The following rule shall apply to all district courts in the State of Nebraska pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25- 2209.
§ 6-1523.District court records maintenance rule.
Article 15: Uniform District Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule tells every Nebraska district court clerk exactly which records to keep — the register of actions, trial docket, judge’s docket notes, financial record, general index, judgment index, and case file — and requires them to be maintained on the state’s JUSTICE case management system.
Full Text of § 6-1523
(A) Each clerk of the district court shall maintain the following records on the court's electronic case managment system:
(1) Register of actions
(2) Trial docket
(3) Judge's docket notes
(4) Financial record
(5) General index
(6) Judgment index
(7) Case file Unless otherwise specified herein, all records listed above shall be maintained on the State of Nebraska's electronic case management system known as JUSTICE (Judicial Users System to Improve Court Efficiency).
(B) Register of actions. The register of actions means the offical court record and is a summary of the case and is kept chronologically as cases are filed. The register of actions shall provide the following information:
(1) case identification number, which captures the case type, year of initial filing, and sequential number of the case,
(2) case caption,
(3) case subtype,
(4) name of judge,
(5) filing dates of the complaint, petition, or other initial filings, and all subsequent filings,
(6) date of issuance of, return date of, and the return of summons, and
(7) other information pursuant to JUSTICE procedures.
(C) Trial docket.
The trial docket is a listing of cases at issue in the order they were made up and should serve as the order in which the cases are called for trial as provided by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-2211.
The trial docket shall be maintained in electronic format in JUSTICE's Case Scheduler or in an alternative manual or electronic calendaring system. Information on status and progression are provided in the Supreme Court Progression Standards report.
(D) Judge's docket notes.
Judge's docket notes means the notations of the judge detailing the actions in a court proceeding and the entering of orders and judgments.
Judge's docket notes shall be maintained electronically and viewed using JUSTICE procedures.
(E) Financial record.
The financial record means the financial accounting of the court and includes records of all money receipted and disbursed by the court and the receipts and disbursements of all money held as an investment.
The financial record shall be maintained in electronic format in JUSTICE's Receipt/Disbursement History and Costs Worksheet.
(F) General index.
The general index is an alphabetical listing of names of the parties to the suit, both direct and inverse, with the case identification number where all proceedings in such action may be found.
The general index shall be maintained in electronic format in JUSTICE's General Index.
(G) Judgment index.
The judgment index shall contain:
(1) the names of the judgment debtor and judgment creditor, arranged alphabetically,
(2) the case identification number where judgment may be found.
All judgments entered in the district court and any transcripts of judgments from county courts filed in the district court shall be entered upon the judgment index. Whenever any judgment is paid and satisfaction of judgment is filed, the clerk shall enter such fact upon the judgment index.
The judgment index shall be maintained in electronic format in JUSTICE's Judgment Index and Judgment Inquiry.
(H) Case file.
Each district court shall maintain a case file which is numbered with an electronically generated case number. Each case shall be accessible alphabetically through the General Index in JUSTICE. The case file shall contain the complaint or petition, all subsequent pleadings, motions, orders, judgments, verdicts, and other documents filed in the case.
The case file shall be maintained either in a paper volume, on microfilm, or for documents filed or maintained electronically, as electronic images accessed through JUSTICE Register of Actions.
Rules 22 - 32 (exclusive of Rule 21) adopted October 15, 1992; amended June 4, 2008, effective June 18, 2008. Renumbered and codified as §§ 6-1522 - 6-1532, effective July 18, 2008; amended and incorporated into § 6- 1523 December 23, 2008; § 6-1523 amended June 9, 2021, effective January 1, 2022.
Plain-English Summary
Behind every case sits a set of official records the clerk has to maintain, and Section 6-1523 spells out what those records are and how they get kept. Each district court clerk maintains seven categories: a register of actions, a trial docket, the judge’s docket notes, a financial record, a general index, a judgment index, and the case file itself. Unless the rule says otherwise for a particular record, all of them live on JUSTICE, Nebraska’s statewide electronic case management system.
The rule then defines each record in turn. The register of actions is the chronological summary of a case — its identification number, caption, subtype, assigned judge, filing dates, and summons information. The trial docket lists cases at issue in the order they will be called for trial. The judge’s docket notes capture the judge’s own notations of what happened in a proceeding and the orders entered. The financial record tracks money the court receipts and disburses, including anything held as an investment. The general index is an alphabetical listing of party names, direct and inverse, tied to case numbers. The judgment index lists judgment debtors and creditors alphabetically, along with where the judgment can be found, and gets updated when a judgment is satisfied. The case file itself holds the complaint or petition and every subsequent pleading, motion, order, judgment, and other document filed in the case, whether kept as paper, on microfilm, or as electronic images.
Taken together, the rule is less about any single record and more about consistency: every district court in Nebraska keeps the same categories of records, in the same electronic system, so a case can be tracked and its history reconstructed the same way no matter which county it was filed in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What records is a district court clerk required to maintain under this rule?
A register of actions, a trial docket, judge’s docket notes, a financial record, a general index, a judgment index, and the case file.
What system are these records kept on?
Unless otherwise specified, all of them are maintained on JUSTICE, Nebraska’s statewide electronic case management system.
What information does the register of actions contain?
The case identification number, case caption and subtype, the assigned judge, filing dates for the complaint and subsequent filings, and information about the issuance and return of summons.
What is the difference between the general index and the judgment index?
The general index alphabetically lists the names of parties to a suit with the case number where the proceedings can be found. The judgment index specifically lists judgment debtors and creditors and where each judgment may be found, and it gets updated when a judgment is paid and satisfied.
Does the case file have to be kept electronically?
It can be maintained in a paper volume, on microfilm, or as electronic images accessible through JUSTICE, depending on how documents were filed or are maintained.
Source & verification. Section text is
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Nebraska. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: district court records requirements nebraskaJUSTICE case management system recordsregister of actions definitionjudgment index nebraskatrial docket maintenance rule