Nebraska Guardianship Background Check Requirements — The Full LB 453 Checklist

LB 453, enacted on May 29, 2025, overhauled Nebraska's guardianship background check requirements by adding mandatory fingerprint-based national FBI criminal history record checks. If you are filing for permanent guardianship or conservatorship, you must complete four separate background checks — and all of them must be in the court's hands at least 10 days before your hearing date.

The Four Required Checks

1. FBI Fingerprint-Based Criminal History (Nebraska State Patrol)

This is the new requirement under LB 453. You must submit fingerprints to the Nebraska State Patrol, which routes them to the FBI for a national criminal history report.

How to do it: Schedule an appointment at an authorized LiveScan fingerprinting location through the Nebraska State Patrol. The electronic submission generates both a state-level RAP sheet and a national FBI report.

Cost: $30 for the Nebraska State Patrol state check, plus $55 for the national FBI fingerprint check — $85 total.

Critical timing note: FBI processing can take several weeks. Because the judge is statutorily barred from signing a permanent appointment order until the FBI report is in hand, start this step first. Your petition must also state that the fingerprint check has been initiated.

2. Sex Offender Registry Search

You must search the Nebraska State Patrol Sex Offender Registry and file a completed, notarized Affidavit of Sex Offender Registry Search with the court.

How to do it: Search the online registry at sor.nebraska.gov, then complete the affidavit form and have it notarized.

Cost: The search itself is free; a separate notary fee may apply.

3. DHHS Child and Adult Abuse and Neglect Central Registry

Check both the Child Abuse and Adult Abuse/Neglect Central Registries through the DHHS online portal.

How to do it: Submit your request through the DHHS Central Registry portal. Online identity verification adds a $1 verification fee and a $1.50 processing fee.

Cost: $5 portal fee effective September 1, 2026, plus $2.50 in identity-verification and processing fees — $7.50 total online.

4. Complete Credit Report

A full, detailed credit report from an established credit reporting agency is required. A basic credit score printout is not accepted.

How to do it: Request your free annual report from annualcreditreport.com, or order a full report from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion.

Cost: Use the free annual report if it meets the court's required format; otherwise, the reporting agency's fee is separate.

Co-Guardians Must Both Complete Everything

If you are filing as co-guardians — for example, both parents — each proposed guardian must independently complete the full background check package. That doubles the fingerprinting, registry checks, and credit reports.

The 10-Day Rule

All four background reports must be completed and submitted to the court at least 10 days before the appointment hearing. If your FBI report is delayed, the hearing may need to be continued. This makes the fingerprinting step the most time-sensitive part of the entire guardianship process.

Emergency Appointments Are Exempt

For temporary emergency guardianship appointments (limited to 90-day terms), the mandatory FBI fingerprint check is waived under LB 453. The court can grant emergency authority without waiting for background clearance. But the full background check package is required before any temporary appointment can be converted to a permanent order.

Planning Your Timeline

Working backwards from a target hearing date:

• Several weeks before hearing: Submit fingerprints to the Nebraska State Patrol
• Before the 10-day filing deadline: Complete DHHS registry check, sex offender registry search, and credit report
• 10 days before hearing: All reports filed with the county court

Families who start the background check process before they have even decided whether guardianship is necessary can avoid timeline pressure later. If you ultimately choose voluntary alternatives instead, the cost is $85 in fingerprint fees that went unused. If you wait and then need to file, the FBI processing time can push your hearing date past your child's 19th birthday — creating a gap in legal authority.

The Nebraska guardianship decision framework includes a preparation timeline that coordinates background checks with the rest of the filing process.

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