Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
Nebraska court costs
Nebraska probate filing cost: $22
Nebraska charges $22 for proceedings commenced and closed informally; formal proceedings use another schedule.
$22 is the amount the statute states. Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Probate proceedings commenced and closed informally
| Charge | $25,000 estate | $100,000 estate | $400,000 estate | $1,000,000 estate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County court probate fee | $22 | $22 | $22 | $22 |
| Total from this schedule | $22 | $22 | $22 | $22 |
Not included in this total
- Each subsequent petition or application filed within an informal proceeding, charged at $22
- Inheritance tax determination fee under section 33-126.03
- Certified copies
Section 33-125 charges $22 for each subsequent petition or application within the proceeding, so a case with several filings costs more than the opening fee.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(a)(i), Nebraska Legislature. Edition/currentness: Section history through Laws 2021, LB17, § 8. Verified September 15, 2026.
What the $22 is made of
Nebraska’s $22 figure is a single statutory charge, not a total assembled from parts. It is shown here with its own provision named, and with the neighbouring charges the Nebraska schedule prices separately — the ones a filer is most likely to add to it by mistake, or to be quoted alongside it.
- $22Probate commenced and closed informally, Neb. Rev. Stat. s 33-125(1)(a)(i)
Added together, these come to $22 — the figure this page headlines. If any component changed in the source, the sum would no longer match, and the build withholds the total rather than publishing a number whose parts no longer add up.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- The affidavit route covers personal property, not real property.
- The $22 amount applies to the informal-probate track.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
Nebraska’s county court probate fees are flat, small, and charged per filing
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(a)(i) sets twenty-two dollars "for probate proceedings commenced and closed informally." Subdivision (ii) charges the same twenty-two dollars "for each subsequent petition or application filed within an informal proceeding," and subdivision (iii) applies twenty-two dollars to "any other proceeding under the Nebraska Probate Code for which no court fee is established by statute."
So the Nebraska court fee is not a single opening charge. An informal estate that needs several later applications pays twenty-two dollars each time, and the total depends on how many filings the administration actually generates.
Inheritance tax is metered separately. Section 33-126.03 gives the county court a twenty-two dollar fee "in all matters for the determination of inheritance tax under Chapter 77, article 20," and expressly does not charge it "if fees have been imposed pursuant to subdivision (1)(b) of section 33-125." Except in cases instituted by the county attorney, that fee is paid by the person petitioning for the determination.
Part of each fee is not kept by the court: four dollars of the inheritance-tax fee, and a share of the § 33-125 fee that stepped up annually to twelve dollars from July 1, 2025, is remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Nebraska Retirement Fund for Judges.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 33-125, 33-126.03, read from the enacting state’s own published code on 2026-09-17. Quoted wording is the statute’s; the surrounding explanation is this site’s reading of it and is not legal advice.
Nebraska filing-cost map
Separate the Nebraska filing charge from the estate budget
The Nebraska filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded Nebraska answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Affidavit for collection of personal property | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $100,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; Nebraska bars pre-death creditor claims two months after first publication of notice (triggered by appointment and due within thirty days of it), or three years after death where no notice is given. The clocks run from different events and are published separately. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | $22 is the recorded statewide amount. | Ask the County Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | Nebraska uses a reasonable-compensation standard rather than a fixed percentage. The relevant base is the estate accounting. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the Nebraska cost record can answer
Probate proceedings commenced and closed informally
Basis: estate-value. Status: operative. Section 33-125 charges $22 for each subsequent petition or application within the proceeding, so a case with several filings costs more than the opening fee.
- County court probate fee $22
Case-file context
Keep the Nebraska answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed Nebraska descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
Nebraska permits collection of qualifying personal property by affidavit after 30 days.
The value of all probate personal property, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed $100,000.
Compensation context
Nebraska uses a reasonable-compensation standard rather than a fixed percentage.
Nebraska uses a reasonable-compensation standard rather than a fixed percentage. The relevant base is the estate accounting.
Deadline context
Nebraska bars pre-death creditor claims two months after first publication of notice (triggered by appointment and due within thirty days of it), or three years after death where no notice is given. The clocks run from different events and are published separately.
- The affidavit route covers personal property, not real property.
- The $22 amount applies to the informal-probate track.
Court-material note: Nebraska publishes separate statewide affidavits for personal property and for real property, so the route depends on what the decedent owned.
Arithmetic illustration
See the Nebraska amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded Nebraska ceiling is $100,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $75,000 sits below the Nebraska figure and $125,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Nebraska counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the Nebraska ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $75,000 | Below $100,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $125,000 | Above $100,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- Affidavit for Transfer of Personal Property without ProbateNebraska Judicial Branch
- Nebraska court fines and costsNebraska Judicial Branch
Nebraska publishes separate statewide affidavits for personal property and for real property, so the route depends on what the decedent owned.
Source trail
Records used by this Nebraska map
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-24,125Nebraska Revised Statutes, Collection of Personal Property; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(a)(i)Nebraska Revised Statutes, County Court Fees; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2480Nebraska Revised Statutes, Personal Representative Compensation; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2485Nebraska Revised Statutes, Limitations on Presentation of Claims; reviewed August 7, 2026
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2483(a)Nebraska Revised Statutes, Notice to Creditors; reviewed August 7, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 33-125(1)(a)(i)
Reviewed source note: (1) In probate matters the county court shall be entitled to receive the following fees: (a)(i) Twenty-two dollars for probate proceedings commenced and closed informally.