§ 25-1281.Official records; photographic copies; admissibility; destruction of original records.
Article 12: Evidence and Witnesses · Last amended 1969 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section authorizes officials who keep public records to use photographic processes to reproduce and certify documents, but only after demonstrating to the State Records Administrator that the process produces an accurate, permanent record, and it allows destruction of the originals once that approval is given.
Full Text of § 25-1281
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In all cases in which any instrument or document is required by law to be copied or recorded in any public record in any public office within the State of Nebraska, the officials having charge of the making of such records may employ the use of photographic processes for the reproduction of such instrument or document. This shall be done for the public records and shall be a true copy of the original instrument or document to be so recorded, and may likewise use any such photographic process for the making of certified copies of such public records;
Provided, no such photographic processes shall be used for the making of permanent records until it shall have been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the officials having charge of such records and the State Records Administrator, that the processes to be used will produce an accurate and permanent record of the instrument or document to be recorded. Any such existing records when reproduced by such photographic processes may be destroyed by the official having charge of the same when approval is given by the State Records Administrator.
Source
Laws 1911, c. 103, § 1, p. 369; R.S.1913, § 7974; C.S.1922, § 8915; C.S.1929, § 20-1281; R.S.1943, § 25-1281; Laws 1957, c. 87, § 1, p. 336; Laws 1969, c. 105, § 5, p. 481.
Plain-English Summary
Filing cabinets fill up, and paper deteriorates. Section 25-1281 gives officials who maintain public records in Nebraska a way to shrink the problem. They may use photographic processes to reproduce instruments and documents that the law requires to be copied or recorded in a public office. The reproduction counts as a true copy of the original, and the same photographic process can also make certified copies of the public record for anyone who needs one.
That authority comes with a safeguard. No photographic process can be used to create permanent records until it has been demonstrated, to the satisfaction of both the officials in charge of the records and the State Records Administrator, that the process will produce an accurate and permanent version of the document. Only after that demonstration and the State Records Administrator’s approval may the official destroy the existing records that have been reproduced this way.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does this section let record-keeping officials do?
Use photographic processes to reproduce public documents and to make certified copies of public records.
Who has to approve a photographic process before it is used for permanent records?
Both the officials having charge of the records and the State Records Administrator.
What has to be shown before that approval?
That the process will produce an accurate and permanent record of the instrument or document.
Can the original paper documents be destroyed after they are photographed?
Yes, once the State Records Administrator gives approval.
Does a certified photographic copy count the same as a copy of the original?
Yes, the section treats it as a true copy of the original instrument or document.
Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the
Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:photographic copies of public records nebraskamicrofilm public records lawdestruction of original public recordsstate records administrator approvaladmissibility of photographic record copy