Nebraska Harassment Protection Orders: A Pattern Qualifies, a Single Violent Act Does Not
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Nebraska · Last updated October 22, 2026
Nebraska's harassment protection order reaches a pattern but not a lone incident: it needs a knowing and willful course of conduct, which the Nebraska Supreme Court reads as at least two separate acts (Dugan v. Sorensen, 319 Neb. 326 (2025)). It is a court order directing someone you are not related to, and not in a domestic relationship with, to stop harassing or contacting you. The order now lives in the Protection Orders Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-101 to 26-125, because the old section 28-311.09 was repealed in 2025. Any guide still citing that section is out of date. If the person is a spouse, ex, partner, relative or someone you live with, this is the wrong order and you want the domestic abuse protection order under Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-103 instead. The harassment test is a course of conduct that seriously terrifies, threatens or intimidates you and serves no legitimate purpose (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-102(3)). An initial order runs at least one year and no more than two (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-110(1)), and filing costs nothing (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-116(1)). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and an order cannot guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Nebraska
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Is one incident enough for a harassment protection order in Nebraska?
Generally not. Harassment in Nebraska means a knowing and willful course of conduct, and the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that a course of conduct requires at least two separate acts (Dugan v. Sorensen, 319 Neb. 326 (2025)). Whether your facts meet that test is for the court to decide.
How long does a Nebraska harassment protection order last?
An initial order lasts at least one year and no more than two, set at the court's discretion from the evidence presented, and it must state its own period (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-110(1)). A renewed order is different: it is effective for exactly one year (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-111(3)).
Does it cost money to file for a harassment protection order in Nebraska?
No fee may be charged to file the petition or to issue or serve an order that seeks only the relief the Act provides (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-116(1)). The exception is after the fact: a court may assess fees if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the petition was false and filed in bad faith.
What does a Nebraska court need to see before issuing an order without notice?
For a harassment protection order, it must reasonably appear from the specific facts in the affidavit that irreparable harm, loss or damage will result before the matter can be heard on notice (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-109(1)(b)). That differs from the domestic abuse order, which asks about immediate danger of abuse.
Nebraska harassment protection order rules at a glance
Nebraska splits its protective orders by the shape of the conduct, and the split runs in a way many readers do not expect. A harassment protection order under Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-104 directs a person who is not a family or household member to stop harassing you, and it needs a pattern: at least two separate acts that seriously terrify, threaten or intimidate you with no legitimate purpose. The domestic abuse order under 26-103 runs the opposite way, since a single violent act between family or household members can be abuse. So one violent episode supports the domestic order but not this one, while a non-violent pattern supports this one but not the domestic order. A court may also treat a petition as another type if the facts fit better (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-107). The three order types are not watertight silos.
A Hall County bakery owner and a customer who will not stop
A Hall County bakery owner turns away a regular customer who demanded a refund, and over the next three weeks the customer phones the shop at closing time on several evenings, waits outside in a parked car, and leaves notes on the owner's windshield saying the owner is being watched. Nothing violent happens. The owner is not related to the customer and never dated or lived with them, so the harassment protection order, not the domestic abuse order, is the instrument that fits. The owner lists each call, each evening in the car and each note with dates on form DC 19:2, because a single episode would not be a course of conduct. Whether the court finds the conduct seriously terrifies, threatens or intimidates is its decision.
