Nebraska Expungement Form CC 6:11: Filing, Fees, and Hearing

Nebraska’s Form CC 6:11 is a Petition to Set Aside a Criminal Conviction, filed under Nebraska Revised Statute 29-2264 in the court that sentenced you. Despite how it is often described online, CC 6:11 is not an expungement form in the ordinary sense: it does not delete the conviction, and Nebraska reserves true expungement for arrests caused by law enforcement error. What CC 6:11 does is ask the sentencing judge to nullify a completed conviction, which then appears on your record alongside the original entry.1Nebraska Judicial Branch. Set-Aside of a Criminal Conviction

That distinction matters before you spend time on the form. If your case was dismissed, if you were pardoned, or if you were arrested by mistake, CC 6:11 is the wrong document. Those paths have their own forms and statutes. CC 6:11 is for people who were convicted, finished their sentence, and want the court to formally set the conviction aside.

Who Can File CC 6:11

Section 29-2264 limits set-asides to specific sentence outcomes. You are eligible to petition if one of the following applies:2Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-2264 – Probation; Completion; Conviction May Be Set Aside; Conditions; Retroactive Effect

  • You completed all conditions of probation for the full term, or you were discharged from probation early.
  • You were sentenced to a fine only and paid it in full.
  • You were sentenced to community service and completed it.
  • You were sentenced to imprisonment of one year or less and finished serving the sentence.

Convictions that resulted in more than one year of imprisonment are not eligible at all.1Nebraska Judicial Branch. Set-Aside of a Criminal Conviction

Even if your sentence qualifies, the court will deny the petition if any of these are true:

  • You have a criminal charge pending anywhere in the United States or in another country.
  • You are currently required to register under the Sex Offender Registration Act.
  • The conviction was for a misdemeanor or felony motor vehicle offense under Section 28-306 or the Nebraska Rules of the Road.
  • A court denied a prior set-aside petition in the last two years.

Check each disqualifier against your own situation before filing. A denial on any of these grounds starts the two-year clock on the recent-denial bar, which can push your next attempt further out than if you had waited and filed clean.

What a Set-Aside Actually Changes

A set-aside nullifies the conviction, but it does not erase it. The order is added to your file next to the original conviction, and a background check will show both entries.1Nebraska Judicial Branch. Set-Aside of a Criminal Conviction When a job application asks whether you have been convicted of a crime, you still have to answer honestly, though you can explain that the sentencing court nullified the conviction.3Legal Aid of Nebraska. Record Sealing, Set Asides, and Pardons A set-aside also restores certain civil rights the conviction may have affected.

If your goal is to keep the record off a background check entirely, a set-aside will not accomplish that. Record sealing, available only in narrow situations such as pre-2017 dismissals, pardons, and sex-trafficking-victim set-asides under Section 29-3523, is the remedy that removes a record from public view. CC 6:11 is not that remedy.

The Forms You File Together

CC 6:11 does not travel alone. The Nebraska Judicial Branch publishes companion documents that must be filed with the petition:

  • CC 6:11 — Petition to Set Aside Criminal Conviction. The petition itself.
  • CC 6:11.2 — Order Setting Aside a Criminal Conviction. The proposed order the judge signs if the petition is granted. It references Section 29-2264 and leaves blanks for the disposition.4Nebraska Judicial Branch. Order Setting Aside a Criminal Conviction
  • DC 1:15 — Notice of Hearing. Used to schedule the court date.1Nebraska Judicial Branch. Set-Aside of a Criminal Conviction

All three are available on the Judicial Branch website at nebraskajudicial.gov. Download them from the Set-Aside of a Criminal Conviction page specifically. Nebraska’s self-help section also has an Adult Record Sealing page with similarly numbered forms for a different statutory process; pulling forms from the wrong page is a common filing error.

Pull Your Case Details First

Before you touch the petition, gather the official information the court will match against its own records. Memory is not reliable enough here. One transposed digit in a case number or a slightly misstated charge can get the filing kicked back.

