The clerk of each of the courts shall maintain and preserve a case file and a record of all documents delivered to him or her for that purpose in every action or special proceeding. Retention and disposition of the records shall be determined by the State Records Administrator pursuant to the Records Management Act.
§ 25-2205.Case file and record; preservation.
Article 22: Process, Court Records, and Ministerial Officers · Last amended 2018 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires the clerk of each court to maintain and preserve a case file and a record of the documents delivered for every action or special proceeding, while leaving how long those records are kept, and when they are disposed of, to the State Records Administrator under the Records Management Act.
Full Text of § 25-2205
Source
R.S.1867, Code § 884, p. 547; R.S.1913, § 8553; C.S.1922, § 9504; C.S.1929, § 20-2205; R.S.1943, § 25-2205; Laws 2018, LB193, § 36.
Cross References
Records Management Act, see section 84-1220.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-2205 states the clerk’s basic custodial duty in plain terms: maintain and preserve a case file, and a record of all documents delivered for that purpose, in every action or special proceeding. That covers the paperwork parties file and the record the clerk builds around it, for any matter that comes before the court, not just full-blown lawsuits.
The statute does not fix how long those records must last. Instead, it hands that question to the State Records Administrator, who sets retention and disposition schedules under the Records Management Act. So a case file’s eventual fate — how long it sits in the clerk’s custody before it can be disposed of — turns on the schedule that office establishes, not on a deadline written into this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a Nebraska clerk of court keep for each case?
A case file and a record of all documents delivered to the clerk for that purpose, for every action or special proceeding.
Who decides how long a court must keep its case records?
The State Records Administrator, acting under the Records Management Act, sets retention and disposition schedules.
What is the Records Management Act?
The statute cross-references it, at section 84-1220, as the source of authority for the State Records Administrator’s retention and disposition decisions.
Does this duty apply only to district courts?
Section 25-2205 speaks broadly of “the clerk of each of the courts,” and section 25-2213 extends comparable clerk duties to other courts of record.
Can a case file eventually be destroyed?
Yes, once the retention and disposition schedule set by the State Records Administrator allows it.
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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