§ 25-2621.Act not retroactive.
Article 26: Uniform Arbitration Act · Last amended 1987 · Last verified July 22, 2026
Full Text of § 25-2621
Source
Laws 1987, LB 71, § 21.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-2621 fixes the act’s starting line. The Uniform Arbitration Act applies only to agreements made after August 30, 1987. An arbitration agreement signed before that date falls outside the act altogether, regardless of when a dispute under it later arises or when a party tries to enforce it.
This kind of non-retroactivity provision is common when a state adopts a new statutory framework: it protects parties who structured older agreements around whatever law existed before the act took effect, rather than reaching back to reshape contracts already in place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Uniform Arbitration Act apply to an arbitration clause I signed before August 30, 1987?
No. Section 25-2621 limits the act to agreements made after that date.
What governs an arbitration agreement made before August 30, 1987?
This section addresses only the act’s own reach; it does not itself supply a substitute framework for pre-1987 agreements.
Does it matter when the dispute arose, or when the agreement was made?
The date that matters under this section is when the agreement was made, not when a controversy under it later arose.
Is this an unusual kind of provision for a new statute?
No. Limiting a new act to agreements or transactions made after its effective date is a standard way state legislatures avoid disrupting arrangements parties already made under prior law.
Does this section affect agreements made after August 30, 1987, at all?
No. It only draws the line excluding older agreements; agreements made after that date are governed by the act in the ordinary way.