The orders to judgment debtors and witnesses provided for in sections 25-1564 to 25-1580 shall be signed and filed by the judge making the same and shall be served in the same manner as a summons in other cases. The judge shall sign all such orders. Such orders shall be filed with the clerk of the court of the county in which the judgment is rendered or the transcript of the judgment filed, and the clerk shall enter on the record the date and time of filing the same.
§ 25-1578.Discovery of property of debtor; orders to judgment debtors and witnesses; service; filing; record.
Article 15: Execution, Exemptions, and Foreign Judgments · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceSection 25-1578 requires the judge to sign every order directed at a judgment debtor or witness under sections 25-1564 to 25-1580, have that order served the same way as a summons, and file it with the clerk of the court where the judgment or its transcript is recorded.
Full Text of § 25-1578
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 547, p. 489; R.S.1913, § 8126; C.S.1922, § 9062; C.S.1929, § 20-1580; R.S.1943, § 25-1578; Laws 2018, LB193, § 28.
Plain-English Summary
Orders compelling a debtor or witness to appear carry weight only if they are issued and delivered the right way. Section 25-1578 requires the judge to sign every such order in the debtor-discovery process and have it served on the person named the same way a summons is served in other civil cases. That borrowed service standard gives the debtor or witness the same kind of formal notice used to start a lawsuit.
The order then has to be filed with the clerk of the court in the county where the judgment was rendered or where a transcript of the judgment has been filed, and the clerk must record the date and time of that filing. The 2018 update to this section, part of a broader Legislature-wide push to modernize how courts handle filings, refined that recordkeeping language without changing the underlying signature and service requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has to sign the order requiring a debtor or witness to appear?
The judge. Section 25-1578 requires the judge to sign all such orders, even when a referee is conducting the examination itself.
How is the order served on the debtor or witness?
The same way a summons is served in other civil cases.
Where does the order get filed?
With the clerk of the court in the county where the judgment was rendered, or where a transcript of the judgment has been filed.
Why does the clerk record the exact date and time of filing?
It creates a reliable record for computing deadlines and confirming when notice of the order became effective.
What changed in the 2018 amendment to this section?
LB193 updated the filing and recordkeeping language as part of a broader modernization of Nebraska’s court-filing statutes, without altering the core signature and service requirements.
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: serving debtor examination order nebraskajudge signs order to judgment debtorfiling order with court clerk nebraskaservice of order like summons