# Nebraska

Nebraska’s Police Standards Advisory Council sets certification standards and decides revocations, subject to the Crime Commission, and the Commission must post a public list of officers decertified or found to have engaged in serious misconduct since 2021. Since 2023 the State has adopted rules on misconduct reporting and locked status, required officers inactive more than 6 years to retake basic training, and passed a law requiring sheriff candidates to be certified. In 2026 the Legislature passed a Brady-Giglio process giving officers notice, a chance to respond, and review before placement on a list, and protected peer support communications from use in discipline. The Legislature’s website could not be reached on October 20, 2026, so the signing and effective dates of some of these laws are not given.

Source: https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/nebraska

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** The Nebraska Police Standards Advisory Council (PSAC) sets certification standards and decides revocations, subject to review and approval by the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Crime Commission). The Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center director administers certification ([Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1401, 81-1403](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-1403); 79 NAC 9).
- **Statute:** Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1401 to 81-1414.19, substantially rewritten by LB51 (2021): definitions, including “serious misconduct” (81-1401(11)); council powers and revocation (81-1403); continuing education (81-1414.07); and the public list (81-1414.19). Rules: [79 NAC](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/chapter/GetByTitleId/47) (PSAC).
- **Minimum standards:** An officer must hold a valid certificate or diploma set by the council; noncertified conditional officers are the exception (81-1401(8)(d)). Academy admission requires a character affidavit and a thorough background investigation, covering prior employment, law enforcement records checks wherever the applicant lived, and military discharge review. Applicants need good character, a high school diploma or GED, and English reading and writing at an eleventh-grade level ([79 NAC 8](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/chapter-pdfs/79%20NAC%208%20%2803-16-2024%29.pdf)).
- **Decertification:** The council may revoke for a final conviction of a felony, misdemeanor domestic violence, or a misdemeanor rationally connected to fitness; for serious misconduct, defined in 81-1401(11) to include fabricating evidence and repeated substantiated excessive-force allegations; and for violating the oath, code of ethics, or statutory duties. Other grounds include malfeasance, false information, revocation in another state, and permanent incapacity. Revocation follows automatically on a final enumerated conviction if the officer does not appear. A voluntary surrender counts as a revocation. “Locked status” bars rehiring an officer who left on revocable grounds until the Commission’s designee clears the officer ([79 NAC 9](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/chapter-pdfs/79%20NAC%209%20%2805-17-2023%29.pdf); 79 NAC 4).
- **Public decertification list:** Yes, by statute. The Commission “shall” post a public list of officers who, on or after January 1, 2021, surrendered certification or had it revoked, were convicted of or pleaded to a felony or Class I misdemeanor, or were found by the council to have engaged in serious misconduct (81-1414.19). Each entry has an agency-signed Decertification Attestation Letter. The Crime Commission’s [Officer Misconduct and Oversight Center](https://ncc.nebraska.gov/officer-misconduct-and-oversight-center) posts the letters and a spreadsheet of revocations from about 1995 to the present, updated July 22, 2026.
- **National Decertification Index:** None found. Neither Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1401 to 81-1466 nor any of the 18 chapters of [79 NAC](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/chapter/GetByTitleId/47) names the Index or IADLEST.
- **Continuing training:** By statute, 32 hours a year, including refreshers on de-escalation, mental health, and substance abuse; at least 2 hours of anti-bias and implicit-bias training; firearms; officer wellness; legal updates; and a vehicular pursuit policy review. Agencies report completion by December 31 ([81-1414.07](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-1414.07); [79 NAC 17](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/chapter-pdfs/79%20NAC%2017%20%2805-17-2023%29.pdf)). LB784 (2026), as passed, sets 24 hours for officers in agencies with fewer than 25 full-time officers and 32 for larger agencies, operative January 1, 2027 (sec. 7 of the final reading copy).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- 2026 — **Brady-Giglio process: notice, a chance to respond, and review before an officer is placed on a list** — LB965 (2026), including the provisions of LB1123 · Passed 39-10 on April 10, 2026; the signing and effective date could not be checked from official sources on October 20, 2026 — LB1123’s provisions were added to LB965 as a separate division. As the Legislature’s Unicameral Update describes them, they set a formal process for Brady-Giglio disclosures about officers’ credibility. Before an officer is placed on a Brady-Giglio list, the officer must get notice, an opportunity to respond, and a review process, and may be represented by an attorney or union representative throughout. An officer found subject to disclosure has an appeals process. Placement alone is not grounds for discipline or termination. The provisions also set standards for keeping and sharing credibility information, and prosecutors’ duty to disclose credibility issues in court is preserved. LB965’s other parts, including sexual contact by people in positions of authority, county conflict counsel, domestic-violence and protection-order penalties, mail-key burglar’s tools, and custody factors, do not concern officer certification. The enacted text could not be checked, so statute sections are not given. — **For officers:** Before a prosecutor puts you on a Brady-Giglio list, you get notice, a chance to respond, and a review, with an attorney or union representative. — [Unicameral Update, final passage](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=41025)[Unicameral Update, first round](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=40711)[Judiciary session review](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=41152)
- 2026 — **Peer support communications may not be used in disciplinary or legal proceedings** — LB816 (2026), including the provisions of LB755 and LB804 · Passed 48-0 on April 1, 2026; approved by the Governor April 7, 2026; the act took effect on approval, but its peer support sections (secs. 1 to 4) became operative three calendar months after the 2026 session adjourned (sec. 7) — As the Unicameral Update describes it, communications made during peer support sessions, which pair trained colleagues with public safety personnel who need support, may not be used in disciplinary or legal proceedings. The protection covers law enforcement officers, first responders, emergency services employees, and hospital personnel who give direct patient care. A public safety agency that sets up a peer support program must adopt written guidelines for its teams. Under the slip law (sec. 4), these communications and related records are privileged and confidential, are not public records, are not subject to discovery, and are not admissible in any civil, criminal, administrative, arbitration, or disciplinary proceeding. A team member may disclose them with written consent, to warn of a threat to safety, or to defend against the recipient’s own complaint, and the privilege does not cover required child-abuse or vulnerable-adult reports or information that leads the team member to believe the recipient committed a criminal act. — **For officers:** What you say in a peer support session generally cannot be used in discipline or court, but the privilege does not cover threats to safety, required abuse reports, or anything that leads the team member to believe you committed a crime. — [LB816 slip law](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/109/PDF/Slip/LB816.pdf)[Unicameral Update, final passage](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=40715)[Judiciary session review](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=41152)
