Nebraska Deed Requirements

Nebraska law defines what Nebraska deeds must contain and sets specific requirements for how to format and sign deeds.

Formatting Requirements for Nebraska Deeds

• Paper size. Deeds and other documents recorded in Nebraska must be on paper at least 8½ × 11 inches in size (standard letter). Paper used for a deed cannot exceed 8½ × 14 inches (legal size).¹
• Font size. A Nebraska deed should be written in at least an eight-point font.²
• Ink and paper. A Nebraska deed’s text must be written in black ink on white paper or—if submitted electronically—on a white background.³ Paper must be at least 20-pound weight with no watermarks or other visible designs. Signatures may be written in black or dark-blue ink.
• Margins. A Nebraska deed’s first page must contain a blank top margin measuring at least 3 × 8½ inches.⁴ The register of deeds stamps recording information in the space. All other margins must measure 1 inch. If a deed’s first-page top margin does not leave enough space for the recording stamp, the register of deeds may add another page with the recording information and charge for the extra page.
• Legibility. A deed must be readable enough to make readable copies with the equipment the register of deeds’ office uses.⁵ An embossed or inked stamp may not cover any part of the deed or make it harder to read.

Content Requirements for Nebraska Deeds

• Title. A Nebraska deed must include a document title directly below the 3 × 8½-inch blank margin on the top of the deed’s first page.⁶
• Return address. A return address must appear directly below the 3 × 8½-inch blank margin on the top of the deed’s first page.⁷
• Party names. A Nebraska deed must name the property’s current owner (the grantor) and the new owner taking title under the deed (the grantee).⁸ Names written in a deed should exactly match any other names shown in the property’s chain of title (the list of previous owners). If a person now uses a different name, the name listed in the deed should include f/k/a (formerly known as) or a/k/a (also known as) with the person’s prior name.
• Legal description of property. An accurate legal description of the transferred real estate must be included within a deed.⁹ The real estate’s tax/parcel identification number and street address need not be included.
• Vesting clause. A Nebraska deed must include a statement showing that the current owner is transferring the real estate to the new owner. Nebraska does not require any specific language for this statement. The right wording depends on the type of deed and warranty of title, if any, the deed provides.
• Consideration. Nebraska law does not require a statement of consideration—or the amount paid for the property—within deeds. Nebraska deeds customarily state nominal consideration.

Execution Requirements for Nebraska Deeds

• Current owner’s signature. A property owner of legal age must sign a Nebraska deed.¹⁰ A deed that transfers co-owned property should have both owners’ signatures. A signer’s name must be typed, printed, or stamped directly beneath the signature.¹¹
• Electronic signature. A digital or electronic signature qualifies as the signer’s original signature for electronically filed deeds.¹²
• Notarization. The owner’s signature must be acknowledged before a notary or other person with legal authority.¹³ A register of deeds has the power under Nebraska law to perform this task.¹⁴
• Homestead. Nebraska requires both spouses to sign a deed that transfers a homestead owned by a married person.¹⁵ Both spouses must sign even if only one spouse is the legal owner.

Recording Fees for Nebraska Deeds

• Recording deeds. Nebraska deeds are recorded with the register of deeds for the county where the property is located.¹⁶ The county clerk performs the register of deeds’ duties in counties without a register of deeds.¹⁷
• Recording fees. The recording fee required to record a Nebraska deed is $10.00 for the deed’s first page and $6.00 each for any other pages.¹⁸

Nebraska Transfer Tax

Nebraska charges a transfer tax—called a documentary stamp tax—when recording most real estate deeds.¹⁹ The transfer tax rate is $2.25 per $1,000.00 of the property’s value. The property owner who signed the deed is mainly responsible for the tax.

Nebraska’s documentary stamp tax law includes a list of 25 types of deeds that do not require paying the transfer tax.²⁰ These deeds include:

1. Deeds to or from government agencies;
2. Deeds correcting or adding to a prior deed with no further payment;
3. Deeds between parent and child for no payment;
4. Deeds between spouses or ex-spouses to transfer property held during the marriage for no payment;
5. Deeds to a family-owned business entity or trust for no payment other than ownership in the entity or trust;
6. Deeds made under a court decree;
7. Deeds signed by an estate’s personal representative transferring real estate to an heir or other person named in the will of the estate;
8. Deeds that transfer property to a trust if a transfer of the same real estate from the deed’s grantor to the trust’s beneficiary would be exempt (requires a signed certificate of exemption naming the specific exemption);
9. Deeds from a trustee to a beneficiary of the trust; and
10. Deeds that transfer real estate from an LLC to a member of the LLC.

Nebraska requires the new owner to complete and submit to the register of deeds a Form 521 Real Estate Transfer Statement. This form is due when filing a deed for recording.²¹ It provides details about the transfer and must be signed by the new owner or an authorized agent.²²

Attorney Practice Note: Form 521 is not required when initially recording a Nebraska transfer-on-death (TOD) deed. The TOD deed’s beneficiary instead presents the form to the register of deeds when recording the property owner’s death certificate, confirming the title transfer upon the owner’s death.²³

1. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(3).
2. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(3).
3. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(3).
4. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(1).
5. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(3).
6. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1510.
7. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1510.
8. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1509.
9. See Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1508.
10. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-211.
11. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(3).
12. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1503.01(3).
13. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-211; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-216; see also Neb. Rev. Stat. § 64-205.
14. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1505.
15. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 40-104.
16. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-245.
17. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1502.
18. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-109(1).
19. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-901.
20. Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 76-902(1)-(25).
21. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-214.
22. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-214.
23. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-214(2).