Filing a Motion to Seal Juvenile Criminal Record

Filing a Motion to Seal Juvenile Criminal Record

All Nebraska juvenile court records are available to the public unless they have been sealed. Your juvenile court record will be automatically sealed if you were under the age of 18 when the incident took place and your case meets certain conditions.

See conditions in Information about sealing juvenile court records 

You cannot have your record sealed if you were charged with a felony in District Court and your case was not moved to juvenile court.

If you find out your juvenile court record was not sealed and:

a) Charges were not filed, then you may notify the county or city attorney. The attorney is responsible for making sure your juvenile record is sealed;

b) Charges were filed and the court decided not to seal your juvenile court record, then once you are 19 or six months after the case was closed whichever happens first, you or your parent or guardian may file a motion with the court to seal your juvenile court record; or

c) Charges were filed, and you do not know of any reason why the juvenile court record was not sealed, then you may file a motion with the court to seal your juvenile court record.

A request to seal a juvenile court record is filed in the court in which the juvenile case was heard. Local court rules may apply in your case.  Check with the clerk’s office where your case is located regarding the process in that court.  If you fail to follow the local rules, it may affect your ability to obtain the desired outcome.

In Douglas, Lancaster or Sarpy County, contact the clerk for the district court serving the separate juvenile court.  

In other counties, contact the county court office.  

You will also need the case number of your juvenile court record.  If you do not have copies of your juvenile court record, you can get information regarding your juvenile court record by:

  1.  Obtaining a copy of your criminal history through the Nebraska State Patrol. (A minimal fee is charged by the State Patrol but it is the most complete information available to you.)
  2.  Doing a one-time court case search of Nebraska Court records. (Fee is charged, and the record may not be complete depending on the date of the court hearing.)
  3.  Going to the courthouse(s) where you may have a juvenile court record and using the public access terminal to get information on your record.  There will be a charge for copies provided to you by the court. 

Once you have identified the court and the information for the juvenile court record, you fill will out and file a motion with the court to seal your juvenile court record.  

Forms and Filing

File the Motion with the clerk of the court where the case is filed and keep one copy for yourself. 

Individuals that do not have an attorney may file documents with the court in person, by mail, or by fax transmission. (Neb. Ct. R. § 6-601(B), allows non-attorneys to file any pleading, motion or other document, except for briefs in the appellate courts, by fax transmission until May 1, 2024.)

If you want to fax a court document, you must include the uniform cover sheet as the first page.  The fax must be less than 10 pages not counting the cover sheet.  If you want to fax more than 10 pages, you must get approval from the clerk of the court before you send it. 

The court will notify the county or city attorney of your motion to seal.  If you are in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) or if DHHS is a party to the case requested to be sealed, they will be notified as well.   Notified parties may file a response, including an objection to your sealing request.

If no objection is made within 30 days of filing the request, the court may order the case sealed without a hearing, and you will receive a copy of the Order to Seal. 

If an objection is filed, or if the court decides that a hearing is necessary, a hearing will be set within 60 days of the filing of the Motion to Seal.  Notice of the hearing date and time will be sent to you from the court.  If your motion to seal is scheduled for a hearing, read Instructions for Your Record Sealing Hearing (JC 15:5).

It may take a few days after the hearing for computers to be updated and the record to be sealed in the court computer system.

Check with your court clerk to see how you will receive your copy of the order.  Keep copies of your order for future use.