For purposes of the Nebraska Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, foreign judgment means any judgment, decree, or order of a court of the United States or of any other court which is entitled to full faith and credit in this state.
§ 25-1587.02.Foreign judgment, defined.
Article 15: Execution, Exemptions, and Foreign Judgments · Last amended 1993 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceSection 25-1587.02 defines a “foreign judgment” for purposes of the Nebraska Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act as any judgment, decree, or order of a United States court or other court entitled to full faith and credit in Nebraska, a definition that reaches sister-state and federal judgments but not judgments from other countries.
Full Text of § 25-1587.02
Source
Laws 1993, LB 458, § 2.
Plain-English Summary
The entire Act built around sections 25-1587.01 through 25-1587.09 depends on one term, and section 25-1587.02 supplies its definition. A "foreign judgment" means any judgment, decree, or order of a court of the United States, or of any other court, that is entitled to full faith and credit in Nebraska.
The Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution requires Nebraska to give the same effect to a properly rendered judgment from a federal court or another state’s court that it would give a judgment of its own. That constitutional obligation is what this definition draws on. A judgment entered by a court in another country does not carry that same automatic entitlement, so it falls outside this definition and outside this Act; Nebraska handles those judgments under the separate Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a "foreign judgment" under this Act?
Any judgment, decree, or order of a court of the United States, or of any other court, entitled to full faith and credit in Nebraska.
Does this definition include judgments from other countries?
No. Judgments from foreign nations are not entitled to full faith and credit in the same constitutional sense and are instead handled under the separate Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act.
Are federal court judgments covered?
Yes. The definition includes judgments, decrees, or orders of a court of the United States.
Are judgments from other states covered?
Yes. Any state court judgment entitled to full faith and credit in Nebraska qualifies as a foreign judgment under this Act.
Why does full faith and credit matter to this definition?
It is the constitutional principle that lets Nebraska treat a properly entered sister-state or federal judgment as equivalent to one of its own courts, once filed under the Act’s procedures.
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: definition of foreign judgment nebraskasister state judgment definition nebraskafull faith and credit judgment nebraskadifference between foreign judgment and foreign country judgment