Public Records

Open Meetings Act effective May 31, 2025

The Nebraska Public Records Statutes, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 84-712 through 84-712.09 (2024), provide residents of this state and all other interested persons the right to obtain access to, and copies of, public records in the custody of public agencies in the state. The basic rule for open public records in Nebraska is found at Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712. That statute provides: “Except as otherwise expressly provided by statute, all residents of this state and all other persons interested in the examination of the public records . . . are hereby fully empowered and authorized to (a) examine such records, and make memoranda, copies using their own copying or photocopying equipment . . . and abstracts therefrom, all free of charge, during the hours the respective offices may be kept open for the ordinary transaction of business and (b) except if federal copyright law otherwise provides, obtain copies of public records . . . during the hours the respective offices may be kept open for the ordinary transaction of business.” Residents and interested persons are authorized by statute to make copies of public records using their own copying or photocopying equipment, and to obtain copies of public records from public agencies unless federal copyright law provides otherwise. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 84-712.01 defines public records for purposes of the Public Records Statutes. Under that section, except where other statutes expressly provide that a record shall not be made public, public records are all records and documents, regardless of physical form, of or belonging to the state and its various political subdivisions, departments, boards, and commissions. Under this definition, public records are broadly defined, and the scope of the bodies covered is also wide. Data which is a public record in its original form remains so when maintained in a computer. Section 84-712.01(3) provides that the Public Records Statutes shall be liberally construed when the fiscal records of a public body are involved so that residents shall have full access to information on the public finances of government. 2024 Neb. Laws LB 43, § 9 (operative date July 19, 2024). The Public Records Statutes are not absolute, and they provide for exceptions to disclosure by express and special provisions. Orr v. Knowles, 215 Neb. 49, 337 N.W.2d 699 (1983). Upon receipt of a written request for access to or copies of a public record, the custodian of that record must provide the requester with an estimate of the expected cost of the copies and one of the following three things as soon as is practicable and without delay, but not more than four (4)business days after actual receipt of the written request. First, the custodian may provide the requester with access to the record or copies of the record, if copying equipment is reasonably available. Second, if there is a legal basis for denial of access to or copies of the record, the custodian may provide the requester with a written denial of the records request together with the information specified in § 84‑712.04. Third, the custodian may provide the requester with a written explanation of delay if the entire records request cannot, with reasonable good faith efforts, be fulfilled within 4 business days after actual receipt of the written request due to the significant difficulty or the extensiveness of the request. The written explanation of delay must include the earliest practicable date for fulfilling the records request, an estimate of the expected cost of any copies, and an opportunity for the requester to modify or prioritize the items within the request. Under the amended § 84-712(4), the requester has 10 business days to review the estimated costs for copies and to request the custodian to fulfill the original request, negotiate with the custodian to narrow or simplify the request, or withdraw the request. If the requester does not respond to the custodian within 10 business days, the custodian shall not proceed to fulfill the request. Section 84-712.04 provides that if a member of the public is denied access to a public record, he or she should receive the following information from the public body:

A description of the contents of the records withheld and a statement of the specific reasons for the denial including citations to particular statutes and subsections relied upon as authority for the denial correlated to specific portions of the records at issue.
The name of the public employee or official who made the decision to deny the request.
Notification to the requester of any administrative or judicial right of review under § 84-712.03.

Every public body shall maintain a file of all letters of denial of requests for records, and this file shall be made available to any person on request. A person denied rights with respect to public records has several remedies available, and those are set out in § 84-712.03.

Section 84-712.01(2) provides that the custodian of a public record of a county may charge a reasonable fee to members of the public for transmitting copies of public records held by that custodian from a modem to an outside modem. The fee in question must be based on the amortized portion of the cost of acquiring the computer equipment necessary to provide the service, and no county is required under the section to acquire new computer equipment or software to generate public records in a new or different form.
Section 84-712.02 pertains to records of claimants before certain federal agencies. That section provides that when a claimant before the United States Department of Veterans Affairs requests that certified copies of a public record be furnished for proper and effective presentation of a claim, the officer in charge of such public records shall furnish a certified copy of that record free of charge.
Section 84-712.06 provides that, when portions of a public record may be properly withheld, segregable portions of the public record in question shall be provided to the public upon request after deletions of the portions which may remain confidential.