The lands and tenements of the debtor within the county where the judgment is entered shall be bound for the satisfaction thereof only from the day on which such judgments are rendered. All other lands, as well as goods and chattels of the debtor, shall be bound from the time they shall be seized in execution. A judgment shall be considered as rendered when such judgment has been entered on the judgment index.
§ 25-1504.Lien of judgment; when attaches; lands within county where entered; other lands; chattels.
Article 15: Execution, Exemptions, and Foreign Judgments · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section fixes when a judgment becomes a lien on the debtor’s property: land in the county where judgment was entered is bound as of the entry date, while land elsewhere and personal property are bound only once seized on execution, and a judgment counts as rendered once it appears on the judgment index.
Full Text of § 25-1504
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 477, p. 473; R.S.1913, § 8045; C.S.1922, § 8986; Laws 1927, c. 59, § 1, p. 221; Laws 1929, c. 83, § 3, p. 333; C.S.1929, § 20-1504; R.S.1943, § 25-1504; Laws 2018, LB193, § 24.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-1504 answers a timing question that shapes how creditors compete for priority. Land and buildings the debtor owns within the county where the judgment was entered become bound for payment of that judgment from the very day the judgment is rendered — no additional step required. That immediate lien gives a local judgment real weight the moment it exists.
Property outside that county works differently. Land the debtor owns in other counties, and all of the debtor’s goods and chattels wherever located, become bound only from the time they are seized in execution. Until the sheriff levies on them, they are not yet subject to the judgment lien created by this section.
The section closes with a clarifying rule: a judgment is considered rendered once it has been entered on the judgment index. That fixes the exact moment the county-wide real estate lien attaches, and it matters for related questions elsewhere in this article, including how long a judgment stays alive as a lien before it goes dormant.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a judgment become a lien on the debtor’s land in the same county?
Immediately from the day the judgment is rendered — no separate levy or filing is needed for land within the county where the judgment was entered.
What about land the debtor owns in a different county?
That land is not bound automatically. It becomes bound only from the time it is seized in execution, unless a transcript procedure like the one in Section 25-1501.01 applies.
Does a judgment automatically attach to a debtor’s personal property?
No. Goods and chattels become bound only from the time they are seized on execution, the same rule that applies to out-of-county land.
When is a judgment considered “rendered” for purposes of this lien?
When it has been entered on the judgment index. That entry date is what starts the lien running on in-county real estate.
Why does the exact rendition date matter?
It fixes the priority of the judgment lien against other creditors and marks the starting point for counting toward dormancy under Section 25-1515.
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
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