What Are the Penalties for a Class IIIA Felony in Nebraska?

The penalties for a Class IIIA felony in Nebraska are up to three years in prison, up to 18 months of post-release supervision, and a fine of up to $10,000.¹ There is no mandatory minimum, so a judge can impose anything from straight probation to the full three-year term. The sentence is only part of the picture. A felony conviction also strips civil rights and creates employment, housing, and travel barriers that can outlast the sentence by years.

Prison Time

The ceiling is three years. The floor is zero. Because Nebraska law sets no mandatory minimum for this class, the full range of sentencing options stays open, and probation is on the table for every Class IIIA offense. Felonies that carry a mandatory minimum automatically shut probation out; this one does not.

Where a judge lands inside that range depends on the usual factors: the seriousness of the conduct, prior record, whether anyone was harmed, and any aggravating or mitigating details. A first-time offender convicted of a nonviolent Class IIIA felony has a realistic shot at avoiding prison. Someone with a long record, or a crime that caused real harm, is far more likely to see the upper end.

How Much Time Is Actually Served

Inmates earn what Nebraska calls “good time.” The Department of Correctional Services reduces a sentence by six months for every year served, applied proportionally for partial years.² A full three-year sentence can shrink to roughly 18 months of actual incarceration if the inmate earns every available credit.

Good time is a ceiling, not a floor. The warden can forfeit or withhold credit for disciplinary infractions with the director’s approval, and a single serious violation can erase months of accrued time.²

The Fine

A court can impose a fine of up to $10,000, either on top of a prison sentence or in place of one.¹ The fine goes to the state and is separate from restitution, which is paid directly to the victim based on documented losses. A judge can order both.

If you can’t pay, the court can structure a payment plan or substitute community service. Ignoring an outstanding fine opens the door to wage garnishment, tax-refund interception, or contempt proceedings.

Probation Instead of Prison

Nebraska law tells courts to consider probation whenever imprisonment is not specifically required, unless the judge finds the defendant poses a substantial risk of reoffending, needs correctional treatment only available in custody, or that a lesser sentence would diminish the seriousness of the crime.³ Factors cutting in favor of probation include a clean record, a crime unlikely to recur, no serious harm, and the defendant being a good candidate for rehabilitative treatment. The court even weighs whether imprisonment would cause excessive hardship to a defendant’s dependents.

Probation conditions are tailored to the person and typically include regular reporting to a probation officer, mandatory employment, drug testing, travel restrictions, treatment for mental health or substance abuse, electronic monitoring, community service, and restitution. Felony probationers are automatically barred from possessing firearms or other dangerous weapons during the probation period.⁴

Violate a condition and the judge can revoke probation and impose the original prison sentence. People who treat probation as a free pass sometimes end up serving the full three years they thought they had avoided.

Post-Release Supervision

Anyone who serves prison time for a Class IIIA felony faces post-release supervision after walking out. The maximum term is 18 months.¹ It is managed by the Nebraska Office of Probation Administration under the same kinds of conditions that apply to probation: drug testing, employment verification, travel restrictions, and participation in treatment.⁴ Violations can bring sanctions or a return to custody.

Loss of Firearm Rights

A Class IIIA conviction triggers a firearm ban under both state and federal law. Possessing a firearm after a Nebraska felony conviction is itself a crime, charged as a Class ID felony for a first offense, which carries a mandatory minimum of three years.⁵ Federal law separately bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year from possessing firearms or ammunition, and a three-year maximum clears that threshold easily.⁶ The ban applies even if the underlying offense had nothing to do with violence or weapons.

Restoring firearm rights generally requires a pardon from the Nebraska Board of Pardons, and the Board’s standard practice is to wait at least ten years before considering an application.⁷

Voting, Jury Service, and Public Office

A felony conviction temporarily strips your right to vote and disqualifies you from jury service and holding public office.⁸ The vote comes back on its own. Under current Nebraska law, you regain the right immediately after completing every part of your sentence, including probation, parole, or post-release supervision.

Jury service and public office are different. Those disqualifications stay in place until the Board of Pardons issues a warrant of discharge, and any restoration is limited to whatever the Board specifies.⁸ With the Board’s ten-year waiting period, these disabilities tend to last a long time.

Setting the Conviction Aside

Nebraska does not offer expungement for felony convictions. It does allow a set-aside in limited situations. A set-aside nullifies the conviction and removes the civil disabilities that came with it, but it does not erase the conviction from your criminal record.

If you received probation, a fine only, or community service for a Class IIIA felony, you can petition the sentencing court for a set-aside after successfully completing probation or paying the fine. If you were sentenced to prison but served no more than one year, you can petition after completing the sentence. If you were sentenced to more than one year of imprisonment, this statute’s set-aside option is not available to you.⁹

The court weighs your conduct after sentencing, the likelihood you will stay out of trouble, and any other relevant information. If the petition is granted, civil disabilities fall away with the conviction. The court is also required to advise you to consult an attorney about whether the set-aside affects your ability to possess firearms under state or federal law, because that answer is not straightforward.⁹

Employment, Housing, and Travel

The employment fallout is often more punishing than the sentence. Most employers run background checks, and a felony narrows the field. For licensed professions like nursing, real estate, and education, the impact can be career-ending. Nebraska licensing boards can deny, refuse to renew, or revoke a professional credential based on a felony conviction when the offense has a rational connection to the person’s fitness to practice.¹⁰ That standard gives boards broad discretion, and they use it.

Housing is a persistent problem. Private landlords routinely screen for criminal history and many refuse to rent to applicants with felony records. Federally subsidized housing imposes its own restrictions, particularly for drug-related or violent offenses, and local housing authorities can set additional eligibility criteria on top. The result is a patchwork that is hardest to navigate right after release, when stable housing matters most.

A felony conviction does not automatically bar you from a U.S. passport, but it can complicate international travel. Certain federal offenses, particularly drug trafficking, disqualify a person from passport eligibility. Even with a passport in hand, many countries deny entry to travelers with felony records, and border agents often have discretion to turn you away. During any period of probation or post-release supervision, travel outside the jurisdiction typically requires advance approval from your supervising officer.

1
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 28-105 – Felonies; Classification of Penalties; Sentences; Where Served; Eligibility for Probation
2
Justia. Nebraska Code 83-1,107 – Reductions of Sentence; Personalized Program Plan; How Credited; Forfeiture; Withholding; Restoration; Release or Reentry Plan; Treatment Programming; Individualized Post-Release Supervision Plan
3
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-2260 – Certain Juveniles; Probation; Considerations; Terms
4
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-2262 – Probation; Conditions; Stated by Court
5
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 28-1206 – Possession of a Deadly Weapon by a Prohibited Person; Penalty
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
7
State of Nebraska Board of Pardons. Welcome
8
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 29-112 – Felon; Disqualified as Juror or Officeholder; Warrant of Discharge; Effect; Right to Vote
9
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Revised Statute 29-2264 – Completion; Conviction May Be Set Aside; Conditions; Retroactive Effect
10
Nebraska Legislature. Nebraska Code 38-178 – Disciplinary Actions; Grounds