The Nebraska Divorce Kit
See a different stateNebraska
Nebraska calls it “dissolution of marriage,” not divorce — and it hands you the forms for free. What it doesn’t hand you is the order, the year-long residency rule almost nobody expects, the 60-day clock that starts on a different day than you think, or anyone to tell you which forms are actually yours. That’s this.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every date in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
1 · The two routes, and what the rule requires
Nebraska publishes one statewide set of “simple divorce” forms, and its own instructions are explicit about the cases they are and are not built for. The forms themselves fork on a different fact: whether there are children under 19. Both forks, and both rules, are set out below.
Residency comes first. Neb. Rev. Stat. §42-349 requires one spouse to have had actual residence in Nebraska, with intent to make it a permanent home, for at least one full year before filing. There is one narrow exception: where the marriage took place in Nebraska and the spouses have lived here continuously since the wedding, the case can be filed even if it has been less than a year.
Nebraska is a pure no-fault state. The only ground is that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” Nobody has to prove anyone did anything wrong.
What the statewide simple-divorce forms are built for. Nebraska’s own instructions say to use them only where all of the following are true: neither spouse owns real estate, an ongoing business, or a pension or retirement plan with a current or past employer; neither spouse is asking for alimony; and property and debts — and, where there are children, custody, physical care and parenting time — are already agreed. Where any of that is not true, the instructions say plainly not to use the simple-divorce forms, because mistakes with property, pensions or alimony can be difficult or impossible to fix later. Filing without a lawyer is still possible: the base forms below (Complaint, Vital Statistics, confidential filings) are the same ones everyone uses, but the property and alimony language has to be added, and a Marital or Property Settlement Agreement is not a standard statewide form — it is drafted case by case.
How the other spouse is notified. A Voluntary Appearance (DC 6:4.3) is the fastest, cheapest route and skips the sheriff entirely. Where a spouse will cooperate but still needs formal service, a sheriff’s Praecipe for Summons (DC 6:4.4) is the right tool; it costs a small fee. Where a case may be contested, sheriff service is the standard route, and the responding spouse has a 30-day window to respond. Where a spouse cannot be found, Service by Publication is Nebraska’s tool — but the court’s power to award anything beyond the divorce itself is limited when it is used, and the decree comes from a different form.
You may e-file, but you do not have to Your choice
- Portal
- Nebraska Judicial Branch eFiling
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- No portal fee published.
- Account
- Yes, and it costs money. Under § 2-216 a non-attorney user must register with the court-authorized service provider and pay a registration fee that is not waivable. A self-represented filer with an approved poverty affidavit is not eligible to register and files on paper instead. The dollar amount of the registration fee is not stated in the rule text.
- With a fee waiver
- No — as to the registration fee. § 2-216 states the non-attorney registration fee must be paid and cannot be waived, and that persons proceeding in forma pauperis are excluded from the optional non-attorney e-filing option entirely.
- Worth knowing
- Nebraska is the clearest example of a state where the fee-waiver filer is affirmatively pushed back to paper: the rule bars in forma pauperis filers from the optional non-attorney e-filing track. A self-represented divorce filer who is paying the filing fee may register and e-file; one who cannot afford it files at the clerk's counter.
No Children
The DC 6:4-series packet. Nebraska’s statewide forms are titled “— No Children,” and the complaint, answer, decree and hearing instructions all differ from the with-children versions.
Available only where all of these are true:
- There are no children born to, adopted by, or expected by either spouse during the marriage who are under 19.
The decree form depends on how the other spouse was notified: DC 6:4.6 in the ordinary case, DC 6:6.6 where service was by publication.
With Children
The DC 6:5-series packet. It adds the Financial Affidavit for Child Support, a Parenting Plan, and the Certificate of Completion of the Parenting Education Course.
This is the route wherever any of these is true:
- There are children born to either spouse during the marriage who are under 19.
- There are children adopted by either spouse during the marriage who are under 19.
- A child is expected by either spouse during the marriage.
