Guide
Nebraska Genealogy Search at a Glance
Nebraska family history follows the Homestead Act, which was first put to use at Beatrice, Nebraska in 1863, and the railroad land sales that settled the rest of the state, so federal land records and the Union Pacific and Burlington land company files name most first families. History Nebraska in Lincoln, the state historical society, holds the state's records, county records on microfilm and nearly every Nebraska newspaper, and its Nebraska Newspapers site with the University of Nebraska puts thousands of pages online free.
Nebraska began statewide vital registration in 1904, and the 1885 state census, taken with federal help, substitutes for the lost 1890 federal count.
Official sources on this page were checked on September 25, 2026.
Guide
Nebraska Genealogy
Guide
Vital records for Nebraska family history
Nebraska began statewide birth and death registration in 1904, with Omaha keeping records from the 1880s, and the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Vital Records office in Lincoln holds the certificates. Nebraska releases a birth or death record for genealogy once the record is at least 50 years old and the person has been dead for at least 50 years, with proof of the death. Marriage licenses were issued by each county clerk from the county's founding in the 1850s onward, and History Nebraska holds county marriage records on microfilm, and divorce records sit with the district court clerk.
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Nebraska archives, census and military records
History Nebraska holds the 1885 state census, the territorial censuses of 1854 to 1856, Nebraska's Civil War, Spanish-American War and World War I service records, the Nebraska State Penitentiary registers, the Burlington Railroad land sale records, county records on microfilm and the largest Nebraska newspaper collection. Federal land patents and homestead entries are at the General Land Office site, and the Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice and the National Archives hold the homestead case files, with Nebraska's files digitized on FamilySearch and Ancestry. The National Archives at Kansas City holds Nebraska's federal court and Bureau of Indian Affairs records.
Guide
County courthouse records in Nebraska
Nebraska registers of deeds hold land records from each county's founding, county clerks hold marriage licenses, county courts hold probate files and district court clerks hold divorce, civil and naturalization records, and most registers of deeds post indexes online. History Nebraska has microfilmed the older books of the 93 counties, and the Douglas County records, covering Omaha, and the Lancaster County records, covering Lincoln, are the largest sets. Nebraska's county genealogical societies have indexed cemeteries and obituaries statewide.
Guide
Federal & National Authoritative Sources
Straight answers
Nebraska Genealogy Search, questions
Did Nebraska take a state census?
Yes, in 1885, with federal help, plus territorial censuses from 1854 to 1856. The 1885 census, held by History Nebraska, substitutes for the lost 1890 federal count.
Where are Nebraska homestead records?
Federal land patents are at the Bureau of Land Management's General Land Office site, and Nebraska's homestead case files are digitized on FamilySearch and Ancestry through a project with the Homestead National Historical Park in Beatrice.
When did Nebraska start keeping birth and death records?
Statewide registration began in 1904, with Omaha keeping records from the 1880s. In Nebraska, marriage licenses go back to each county's founding.