Lancaster County Clerk of the District Court

Role of the Clerk of the District Court

The Clerk of the District Court is the record keeper for the trial court of general jurisdiction in Lancaster County. The current clerk is Simon G. Rezac. The office serves the Third Judicial District Court, which sits on the third floor of the Justice and Law Enforcement Center at 575 South 10th Street in downtown Lincoln. The clerk keeps the court dockets, processes judgments, and maintains the case record for criminal, civil, and juvenile matters that move through the District Court.

The clerk also handles record keeping and collection of child support and other support payments. A separate automated child support phone line runs at 877-631-9973. Locally, the same office clerks the Separate Juvenile Court, so juvenile petitions and orders flow through the District Court clerk track rather than the County Court clerk. The County Court keeps its own Nebraska Judicial Branch clerk for misdemeanor, traffic, probate, and small claims files.

One point trips up a lot of people. The Clerk of the District Court is not the same office as the Lancaster County Clerk. The county clerk is a county-government fiscal and records office at a different address. The court clerk handles court case files. The county clerk handles marriage licenses, county board records, and county money matters. The two are described side by side later on this page, with a link to the Lancaster County Clerk page for the county-government side.

Office Location and Hours

The clerk's office is on the third floor of the Justice and Law Enforcement Center. Walk-in service runs Monday through Friday during normal business hours. Bring a government photo ID, the case number when you have it, and payment for any copy fees. The campus is secured, so expect X-ray and metal detector screening at the door.

Parking sits around the County-City downtown campus. There is free street parking, metered stalls on 10th Street, and two nearby garages: Carriage Park Garage at 1128 L Street and Center Park Garage at 1120 N Street. The county has noted that a construction project may shift parking, so check the live county notice before you drive in. Free public Nebraska court case search is also available at the Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln if you only need to look, not copy.

Records the Clerk Holds

The Clerk of the District Court keeps the full case file for matters that fall to the District Court and the local Separate Juvenile Court. The District Court in Nebraska is the court of general jurisdiction. It hears felonies, domestic relations and family law, paternity, equity cases, and civil suits over the higher dollar threshold. It also hears some appeals from County Court and from state agencies. Each of those tracks leaves a paper and electronic record with the clerk.

• Felony case files. The information, bond paperwork, arraignment, plea, motions, orders, sentence, and any warrant entries after a felony is bound over from County Court.
• Civil case files. The complaint, summons, return, answer, motions, briefs, orders, judgment, garnishment, lien, and satisfaction filings.
• Family and domestic relations files. Divorce, custody, paternity, child support, and modification cases. The clerk also keeps support payment records.
• Juvenile case files. Petitions, adjudications, and orders from the Separate Juvenile Court. These records are restricted by statute and do not show in a public search.
• Appeals and equity matters. Records tied to appeals from lower tribunals and to equity actions filed in the District Court.
• Judgments and dockets. The judgment record and the running docket for every open and closed District Court case.

The clerk does not keep probate, small claims, traffic, or misdemeanor files. Those sit with the Lancaster County Court. For a broader look across all three trial courts, see the Lancaster County court records page. For day-by-day hearing activity, see court dockets.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy is a court-stamped copy that proves the document is a true match to the file. Banks, title companies, employers, and other courts often ask for one. The steps below walk through a request to the Clerk of the District Court, by mail or in person. Plan ahead, since a mailed request takes longer than a walk-in pull.

1. Find the case number first. Run a name search on the Nebraska JUSTICE One-Time Court Case Search, or call the clerk at 402-441-7328 for a manual lookup of an older file.
2. Decide what you need. Note the exact document, the filing date if known, and how many certified copies you want.
3. Reach the office. Walk in to 575 South 10th Street, 3rd Floor, or mail a written request to the same address.
4. Give the case detail. Provide the case number, the party names, and the document title so staff can pull the right file.
5. Pay the fees. Cover the per-page copy fee plus the certification fee for each certified copy. A card service fee may apply.
6. Show ID. Bring a government photo ID for an in-person request, and include your return mailing address for a mailed request.
7. Collect or receive the copy. Pick up the certified copy at the counter, or wait for it to arrive by mail.