- Jul 18, 2026 — **Designated corrections employees added to the law enforcement officer definition** — LB764 (2026), amending Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1401 · Effective July 18, 2026, as shown on the Legislature’s statute page; the signing date could not be checked from official sources on October 20, 2026 — 81-1401(8)(a)(x) now includes in the definition of law enforcement officer “An employee of the Department of Correctional Services who is designated as a law enforcement officer by the department,” and 81-1401(8)(c) still excludes other department employees. Except for noncertified conditional officers, a law enforcement officer must hold a valid certificate or diploma established by the council (81-1401(8)(d)). The Legislature’s website could not be reached on October 20, 2026; this entry rests on its statute page as archived on July 11, 2026. — **For officers:** If the Department of Correctional Services designates you as a law enforcement officer, you need a valid law enforcement certificate or diploma. — [Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1401](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-1401)[81-1401, archived July 11, 2026](https://web.archive.org/web/20260711235931/https://www.nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-1401)
- Dec 24, 2025 — **Officers inactive more than 6 years must retake basic training** — 79 NAC 3 (reciprocity) and 79 NAC 4 (certification status), amended · Commission hearing August 15, 2025; adopted August 20, 2025; effective December 24, 2025 — 79 NAC 4-004.02B(4) sets what an officer must do to return from inactive status: up to 4 years requires handgun qualification and CPR; more than 4 and up to 6 years adds reciprocity certification under Chapter 3; more than 6 years requires completing basic certification training. Before, any absence over 4 years required only handgun qualification, CPR, and reciprocity. The 2023 sentence exempting officers already on active status from submitting a Code of Ethics was dropped. Chapter 3 was also revised; those changes were not compared. — **For officers:** If you have been out of law enforcement more than 6 years, plan to complete basic certification training again. — [79 NAC 4 (current)](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/chapter-pdfs/79%20NAC%204%20%2812-24-2025%29.pdf)[79 NAC 4 (2023)](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/historical-chapter-pdfs/34688.pdf)[Certificate of adoption](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/certificates-of-adoption/Signed%20Certificate%20of%20Adoption%20Chapters%203%20%26%204%20Title%2079.pdf)
- Jul 19, 2024 — **Sheriff candidates must be certified law enforcement officers** — LB894 (2024) · Passed 44-0 on March 28, 2024; approved by the Governor April 2, 2024; no emergency clause, so effective July 19, 2024 — Under amended Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-1701.01(1), a county sheriff candidate, and a sheriff appointed when no sheriff is elected or a vacancy occurs, must hold a law enforcement officer certificate or diploma issued by the Crime Commission, and a standardized letter from the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center director certifying it must be filed with the candidate filing form or, for an appointee, with the appointment contract. Each sheriff must attend the Sheriff’s Certification Course and obtain the Commission’s certificate of completion within 8 months of taking office, unless already awarded it or the Police Standards Advisory Council finds the sheriff’s prior training sufficient; the 8-month deadline predates LB894. Sheriffs in office before July 19, 1980 need not obtain the course certificate. Provisions from LB918 that would have let DACA recipients receive law enforcement training and certification were added in the first round and removed before final passage. LB894 amended Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-1701, 23-1701.01, 32-520, and 32-604. — **For officers:** To run for sheriff, you need a Crime Commission law enforcement certificate or diploma and the training center director’s letter when you file. — [LB894 slip law](https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/108/PDF/Slip/LB894.pdf)[Unicameral Update, final passage](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=36191)[Unicameral Update, second round](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=35988)
- Mar 16, 2024 — **Academy admission and background-investigation rule replaced** — 79 NAC 8 (Training Academy Admission Qualifications and Procedures) · Filed March 11, 2024; effective March 16, 2024 — The chapter in force since this date requires a Council character affidavit and a thorough background investigation before academy admission. The investigation covers previous employment, law enforcement records checks where the applicant lived, and military records, with added review for general, other-than-honorable, or uncharacterized discharges. The chapter also covers candor and omissions, education, and English literacy. The prior version, in force since 2005, is a scanned image and was not compared, so no specific provision is credited as new. — **For officers:** Academy applicants face a background investigation that reviews military discharge records. — [79 NAC 8](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/chapter-pdfs/79%20NAC%208%20%2803-16-2024%29.pdf)[Chapter history](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/chapterHistory/247)
- May 17, 2023 — **PSAC rules package: misconduct and locked-status reports, certification statuses, revocation, continuing education** — 79 NAC chs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 16, and 17 · Filed May 12, 2023; effective May 17, 2023 — The chapters in force from this date provide the following. Chapter 2: agencies file change-in-status reports within 7 days, an Agency Report of Officer Misconduct for complaints that are grounds for revocation, and a Locked Status Agency Report within 30 days when an officer leaves by termination, by resignation or retirement in lieu of termination, or before an internal-affairs investigation ends. Chapter 4 defines active, inactive, suspended, locked, retired, revoked, and voluntary-surrender statuses. Chapter 9 sets revocation grounds and procedure, including automatic revocation on final enumerated convictions. Chapter 17 implements continuing education, with agencies reporting by December 31. Earlier versions of chapters 1, 2, 9, 16, and 17 are not online, so no specific provision is credited as new; the package carries out the LB51 (2021) framework in rule. — **For officers:** If you leave during an internal-affairs investigation, your agency must file a locked-status report within 30 days. — [79 NAC 2](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/fileStorage/GetAsByteArray/chapter-pdfs/79%20NAC%202%20%2805-17-2023%29.pdf)[79 NAC chapter list](https://rules.nebraska.gov/api/chapter/GetByTitleId/47)