Relevant Laws
Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-104 (harassment protection order; petition, contents; relief granted)
Lets any victim who has been harassed file a petition and affidavit for a harassment protection order. The petition must state the events and dates, or approximate dates, of the acts alleged, including the most recent and most severe incidents. It has no relationship requirement. Subsection (4) excludes conduct occurring during labor picketing.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-102 and 28-311.02 (the definition of harass)
Section 26-102(3) gives harass the same meaning as in section 28-311.02. Under 28-311.02(2)(c) it means a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person which seriously terrifies, threatens, or intimidates the person and which serves no legitimate purpose. A course of conduct is a pattern composed of a series of acts over a period of time, evidencing a continuity of purpose.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-103 (domestic abuse protection order, the routing statute)
Lets any victim of domestic abuse file for a domestic abuse protection order. A petitioner who is a family or household member of the person causing the harm looks here rather than to the harassment order. The protections available differ between the two tracks, so the choice of order matters.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 42-903 (abuse and family or household members)
Defines abuse for the domestic order, including attempting or causing bodily injury, a credible threat of bodily injury, or nonconsensual sexual contact, and defines family or household members to include spouses, former spouses, people who live or have lived together, people with a child in common, relatives, and present or past dating partners.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-109 (ex parte orders, show cause and hearing)
Permits a harassment protection order to issue or be renewed without notice if irreparable harm, loss, or damage will result before the matter can be heard on notice, compared with immediate danger of abuse for the domestic order. It also sets the respondent's ten business days to return a show cause form and the thirty day hearing window.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-110 and 26-111 (term and renewal)
Section 26-110(1) provides an initial period of at least one year and no more than two, set at the court's discretion based on the evidence, and requires the order to state its period. Section 26-111 allows renewal within forty-five days before expiration, and a renewed order is effective for one year.
Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-107 and 26-116 (type of order, and fees)
Section 26-107 lets a court treat a petition for one type of protection order as a petition for another if the facts show it is more appropriate. Section 26-116(1) bars fees for filing, issuing or serving an order seeking only the relief the Act provides, unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the petition was false and brought in bad faith.
Nebraska judicial branch form DC 19:2 and Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-121(3)
The petition is DC 19:2, Petition and Affidavit to Obtain Harassment Protection Order, revision 09/2025, which cites the Protection Orders Act. Section 26-121(3) directs the State Court Administrator to adopt standard forms and provides that they shall be the only such forms used in this state.
Regional Variances
Nebraska civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Harassment protection order, under Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-104 within the Protection Orders Act (26-101 to 26-125). The earlier home of this order, section 28-311.09, was outright repealed by Laws 2025, LB80, so any citation to it is out of date.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
Any victim who has been harassed, with no relationship element in 26-104(1). The only categorical carve-out is conduct during labor picketing. Family or household members, as defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. 42-903(3), belong with the domestic abuse order under 26-103.
The standard
A knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously terrifies, threatens or intimidates and serves no legitimate purpose (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-102(3); 28-311.02(2)(c)). A course of conduct needs at least two separate acts (Dugan v. Sorensen, 319 Neb. 326 (2025)). A single violent act fits the domestic order, not this one.
Ex parte or temporary order
Available if irreparable harm, loss or damage will result before a hearing on notice (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-109(1)(b)). The temporary order has no fixed day count. The respondent has ten business days after service to return a show cause form, and a hearing must be held within thirty days of the request.
Duration
An initial order lasts at least one year and no more than two, set at the court's discretion from the evidence, and it must state its own period (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-110(1)).
Renewal
A petition may be filed within forty-five days before expiration, including the day of expiration, and may be heard without notice. A renewed order runs exactly one year (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-111(1), (3)).
Court and form
Petition and Affidavit to Obtain Harassment Protection Order, form DC 19:2, revision 09/2025, published by the Nebraska judicial branch. The State Court Administrator's forms are the only such forms used in this state (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-121(3)).
Filing fee
None. No fee may be charged to file, issue or serve an order seeking only the relief the Act provides. A court may assess fees if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the petition was false and sought in bad faith (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-116(1)).
Order type conversion
A court may treat a harassment petition as a domestic abuse or sexual assault protection order petition if the facts show another type is more appropriate, on its own specific findings or at the petitioner's request (Neb. Rev. Stat. 26-107).
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Nebraska guides
Adult Guardianship in Nebraska
Adverse Possession in Nebraska: The Ten Year Clock and the Fence Line
Asset Protection Planning in Nebraska (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Nebraska (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Nebraska: A 25,000 Dollar Line Decides Whether You Get a Deed or a Lawsuit
Expunging a Criminal Record in Nebraska (2026)
Ready to Draft Your Document?
Get AI-powered legal documents with attorney review included. Plans start at $39.99/mo.
Get Started