§ 25-1801.Lawsuit of four thousand dollars or less; recovery; costs; interest; attorney's fees.
Article 18: Small-Amount Claims, Attorney’s Fees, and Costs Against the State · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section gives a plaintiff who sues on a claim of $4,000 or less the right to recover costs, six percent yearly interest, and a scheduled attorney’s fee, but only once the defendant has had ninety days to pay the claim and failed to do so.
Full Text of § 25-1801
Text size
(1) On any lawsuit of four thousand dollars or less, regardless of whether the claims are liquidated or assigned, the plaintiff may recover costs, interest, and attorney's fees in connection with each claim as provided in this section. If, at the expiration of ninety days after each claim accrued, the claim or claims have not been paid or satisfied, the plaintiff may file a lawsuit for payment of the claim or claims. If full payment of each claim is made to the plaintiff by or on behalf of the defendant after the filing of the lawsuit, but before judgment is taken, except as otherwise agreed in writing by the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall be entitled to receive
the costs of the lawsuit whether by voluntary payment or judgment. If the plaintiff secures a judgment thereon, the plaintiff shall be entitled to recover:
(a) The full amount of such judgment and all costs of the lawsuit thereon;
(b) Interest at the rate of six percent per annum. Such interest shall apply to the amount of the total claim beginning thirty days after the date each claim accrued, regardless of assignment, until paid in full; and
(c) If the plaintiff has an attorney retained, employed, or otherwise working in connection with the case, an amount for attorney's fees as provided in this section.
(2) If the cause is taken to an appellate court and the plaintiff recovers a judgment thereon, the appellate court shall tax as costs in the action, to be paid to the plaintiff, an additional amount for attorney's fees in such appellate court as provided in this section, except that if the plaintiff fails to recover a judgment in excess of the amount that may have been tendered by the defendant, then the plaintiff shall not recover the attorney's fees provided by this section.
(3) Attorney's fees shall be assessed by the court in a reasonable amount, but shall in no event be less than ten dollars when the judgment is fifty dollars or less, and when the judgment is over fifty dollars up to four thousand dollars, the attorney's fee shall be ten dollars plus ten percent of the judgment in excess of fifty dollars.
(4) For purposes of this section, the date that each claim accrued means the date the services, goods, materials, labor, or money were provided, or the date the charges were incurred by the debtor, unless some different time period is expressly set forth in a written agreement between the parties.
(5) This section shall apply to original creditors as well as their assignees and successors.
(6) This section does not apply to a cause of action alleging personal injury, regardless of the legal theory asserted.
Source
Laws 1919, c. 191, § 1, p. 865; C.S.1922, § 9126; C.S.1929, § 20-1801; R.S.1943, § 25-1801; Laws 1951, c. 70, § 1, p. 225; Laws 1955, c. 92, § 1, p. 269; Laws 1967, c. 150, § 1, p. 446; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 171; Laws 2009, LB35, § 13; Laws 2018, LB710, § 1.
Cross References
For interest on unsettled accounts, see section 45-104.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-1801 covers ordinary money claims — on an account, a note, a bill for goods or services — where the amount at stake is $4,000 or less. It reaches liquidated and unliquidated claims alike, and it does not matter whether the person suing is the original creditor or someone who later bought the debt. The plaintiff has to wait out the clock first: only once ninety days have passed since the claim accrued, and the debt still has not been paid or otherwise satisfied, can the plaintiff file suit and invoke this section’s cost, interest, and fee provisions.
What happens next turns on timing. If the defendant pays the claim in full after the lawsuit is filed but before judgment, the plaintiff still recovers the costs of bringing suit, unless the parties agreed in writing otherwise — a debtor does not escape those costs just by paying up once sued. If the case goes to judgment and the plaintiff wins, the plaintiff recovers the full judgment amount, all costs, six percent yearly interest running from thirty days after each claim accrued until paid, and, if a lawyer was retained, employed, or otherwise working on the case, an attorney’s fee set under the section’s own schedule.
That fee schedule is modest but automatic: at least ten dollars on any judgment of fifty dollars or less, and ten dollars plus ten percent of the amount over fifty dollars on larger judgments up to the $4,000 ceiling. If the case is appealed and the plaintiff still wins, the appellate court adds its own attorney’s fee under the same section, unless the plaintiff’s recovery does not beat what the defendant had already offered to pay. The accrual date — the date that starts both the ninety-day wait and the interest calculation — is ordinarily when the goods, services, labor, or money changed hands, or when the charge was incurred, unless a written agreement between the parties sets a different date. The section does not reach personal injury claims, however they are framed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kinds of lawsuits does section 25-1801 cover?
Money claims of $4,000 or less, whether liquidated or unliquidated and whether brought by the original creditor or an assignee. Personal injury claims are excluded no matter how they are pled.
How long must I wait before suing to use this section?
Ninety days after the claim accrued. If the debt still has not been paid or satisfied by then, the plaintiff may file suit and seek the costs, interest, and fees the section provides.
What if the defendant pays after I sue but before judgment?
The plaintiff still recovers the costs of the lawsuit, unless the plaintiff agreed in writing to give that up. Paying after being sued does not erase the costs already incurred.
How is the attorney’s fee calculated?
At least ten dollars if the judgment is fifty dollars or less. Above fifty dollars and up to $4,000, the fee is ten dollars plus ten percent of the amount over fifty dollars.
What interest rate applies, and when does it start running?
Six percent per year, beginning thirty days after each claim accrued and continuing until the claim is paid in full.
Does it matter if I bought the debt from someone else?
No. The section applies to original creditors as well as their assignees and successors.
Can I recover an attorney’s fee if the case is appealed?
Yes, if the plaintiff wins on appeal, the appellate court adds its own fee award, unless the plaintiff’s recovery does not exceed an amount the defendant already tendered.
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:nebraska small claim attorney feeslawsuit under 4000 dollars nebraskaattorney fee schedule small debt nebraska90 day wait before suing debtorinterest on unpaid claim nebraskacollecting a small debt in nebraska