It shall be the duty of every sheriff to serve and execute all warrants, writs, precepts, executions, and other legal process to him or her directed and delivered.
§ 25-2233.Sheriff; service of process.
Article 22: Process, Court Records, and Ministerial Officers · Last amended 1992 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceImposes a plain duty on every Nebraska sheriff to serve and execute every warrant, writ, execution, and other legal process directed and delivered to the office.
Full Text of § 25-2233
Source
Laws 1929, c. 82, art. XV, § 172, p. 324; C.S.1929, § 22-1502; R.S.1943, § 26-1,173; R.S.1943, (1979), § 26-1,173; Laws 1984, LB 13, § 41; R.S.1943, (1985), § 24-596; Laws 1992, LB 1059, § 17.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-2233 states the sheriff’s core job in a single sentence: serve and execute whatever legal process — warrants, writs, precepts, executions — is directed to the sheriff and delivered for service. The section builds in no discretion to pick and choose among process received; the duty attaches to all of it.
Companion sections fill in the mechanics this general duty leaves open: § 25-2234 and § 25-2235 cover how the sheriff returns process once served, and § 25-2239 addresses what happens if the sheriff neglects that duty altogether.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a Nebraska sheriff do with process delivered to the office?
Serve and execute it.
Does this duty cover only civil process?
No. It extends to warrants, writs, precepts, executions, and other legal process generally.
Can a sheriff decline to serve certain process?
The section imposes the duty on all process directed and delivered to the sheriff; it does not build in discretion to decline.
What happens if a sheriff fails to serve process properly?
Section 25-2239 imposes a penalty for failing to make return, making a false return, or failing to pay over money collected.
How does this duty differ from the return duty described elsewhere?
This section covers serving and executing process; Section 25-2234 covers making the return once that is done.
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: sheriff duty to serve process nebraskasheriff execute warrant or writmandatory service of process by sheriffsheriff legal process duty statute