The decree form depends on how the other spouse was notified: DC 6:5.3 in the ordinary case, DC 6:6.7 where service was by publication. DC 6:5.37 is the Parenting Plan for joint legal and joint physical custody; DC 6:5.38 and DC 6:5.39 cover different arrangements.
2 · Every form Nebraska publishes for a divorce
The complete list for both routes, not a shortlist — because which forms a case needs depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Each row says which route it belongs to. Every one is free from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, and these are the same statewide DC-series forms the courts themselves publish.
| Form | What it is | Route | |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC 6:4.1 | Complaint for Dissolution of Marriage — No Children | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:4.1a | Instructions for Completing the Complaint — No Children | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.1 | Complaint for Dissolution of Marriage — With Children | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.1a | Instructions for Completing the Complaint — With Children | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.11 | Confidential Employment and Health Insurance Information | All | Download |
| DC 6:5.11a | Instructions for Completing DC 6:5.11 | All | Download |
| DC 6:5.12 | Social Security, Gender, Birth Date(s) | All | Download |
| DC 6:5.12a | Instructions for Completing DC 6:5.12 | All | Download |
| DC 6:5.2 | Financial Affidavit for Child Support | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.2a | Instructions for Completing the Financial Affidavit | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.37 | Parenting Plan — Joint Legal & Joint Physical Custody (or 6:5.38 / 6:5.39 if the arrangement is different) | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.37a | Instructions for Completing the Parenting Plan | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.5 | Certificate of Completion of Parenting Education Course | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.5a | Instructions for Completing the Certificate | With Children | Download |
| PAinfo | Parenting Act Information Brochure | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:4.3 | Voluntary Appearance — where the responding spouse signs one instead of being served | All | Download |
| DC 6:4.3a | Instructions for the Voluntary Appearance | All | Download |
| DC 6:4.4 | Praecipe for Summons — where the responding spouse is formally served | All | Download |
| DC 6:4.4A | Instructions for the Praecipe for Summons | All | Download |
| DC 9:1 | Answer and Counterclaim for Dissolution — No Children (the responding spouse files this, if they choose to) | No Children | Download |
| DC 9:1a | Instructions for the Answer and Counterclaim — No Children | No Children | Download |
| DC 10:1 | Answer and Counterclaim for Dissolution — With Children (the responding spouse files this, if they choose to) | With Children | Download |
| DC 10:1a | Instructions for the Answer and Counterclaim — With Children | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:4.5 | Notice of Hearing | All | Download |
| DC 6:4.5a | Instructions for the Notice of Hearing | All | Download |
| DC 6:4.6 | Decree of Dissolution of Marriage — No Children | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:4.6a | Instructions for Completing the Decree — No Children | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:4 | Instructions for Your Divorce Hearing — No Children | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:6.6 | Decree of Dissolution — No Children, Service by Publication | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:6.6a | Instructions for the Decree — No Children, Publication | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:6A | Instructions for Your Divorce Hearing — No Children, Publication | No Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.3 | Decree of Dissolution of Marriage — With Children | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5.3a | Instructions for Completing the Decree — With Children | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:5 | Instructions for Your Divorce Hearing — With Children | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:6.7 | Decree of Dissolution — With Children, Service by Publication | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:6.7a | Instructions for the Decree — With Children, Publication | With Children | Download |
| DC 6:6B | Instructions for Your Divorce Hearing — With Children, Publication | With Children | Download |
| HHS-73 | Vital Statistics Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage (Dept. of Health & Human Services) | All | Download |
| DC 6:4.20.G1 | Request to Proceed Without Payment of Court Fees, where needed | All | Download |
Every one of these is free. Full catalog if your county needs something else: nebraskajudicial.gov/forms.
3 · Getting the forms and filling them in
Nobody explains this part, so here it is. Every Nebraska form is free, self-representation (Nebraska’s self-help pages call it proceeding “pro se”) is common, and the district court clerk cannot help you fill anything in — they can only tell you procedure.
