Lost Traffic Ticket in Nebraska
Likely, your presiding traffic court can provide the most up-to-date accurate information about your lost traffic ticket. Be prepared to provide some personally identifying information such as your name, driver's license number, and license plate number.
Contact Your NE Traffic Court
Generally, the county court for the county where you received the ticket is the court that can help you with your traffic ticket search. All you need to do is contact that county court, make your request, and provide any identifying information the clerk might need to retrieve your citation information.
However, if you don't remember where you received the ticket, you'll need to do some investigative work:
- Think about where you were going when you were pulled over. Were you headed to work? A dentist appointment? A favorite restaurant?
- Did you have any passengers who might remember where you were?
- Do you remember any notable landmarks or businesses in the area?
At the least, you can start with your home county and, if that doesn't help, you can work your way out to counties you regularly or have recently traveled through.
Online Case Search
Depending on your situation, you might be able to look for your lost traffic ticket online using the Nebraska Trial Courts Online Case Search.
Currently, the online search system provides access to traffic cases filed throughout the state's county and district courts, and charges a $15 fee for each search.
Because you must pay this fee even if your search returns no results, consider the following:
- Cases are updated each night, so there is a lag time of 24 hours for your citation to be entered in the system. So, if you know you received your traffic ticket on the same day, you might want to wait a couple of days before you search for it.
- The system requires a high volume of data entry, so your search might not produce every detail you need.
Thus, you might save yourself some money (and extra legwork in the long run) if you try contacting your traffic court first.
Gather Lost Traffic Ticket Details
Your citation includes a deadline by which you must respond to the traffic ticket. If you don't meet this deadline, you face additional penalties. Thus, it's important to gather your lost traffic ticket details so you can act quickly.
When you contact your court (or look for your information using the state's online search), make sure to find out:
- Whether you must appear in court.
- Some violations are serious enough for mandatory court appearances.
- Find out the court address and the hearing's date and time.
- Specific details about your traffic ticket.
- Such details include the violation, citation number, county or city, and police officer's name.
- These details can help you—and possibly a traffic ticket attorney—determine how to plead.
- The deadline to respond.
- Whether you're pleading "guilty" or "not guilty," you must do this by the deadline on your ticket.
- Information about traffic ticket payment. If you choose to plead “guilty" and pay your fine outright, find out:
- Exactly how much you owe. This could include additional court fees and surcharges.
- The payment options and methods your court accepts.
Plead to Your NE Traffic Ticket
As long as your traffic ticket is considered "waiverable"—meaning you can waive your right to a trial—you can plead "guilty", pay your fine, and accept any other penalties.
Or, you may choose to plead "not guilty" and challenge your ticket in court.
Refer to our Pay Traffic Ticket and Fight Traffic Ticket sections to determine your best option.