.

Public information versus the complete criminal history

Nebraska criminal history is public record, but statute 29-3523 limits what the public may receive, and the Public Information view is redacted accordingly. Three exclusions apply: an arrest for which the prosecuting attorney decided to file no charges drops out of the public record one year from the arrest date; an arrest for which charges were not filed because of a completed diversion drops out two years from the arrest date; and an arrest whose charges were filed but dismissed on the prosecutor's motion or after a hearing not under appeal, or following completion of a drug court, problem solving court or other approved court program, or that ended in acquittal, drops out immediately. A Complete Criminal History report restores all of that and is released only when the subject signs a release of information before a notary public approving the requester; the form carries the notarized release and says a public record is released when it is not notarized.

Three ways to order, one fee

A Nebraska criminal history report costs $45.00 by every route. Online, through the service the Patrol runs with a third party on nebraska.gov, the requester gives their own legal name, address and email, then for each person of interest a first and last name, date of birth, sex and race, with the Social Security number, driver's license number and residence recommended to speed results, pays by VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express, and receives either a No Record response with a downloadable dissemination report at once or a Request is being researched response, meaning the identifiers were not unique and a Criminal Records Technician will review them, with results within three business days. The session times out after an hour, a submitted request cannot be retrieved to correct a mistake in the name, date of birth or Social Security number fields, and a new request with a new fee is needed for those; the driver's license field is not required.

In person, the completed Criminal History Record Request, form NSP 752, goes with $45.00 by cashier's check, personal check or money order to any State Patrol troop area office. By mail, the form and payment go to the Nebraska State Patrol, Criminal Identification Division, 4600 Innovation Drive, Lincoln, NE 68521, with questions to 402-479-4971. The form itself lists cash, check or money order payable to the Nebraska State Patrol, asks whether the request is on yourself or someone else and why, takes the subject's names including maiden, married, adopted and nicknames, place of birth, race, gender and address, notes that a Social Security number is optional but speeds identity confirmation, names a separate receiving agency where the results should go, and returns results by fax or mail only, never by email. Certification or notarization of the record must be specifically requested by checking the box. Statute allows the Patrol up to three business days, counted from the day a request arrives in good order with a completed form, payment and signatures.

Fingerprint based national checks

A fingerprint based background check searches the state and national databases on the subject's prints and returns a nationwide record, but the Patrol says it costs more and is not available to just anyone: a nationwide fingerprint based check is available only when a state or federal law requires it, and the Patrol publishes the list of authorized reasons. The name based report is, in its words, the most accessible method of obtaining a criminal history on an individual.

Corrections: the library rule

The Patrol describes its role as a library. It reports information as its criminal justice partners provide it, and if a book is wrong the library cannot fix it; the publisher must. An error in a Nebraska record is corrected by the source, the court of record, the county attorney or the arresting agency, and the Patrol will help identify the source and provide a contact, but it must receive the correction directly from that agency and cannot take the subject's word for it.

Expungement and set asides

Nebraska has no statutory expungement provision. The only arrest that can be expunged is one that resulted from a law enforcement error, by petition to the district court of the county where the arrest occurred. A conviction may instead be set aside by petition to the court, which acknowledges that the person completed the sentence, paid the fine, served the time or finished probation; if granted, the conviction stays on the record with its set aside status shown, and the RAP sheet lists set asides among the dispositions it reports.

Reading a Nebraska RAP sheet

A public Nebraska report is an arrest record with the law's redactions applied: fingerprinted Nebraska arrests and their outcomes, minus the uncharged, diverted and dismissed arrests the statute removes on its own clock, minus every juvenile matter and everything from other states. A clean report can mean no record, no fingerprints or an arrest the agency never forwarded. The complete history is the subject's to release by notarized consent, and a national record exists only for the purposes a law names.

Questions about background checks in Nebraska

Can I get a Nebraska criminal history on anyone?
Yes. The State Patrol says adult arrest records are public and available to anyone who demonstrates an interest by paying the $45.00 fee; the public view is redacted under statute 29-3523 and juvenile arrests are never released.
How much is a Nebraska background check and how do I pay?
$45.00 per person, non refundable: by credit or debit card online, or by cashier's check, personal check or money order payable to the Nebraska State Patrol by mail or at a troop office; the form also lists cash.
How long does it take?
Up to three business days by statute, from the day a complete request arrives. Online, a No Record answer is immediate and a researched request comes back within three business days by fax or mail.
What is removed from the public version of a Nebraska record?
Arrests with no charges filed after one year, arrests ended by completed diversion after two years, and charges dismissed by the court or acquitted immediately. The subject's notarized release restores them in a complete criminal history.
Can a private employer get a fingerprint based national check in Nebraska?
Only when a state or federal law requires it; the Patrol keeps the list of authorized reasons. Otherwise the name based Nebraska report is the available product.
Can I expunge a Nebraska arrest or conviction?
Only an arrest caused by law enforcement error, by district court petition in the county of arrest. A conviction can be set aside by the court after the sentence is completed, and it then shows on the record with its set aside status.

Related Nebraska records

The State Patrol RAP sheet is one of the Nebraska records this site covers: the Nebraska court records guide explains the judicial branch's own case files behind each disposition, the arrest records guide covers what a booking makes public, the sex offender registry guide covers the Patrol's registry, and the Nebraska county pages list each sheriff and clerk of the district court.