Step one — download them free
All Nebraska statewide divorce self-help forms live here, at no cost:
nebraskajudicial.gov — Simple Divorce, No Children
nebraskajudicial.gov — Simple Divorce, With Children
Nebraska’s own instructions are explicit: these forms are for cases with no real estate, no ongoing business, no pension or retirement account, and no alimony request. Use them on a case that has any of those and a clerk can still take your filing — but you’re on your own drafting the extra language a lawyer would normally add.
Step two — fill them in on screen
Several of the current DC-series forms are fillable PDFs — open them in Adobe Acrobat Reader (free), Preview on a Mac, or your browser, type directly into the fields, and print. Type everything; write “N/A” where something doesn’t apply rather than leaving a field blank. A Spanish-language worksheet is available for both the no-children and with-children tracks if that’s useful for gathering your information first.
Legal Aid of Nebraska publishes a free automated question-and-answer tool that walks you through the same forms — search “Legal Aid of Nebraska Family Law Self-Help Forms.” It doesn’t replace this kit’s deadline math or rejection checklist, but it’s a legitimate free alternative for filling the forms out.
Step three — the Confidential and Vital Statistics paperwork
Two things trip people up here because they aren’t obviously “court forms.” Nebraska law requires a fully completed Vital Statistics Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage filed alongside your Complaint — if you can’t find a piece of the requested information, Nebraska law lets you write “unknown,” but you have to actually try to locate it first. Separately, you must hand the clerk a Confidential Employment and Health Insurance Information form (DC 6:5.11) and a Social Security, Gender, Birth Date(s) form (DC 6:5.12) at the same time you file — these stay out of the public case file.
Unlike some states, Nebraska’s Complaint, Answer, and Voluntary Appearance don’t require notarization to file — you sign them yourself. Where Nebraska does require a sworn statement, the form’s own signature block says so; don’t add a notary step nobody asked for and don’t skip one the form does require.
Step four — file them, and understand the two clocks
You file the Complaint for Dissolution with the clerk of the district court in the county where you or your spouse lives, along with the Vital Statistics Certificate, the two confidential forms, and the filing fee (or a fee waiver request). The clerk opens a case number — write it on every document you file after that.
You have six months from filing to serve your spouse or get a signed Voluntary Appearance on file, or the case is automatically dismissed. Separately, you cannot even ask for a hearing until 60 days after your spouse was served — not 60 days from when you filed. File on day one, serve on day 150, and your earliest possible hearing just moved to roughly day 210. See Section 4.
Step five — notifying your spouse
Nebraska gives you three ways, and the self-help site’s own advice is to try them in this order:
| Method | How it works |
|---|---|
| Voluntary Appearance | Your spouse signs Form DC 6:4.3 agreeing they’ve received the Complaint. No sheriff, no fee. Their 30-day answer window and your 60-day wait both start the day it’s filed. |
| Praecipe for Summons | The clerk issues a Summons and the county sheriff personally serves your spouse. Call the sheriff’s office in advance to find out their fee and bring a money order — the amount varies by county. |
| Service by Publication | Used only when you genuinely don’t know where your spouse is. A notice runs in a newspaper; the court can grant the divorce but generally can’t award much beyond that. |
4 · Your deadlines, calculated
Almost every Nebraska deadline runs off one of two dates: the day you filed, and the day your spouse was served (or signed a Voluntary Appearance). Put them in and we’ll turn every rule into an actual date — then add the whole thing to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · The rejection-and-delay-proofing checklist
This is the part that’s genuinely worth paying for. These are the specific things that get Nebraska filings bounced, dismissed, or pushed back weeks — and they’re not obvious from the forms themselves.
Nebraska’s trap: the one-year residency rule
Plenty of states let you file after 60 or 90 days. Nebraska requires that one of you have actual residence in the state with a bona fide intention of making it your permanent home for at least one full year before filing (§42-349) — and there is essentially no way to shortcut it. The only exception: if you were married in Nebraska and have lived here continuously since the wedding, you can file even if it’s been less than a year. Everyone else waits out the full twelve months, no matter how ready the rest of the case is.
