Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 23-193 and 25-2703, the State Court Administrator established the following guidelines to prescribe the form that city, village, or county ordinances shall be filed in the county courts:
§ 6-1457.City, village, or county ordinance guidelines.
Article 14: Uniform County Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Last amended January 1, 2022 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule sets the format for filing city, village, and county ordinances with the county court — certified code books and pamphlets up front, certified updates as they pass — and confirms that an ordinance left out of an appeal record is presumed valid rather than ignored.
Full Text of § 6-1457
(A) Initial Filing of City, Village, or County Ordinances. City, village, or county ordinances shall be compiled in a PDF format, if available. For code books or pamphlets which have been adopted in their entirety by an adopting ordinance, such books or pamphlets shall be accompanied by a copy of the adopting ordinance with a certificate of the municipal or county clerk, under the seal of the municipality or county, certifying that such ordinance was passed and approved as required by law. For code books or pamphlets containing a compilation of ordinances passed by the municipality or county, such books or pamphlets shall be accompanied with a certificate of the municipal or county clerk, under the seal of the municipality or county, certifying that such ordinances were passed and approved as required by law. Each code book or pamphlet shall contain a date of publication and purport that it is being published by the authority of the city council, or village board of trustees, or county board. Each code book or pamphlet shall contain an index.
(B) Filing of New or Amended Ordinances. Copies of new or amended ordinances shall be filed in the county court in electronic form, if available. For municipalities or counties filing new or amended ordinances in ordinance form, such ordinances shall be accompanied with a certificate of the municipal or county clerk, under the seal of the municipality or county, certifying the date that such ordinances were passed and approved. For municipalities or counties filing new pages for insertion in their municipal codes, such pages shall be accompanied with a certificate of the municipal or county clerk, under the seal of the municipality or county, listing the ordinance numbers which effectuated the changes therein and certifying the dates that such ordinances were passed and approved. The county court shall affix all new or amended ordinances to the filed version of the respective city or village ordinances.
(C) Need for Record. The foregoing provisions do not in any way modify the rule of appellate practice that when an ordinance charging an offense is not properly made a part of the record on appeal, an appellate court presumes the existence of a valid ordinance creating the offense charged, and will not otherwise take judicial notice of an ordinance.
Amendment History
Rule 57 adopted May 1994. Renumbered and codified as § 6-1457, effective July 18, 2008; § 6-1457 amended June 9, 2021, effective January 1, 2022.
Plain-English Summary
County courts prosecute violations of local ordinances alongside state law, so a judge needs a reliable copy of whatever ordinance a case turns on. This rule tells cities, villages, and counties how to get their ordinances on file. A code book or pamphlet compiled for initial filing comes in PDF form when available, carries a municipal or county clerk’s certificate under seal confirming it was passed and approved as law requires, and includes a publication date and an index so a judge can find the provision in question.
Updates work the same way. A new or amended ordinance, or new pages meant for insertion into an existing code, gets filed electronically along with a clerk’s certificate identifying the ordinance numbers involved and the dates they were passed and approved. The county court then attaches the update to the version already on file, so the court’s copy stays current instead of scattering amendments across separate documents.
The rule closes with a practical safety net for appeals. None of this changes the long-standing rule that if an ordinance charging an offense never makes it into the appellate record, the appellate court presumes a valid ordinance exists rather than dismissing the case outright — but it also will not go looking for the ordinance on its own. Getting the certified ordinance into the trial record is still the only way to put its exact terms before a reviewing court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do county courts need certified copies of city and county ordinances on file?
Because county courts prosecute ordinance violations, and a judge needs a dependable, certified copy of the ordinance in force to rule on the charge, rather than relying on an uncertified printout.
What has to accompany a code book or pamphlet of ordinances when it is first filed?
A certificate from the municipal or county clerk, under seal, confirming the ordinances were passed and approved as required by law, plus a publication date and an index within the book or pamphlet itself.
What happens when a city or county amends an ordinance after the initial filing?
The new or amended ordinance, or replacement pages, is filed electronically with a clerk’s certificate identifying the ordinance numbers and the dates passed and approved, and the county court attaches it to the version already on file.
What if an ordinance charging an offense never makes it into the record on appeal?
The rule preserves the existing appellate practice: the appellate court presumes a valid ordinance creating the charged offense exists, but will not independently take judicial notice of an ordinance that was left out of the record.
Does this rule let an appellate court research the ordinance on its own if it is missing from the record?
No. The rule specifically states it does not change the presumption-of-validity practice, and the appellate court still will not take judicial notice of an ordinance that was not made part of the appeal record.
Who certifies that a filed ordinance was properly passed?
The municipal or county clerk, using the seal of the municipality or county, certifies the passage and approval of the ordinance or code being filed.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Nebraska. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: filing city ordinances county courtmunicipal ordinance certification nebraskaordinance missing from appeal recordcounty court ordinance filing guidelinescertified code book requirementsproving ordinance validity on appeal