§ 25-205.Actions on written contracts, on foreign judgments, or to recover collateral.
Article 2: Limitation of Actions · Last amended 1999 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section sets a five-year deadline for actions on written contracts, specialties, and foreign judgments, adds a one-year window for challenging contracts based on a Nebraska statute later declared unconstitutional, and gives an eighteen-month deadline for recovering certain transferred farm-product collateral.
Full Text of § 25-205
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(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, an action upon a specialty, or any agreement, contract, or promise in writing, or foreign judgment, can only be brought within five years. No action at law or equity may be brought or maintained attacking the validity or enforceability of or to rescind or declare void and uncollectible any written contract entered into pursuant to, in compliance with, or in reliance on, a statute of the State of Nebraska which has been or hereafter is held to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Nebraska where such holding is the basis for such action, unless such action be brought or maintained within one year from the effective date of such decision. The provisions hereof shall not operate to extend the time in which to bring any action or to revive any action now barred by reason of the operation of any previously existing limitation provision.
(2) An action to recover collateral (a) the possession and ownership of which a debtor has in any manner transferred to another person and (b) which was used as security for payment pursuant to an agreement, contract, or promise in writing which covers farm products as described in section 9-102, Uniform Commercial Code, or farm products which become inventory of a person engaged in farming, shall be brought within eighteen months from the date possession and ownership of such collateral was transferred.
Written promises get five years under Nebraska law. Section 25-205 covers actions on a specialty, or any agreement, contract, or promise in writing, along with actions on a foreign judgment — a judgment from another state or country that a party is trying to enforce in Nebraska. That five-year period is the general rule for anything reduced to writing and signed.
The section also addresses a narrower situation: a written contract entered into under a Nebraska statute that the Nebraska Supreme Court later declares unconstitutional. A suit attacking that contract’s validity or enforceability, or trying to rescind or void it, has to come within one year of the effective date of the decision striking the statute — and this provision doesn’t revive a claim that was already barred before the decision came down.
Subsection (2) sets a separate and much shorter deadline for a specific dispute: recovering collateral that a debtor has transferred to someone else, where that collateral secured a written agreement covering farm products under the Uniform Commercial Code or farm products that became inventory for someone engaged in farming. That action has to be brought within eighteen months of the date possession and ownership of the collateral changed hands.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to sue for breach of a written contract in Nebraska?
Five years, under section 25-205(1), running from when the cause of action accrues on the contract.
Does the five-year period cover promissory notes and other specialties?
Yes. The section applies to actions upon a specialty, or any agreement, contract, or promise in writing, in addition to written contracts generally.
How long do I have to enforce a judgment from another state in Nebraska?
Five years, since section 25-205(1) includes actions upon a foreign judgment within the same period as written contracts.
Is there a special deadline if the contract was authorized by a law later found unconstitutional?
Yes. A suit attacking such a contract’s validity or trying to void it has to be brought within one year of the effective date of the Nebraska Supreme Court decision holding the statute unconstitutional, and this doesn’t revive an already-barred claim.
What is the deadline for recovering farm-product collateral a debtor transferred to someone else?
Eighteen months from the date possession and ownership of the collateral was transferred, under section 25-205(2), when the collateral secured a written agreement covering farm products.
Does the oral-contract deadline in section 25-206 apply to written contracts too?
No. Section 25-206’s four-year period applies to contracts not in writing; written contracts fall under section 25-205’s five-year period instead.
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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