Request a Record of Arrest and Prosecution (RAP sheet) from the Nebraska State Patrol through its online portal at nebraska.gov. The fee is $30 per person searched and is non-refundable whether or not records are found. If the record is unique, results come back immediately; if a technician needs to review a possible match, expect up to three business days.5Nebraska State Patrol. Nebraska State Patrol – Limited Criminal History Searches

From the RAP sheet and whatever sentencing paperwork you still have, confirm:

  • The specific county or district court that handled the case.
  • The case number as it appears in the court’s records.
  • The exact arrest or citation date.
  • The charge as originally filed, not a shorthand version.
  • The disposition — conviction, and the specific offense of conviction.
  • The sentence imposed, and documentation that you completed every term.

Filling Out CC 6:11

The petition asks for the court name, case number, your name as it appeared in the original case, the specific conviction, and the sentence imposed. Transfer each entry exactly as it appears on the RAP sheet or sentencing documents, including spelling and punctuation of the charge.

CC 6:11 then asks you to identify which eligibility category applies to your sentence — probation, fine, community service, or imprisonment of one year or less — and to confirm you completed what the court ordered. If you were discharged from probation early, say so and reference the court’s discharge order. If you paid a fine, note that it was paid in full. The form sets up the facts the judge needs to find in your favor at the hearing, so vague answers invite questions.

Fill in the companion order (CC 6:11.2) with the same case caption so the judge has a clean document to sign at the end of the hearing. The order’s substantive blanks about the disposition are for the court to complete.4Nebraska Judicial Branch. Order Setting Aside a Criminal Conviction

Filing, Fees, and Fee Waivers

File the petition, proposed order, and notice of hearing with the Clerk of the Court in the county that handled the sentencing. The Nebraska Judicial Branch fee schedule does not list a separate line item for set-aside petitions, so the amount the clerk charges depends on how the filing is categorized. Call the clerk’s office before you go and ask for the exact amount so you arrive with the right payment.

If you cannot afford the filing fee, Nebraska allows you to proceed through an In Forma Pauperis application. Complete two additional forms: DC 6:7.1 (Affidavit and Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis) and DC 6:7.2 (Order to Proceed In Forma Pauperis). The affidavit describes your financial situation under oath and must be signed before a notary public. Submit both with your petition. A judge reviews the application, and if the request is found reasonable, the fee is waived. If it is denied, you must pay the standard fee before the case can move forward.6Nebraska Judicial Branch. Filing a Modification Case Without Payment of Fees

Serving the County Attorney

The prosecutor’s office needs notice of your petition so it can respond or object at the hearing. After filing, deliver a copy of the petition to the county attorney’s office and file proof of service with the clerk — a certificate or affidavit showing when and how you delivered the copy. The court will not schedule the hearing until service is complete.

At the Hearing

You must appear in person, take an oath, and testify about your case and your circumstances since the conviction.7Nebraska Judicial Branch. Adult Record Sealing Set-aside hearings under Section 29-2264 involve more judicial discretion than sealing hearings. The court looks at whether you completed your sentence, whether you meet the eligibility rules, and whether the county attorney objects.

Come prepared to explain what you have done since finishing your sentence: employment, community involvement, the absence of new charges. This is where rehabilitation evidence makes a difference. Bring copies of supporting documents such as a completion-of-probation letter, proof the fine was paid, or employment records.

If the judge grants the petition, they sign Form CC 6:11.2, which directs the relevant agencies to update the record. Ask the clerk for a certified copy of the signed order and keep it somewhere accessible. A background check may still surface the old conviction during the lag between the court’s order and the database updates, and the certified order is what you use to resolve that.

When CC 6:11 Is the Wrong Form

Three situations send you to a different process entirely. If your case ended in dismissal or acquittal after December 31, 2016, the record was sealed automatically when the court entered the dismissal, and no petition is needed; dismissals before that date use a sealing motion under Section 29-3523(6), not CC 6:11.8Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-3523 – Criminal History Record Information; Dissemination; Limitations; Removal If you received a pardon, you file a sealing motion with the sentencing court under Section 29-3523(5). And if you were arrested due to a law enforcement agency’s error, true expungement is available through a separate petition filed in the district court of the county where the arrest occurred, naming the county attorney as respondent and requiring clear and convincing evidence of the mistake. Choosing CC 6:11 when one of these other paths fits your situation produces a denial on grounds that have nothing to do with the merits of your case.