Sealed and juvenile files are different. A party, an attorney of record, or a person with a court order may be able to view a restricted file, but the clerk cannot release it to the general public. Ask the clerk for the local petition format if you need access to a sealed record.

Records Request Form Fields

The clerk does not publish a single statewide court-copy form the way the county clerk publishes a marriage form, so a District Court copy request is usually a short written note or an in-person ask. The fields below are the data the clerk needs to pull the right file and process payment. Use this as a checklist before you mail or walk in. Filling each line in advance speeds up the counter visit.

Restricted files carry an extra requirement. The clerk may ask for proof of party status, an attorney appearance, or a court order before any sealed or juvenile material is released. A plain public file does not need that step.

Fees Charged by the Clerk

Court filing fees in Nebraska are set statewide by the Nebraska Supreme Court, not by the local clerk. The current filing fees and court costs schedule took effect July 1, 2025 and lists the amount for each case type. Copy fees, certification fees, and card service charges are added on top of any filing fee. Always confirm the live amount on the court page before you write a check, since the schedule is updated from time to time.

A litigant who cannot afford the filing fee may ask the court for a fee waiver. The waiver covers the filing fee, not the copy or certification charges. The clerk can point a self-filer to the right form set, but staff cannot tell you which fee category your case falls into as a matter of legal advice.

Filing With the Clerk

Nebraska courts run on a statewide electronic filing system for most attorney filings and many self-represented filings. eFiling moves through the Nebraska Judicial Branch eServices platform, which ties into the same JUSTICE case system used for the public search. An attorney filing a new District Court case will normally file online, pay the fee through the portal, and receive a stamped copy back through the system.

Paper filing is still allowed for many filers and for documents that cannot be filed online. A paper filer brings the documents to the clerk's counter at 575 South 10th Street, third floor, with the filing fee. The clerk date-stamps the filing, opens or updates the case in JUSTICE, and returns a conformed copy. Once a case is open, the public can find it through the JUSTICE search after the standard processing lag.

The clerk's role at filing is clerical, not advisory. Staff can accept the documents, take the fee, and tell you what the schedule charges. Staff cannot tell you whether your filing is correct, complete, or likely to succeed. For that, see the self-help and legal aid notes further down this page.

Clerk of the District Court vs County Clerk

The two clerk offices share a downtown campus and a similar name, but they are not the same. The Clerk of the District Court is a court office that keeps case files. The Lancaster County Clerk is a county-government office that keeps marriage licenses, county board records, and county money records. The table below sorts the main duties so you contact the right office the first time.

For a marriage license or a certified marriage copy, go to the county clerk, not the court clerk. See the Lancaster County Clerk page for that office. Divorce decrees, on the other hand, are court files kept by the District Court clerk and are covered on the marriage and divorce records page. For the trial court itself, see the District Court page.

Clerk Cannot Give Legal Advice

This is a hard line for every court clerk in Nebraska. The clerk can hand you a form, take your filing, take your fee, and tell you where a document goes. The clerk cannot tell you what to write, which form to pick, whether your case is strong, or what a judge is likely to do. That rule protects both the public and the court. Staff are not lawyers, and a clerk who steered a filer would be giving legal advice.

If you are filing on your own, the Nebraska Judicial Branch self-help center offers free forms and step-by-step guides for common case types. Local legal aid is also a route for those who qualify. Legal Aid of Nebraska serves Lincoln and Lancaster County and screens callers by income. A self-represented party should gather case detail first, then use those resources to draft the filing, then bring it to the clerk to file.

Related Lancaster County Records

The court clerk sits in the middle of a wider record set. For the county-government clerk that handles marriage and county board files, see Lancaster County Clerk. For the trial court the clerk serves, see District Court. For a search across all three trial courts, see Lancaster County court records. For day-by-day hearing activity and the register of actions, see court dockets. For deeds, county board minutes, and other non-court files, see public records.