## Not yet in force and pending

- **LB784 (2026):** passed 48-0. As the Unicameral Update describes it, officers in agencies with fewer than 25 full-time officers must complete 24 hours of continuing education a year, and those in larger agencies 32 hours; the requirements do not apply to noncertified conditional officers. Sheriffs in counties without a metropolitan, primary, or first-class city need not live in the county when filing, but must live in it or an adjoining county while serving. Sheriffs may set uniform requirements within limits, and uniforms no longer must be bought from a state-contracted supplier. Under the final reading copy, the continuing-education change becomes operative January 1, 2027, and the sheriff residency and uniform changes on the act’s effective date; there is no emergency clause. The signing date could not be checked from official sources on October 20, 2026. [Judiciary session review](https://update.legislature.ne.gov/?p=41152)

These bills were not enacted: LB918 (2024, DACA recipients’ eligibility for training and certification; folded into LB894, then removed) and LB1185 (2024, a 10-foot buffer for recording officers; not advanced from committee). These 2025–2026 bills were recorded as indefinitely postponed, but the Legislature’s bill pages could not be reached to re-check them on October 20, 2026: LB854 and LB906 (officer face coverings and identification), LB1123 as a stand-alone bill (its content passed in LB965), LB276 (Municipal Police Oversight Act, Brady-Giglio lists, no-knock ban), LB73 (continuing-education hours), LB993 (civil rights cause of action and qualified immunity), LB909 (sexual abuse by an officer), and LB881, LB907, and LB963 (immigration enforcement).

The Legislature’s website (nebraskalegislature.gov) refused connections on October 20, 2026. Facts about LB965 come from the Legislature’s own Unicameral Update; LB894 and LB816 were checked against slip laws, LB784 against its final reading copy, and LB764 against the Legislature’s statute page, all as archived by the Internet Archive. LB965’s enacted text was not checked.

## Checked and unchanged

- Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1403 (council powers and revocation): last amended by LB51 (2021). 81-1414.19 (public list): no 2023–2026 amendment.
- LB150 (2025) amended 81-1401 only to update the parole-officer reference to the Department of Correctional Services. LB764 (2026) later added designated Department of Correctional Services employees to the definition (81-1401(8)(a)(x)).
- 79 NAC 17 (effective 2023) refers to the statutory hours and has not been updated for LB784.