If execution is not sued out within five years after the date of entry of any judgment that now is or may hereafter be rendered in any court of record in this state, or if five years have intervened between the date of the last execution issued on such judgment and the time of suing out another writ of execution thereon, such judgment, and all taxable costs in the action in which such judgment was obtained, shall become dormant and shall cease to operate as a lien on the estate of the judgment debtor.
§ 25-1515.Judgment; when dormant.
Article 15: Execution, Exemptions, and Foreign Judgments · Last amended 2000 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section makes a judgment dormant, and strips it of its status as a lien on the debtor’s estate, if five years pass without an execution being sued out — whether that is five years from entry of judgment or five years since the last execution issued.
Full Text of § 25-1515
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 482, p. 473; R.S.1913, § 8056; C.S.1922, § 8997; Laws 1927, c. 67, § 1, p. 230; C.S.1929, § 20-1515; R.S.1943; § 25-1515; Laws 2000, LB 921, § 11.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-1515 sets a use-it-or-lose-it clock on the lien value of a Nebraska judgment. If execution is not sued out within five years after the date a judgment is entered, or if five years pass between the last execution issued on that judgment and the next writ, the judgment becomes dormant. The same fate befalls all taxable costs in the action that produced the judgment.
The consequence of dormancy is specific: the judgment ceases to operate as a lien on the estate of the judgment debtor. A creditor who lets five years pass without pursuing enforcement through execution loses the priority and security that the lien provided, even though the underlying debt reflected in the judgment is a separate question from the lien’s survival.
This section rewards creditors who stay active. Regularly suing out execution — even if a given attempt does not fully satisfy the judgment — keeps the five-year clock resetting and the lien alive, rather than letting years of inactivity quietly erode the judgment’s standing against the debtor’s property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a Nebraska judgment go dormant?
Five years passing without an execution being sued out — either five years from the date of the judgment’s entry, or five years since the last execution issued on it.
What is the practical effect of a judgment becoming dormant?
It ceases to operate as a lien on the estate of the judgment debtor, along with the taxable costs in that action.
How often does a creditor need to pursue execution to avoid dormancy?
At least once every five years — either from the judgment’s entry or from the last execution issued — to keep the lien alive under this section.
Does dormancy erase the underlying debt the judgment represents?
The section describes dormancy as ending the judgment’s status as a lien on the debtor’s estate; it does not itself describe the debt as extinguished.
Does issuing an execution that fails to collect anything still count toward keeping the judgment active?
The section’s trigger is suing out execution within the five-year window, not whether that execution succeeds in collecting the debt.
How does this section relate to when a judgment lien first attaches?
Section 25-1504 fixes when the lien begins, based on the judgment’s entry on the judgment index; this section governs how long that lien can persist without enforcement activity.
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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