Article 5: Commencement of Actions and Service of Process · Last amended 2011 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis section explains how to serve an individual defendant, including special rules for children under fourteen and for people with a guardian or conservator or who are confined in an institution.
Full Text of § 25-508.01
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(1) An individual party, other than a person under the age of fourteen years, may be served by personal, residence, certified mail, or designated delivery service.
(2) A party under the age of fourteen years may be served by personal, residence, certified mail, or designated delivery service upon an adult person with whom the minor resides and who is the minor's parent or guardian or the person having care of the minor. If none of these can be found, a party under the age of fourteen years may be served by personal service.
(3) If the person to be served is an incapacitated person for whom a conservator or guardian has been appointed or is confined in any institution, notice of the service shall be given to the conservator or guardian or the superintendent or similar official of the institution. Failure to give such notice does not affect the validity of the service on the incapacitated person.
Source
Laws 1983, LB 447, § 25; Laws 2011, LB669, § 10.
Plain-English Summary
Section 25-508.01 covers the most common defendant of all: an ordinary individual. An adult individual party may be served by personal, residence, certified mail, or designated delivery service — the plaintiff’s pick among the four methods section 25-505.01 authorizes.
Children get separate treatment. A party under fourteen is served through an adult with whom the minor lives and who is the minor’s parent, guardian, or caretaker, using any of the four standard methods directed at that adult. Only if no such adult can be found does the statute allow personal service directly on the child.
People under a guardianship or conservatorship, or confined in an institution, get an added layer of protection: notice of the service also has to go to the conservator, guardian, or the institution’s superintendent or similar official. That notice requirement is a safeguard, not a precondition — failing to give it does not undo otherwise valid service on the incapacitated person.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is an adult individual served with a summons in Nebraska?
By personal, residence, certified mail, or designated delivery service — whichever method the plaintiff elects under the standard rules.
How do you serve a child under fourteen?
Through an adult the minor lives with who is the minor’s parent, guardian, or caretaker, using personal, residence, certified mail, or designated delivery service on that adult. If no such adult can be found, personal service directly on the minor is allowed.
What if the person being served has a guardian or conservator?
Notice of the service also has to be given to the conservator or guardian, in addition to serving the incapacitated person.
What about someone confined in an institution?
Notice of the service has to go to the superintendent or similar official of the institution where the person is confined.
Does service on an incapacitated person fail if the required notice is not given?
No. Failure to give notice to the conservator, guardian, or institutional official does not affect the validity of the service on the incapacitated person.
Can a fourteen-year-old be served directly like an adult?
The special child-service rule in this section applies only to a party under fourteen; once a minor turns fourteen, the section’s special routing through a parent or guardian no longer applies in the same way.
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:serving a minor nebraskahow to serve an individual defendantservice on incapacitated person nebraskaserving someone with a guardianservice on person in institutionserving a child under fourteen