Signing and serving
Forms people forget
Timing
The six-month deadline to serve runs from the day you filed. The 60-day waiting period before you can even ask for a hearing runs from the day your spouse was served (or signed a Voluntary Appearance) — a completely different date. Nebraska case law treats the 60-day rule as jurisdictional: a decree based on a hearing held even one day before the 60 days run can be void, not just voidable.
7 · If you have children — the Financial Affidavit for Child Support
Filed with the court, not just exchanged. DC 6:5.2 feeds directly into the child support calculation attached to your Decree.
Nebraska’s Child Support Guidelines (Neb. Ct. R. §4-201 et seq.) run off both parents’ gross monthly income and how parenting time is actually split — joint physical custody changes the math. If your arrangement is close to a 50/50 split, don’t estimate; run the numbers through the guidelines worksheet before you file, since the court checks the calculation against the affidavit.
8 · What this costs
Nebraska’s filing fee is set by statewide statute, not by county — so unlike some states, it’s the same total everywhere. What varies by county is sheriff service, and (illustratively, below) private attorney rates.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Dissolution filing fee (statewide fee schedule — docket, retirement, automation and related statutory fees combined) | $200 |
| Sheriff service of process — Lancaster County, in Lincoln | $25 |
| Sheriff service of process — Lancaster County, outside Lincoln | $50 |
| Sheriff service of process — Douglas & Sarpy Counties | confirm with sheriff |
| Parenting education class, per parent (if minor children) — provider-set, not state-set | ~$40–$100 |
| Service by publication, if your spouse can’t be located | confirm with clerk |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested, no children | ~$225–$300 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, uncontested, with children | ~$300–$500 |
File Form DC 6:4.20.G1, Request to Proceed Without Payment of Court Fees (“in forma pauperis”). Nebraska doesn’t publish a fixed income cutoff the way some states do — the judge decides case-by-case whether you have the money to pay, and can deny the request if the case looks frivolous. Ask the clerk for the form when you file.
Attorney costs by county Illustrative demo data
The figures below are placeholder, illustrative numbers for this prototype — not real member-reported data. When The Cusp launches in Nebraska, this table populates with actual costs members in each county report paying.
| County | Uncontested, attorney-assisted | Contested |
|---|---|---|
| Douglas (Omaha) | $2,500–$6,000 | $8,000+ |
| Lancaster (Lincoln) | $2,000–$5,000 | $7,000+ |
| Sarpy | $2,200–$5,500 | $7,500+ |
What this is. A guide to Nebraska’s own process, built from the Nebraska Revised Statutes Chapter 42, §§42-347 through 42-381 (including §42-349 on residency, §42-361 on irretrievable breakdown, and §42-363 on the 60-day waiting period), Neb. Rev. Stat. §25-217, the Nebraska Supreme Court’s statewide filing fee schedule, and the official statewide self-represented-litigant forms and instructions published by the Nebraska Judicial Branch at nebraskajudicial.gov. The forms themselves are free and this kit links you to them rather than reselling them.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Nebraska requires of each path. Nebraska’s own self-help forms are explicitly not designed for cases involving real estate, a business, a pension or retirement account, or alimony; if your case involves any of those, contested custody, hidden assets, or domestic violence, talk to an attorney. Court clerks are not permitted to give legal advice, even about which form applies to you.
Confirm current numbers with the clerk. Filing fees, sheriff service costs, and parenting-class pricing are set or adjusted outside statute and can change by county or by provider. Where this kit could not verify an exact figure with an official source, it says so and points you to the clerk’s office or provider rather than guessing.
Need a vetted attorney, mediator, or financial analyst in Nebraska?
Browse The Cusp’s professional directory — rated only by verified clients, never ranked by who paid the most.
Browse the directory →The Cusp · All 50 state kits · Find a professional · About
Ask for an introduction to an agent → — who we would introduce you to, what the referral fee is and who pays it, and why the answer is sometimes that you should not sell at all.
The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.