§ 25-531.Lis pendens; notice; where filed; contents; recording; cancellation; filing fee.

Article 5: Commencement of Actions and Service of Process · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 22, 2026

In one sentenceSection 25-531 lets a plaintiff, or a defendant asserting a claim affecting title, file a notice of pending litigation touching real estate with the county clerk or register of deeds, which puts later purchasers and lienholders on constructive notice and binds them to the case’s outcome until the notice is released.

Full Text of § 25-531

Text size

When the summons has been served or publication made, the action is pending so as to charge third persons with notice of pendency. While the action is pending no interest can be acquired by third persons in the subject matter thereof, as against the plaintiff's title. In all actions brought to affect the title to real property, the plaintiff may either at the time of filing his or her complaint or afterwards, file, or in case any defendant sets up an affirmative cause of action and demands relief which shall affect the title to real estate, he or she may, at the time of filing such answer or at any time afterwards, file with the clerk or register of deeds of each county in which the real estate thus to be affected, or any part thereof, is situated, a notice of the pendency of such action. The notice shall contain the names of the parties, the object of the action, and a description of the property in such county sought to be affected thereby. If the action is for foreclosure of a mortgage, such notice shall contain the date of the mortgage, the parties thereto, and the time and place of recording the same. The clerk or register of deeds of such county shall record the notice thus filed and enter the same upon the numerical index of all lands, any part of which is included in the description in the notice, for which he or she shall be entitled to receive filing fees in accordance with section 33-109, to be paid by the person filing such notice, and which shall be taxed as part of the costs in the action. From the time of filing such notice the pendency of such action shall be constructive notice to any purchaser or encumbrancer to be affected thereby. Every person whose conveyance or encumbrance is subsequently executed or subsequently recorded shall be deemed to be a subsequent purchaser or encumbrancer and shall be bound by all proceedings taken in the action after the filing of such notice to the same extent as if he or she were made a party to the action. The court in which such action was commenced or any judge thereof may at any time thereafter on the application of any person aggrieved, on good cause shown, and on such notice as the court or judge may determine, order the notice to be canceled by the clerk or register of deeds of any county in which the notice may have been filed or recorded by filing a notice of release. In actions in which such notice is filed in a county or counties, other than the county in which the action is pending, the county clerk or the register of deeds of the county in which the action was begun may cancel such notice by executing a written release under his or her hand and seal by reason of the order of the court or judge, and forward such release by mail to the county clerk or register of deeds of the county in which the notice has been filed or recorded, and which certificate such county clerk or register of deeds shall record in the records of his or her office. At any time after such notice of pendency is recorded, the party on whose behalf the same was filed or the party's attorney of record may cause the notice to be canceled in the office of the county clerk or register of deeds of any county in which the notice has been filed or recorded. Such cancellation may be made by written release in the same manner as such cancellations are entered on order of the court. For the service required by this section, the county clerk or register of deeds shall be entitled to charge and receive fees in accordance with section 33-109, to be paid by the party causing the service to be performed.

End

Source

R.S.1867, Code § 85, p. 407; Laws 1887, c. 92, § 1, p. 643; R.S.1913, § 7651; C.S.1922, § 8595; C.S.1929, § 20-531; R.S.1943, § 25-531; Laws 1959, c. 140, § 1, p. 544; Laws 1963, c. 140, § 1, p. 517; Laws 1969, c. 181, § 1, p. 772; Laws 1971, LB 90, § 1; Laws 2002, LB 876, § 18; Laws 2012, LB14, § 2.

Plain-English Summary

Once a summons is served or publication is made, a lawsuit is considered pending, and that pending status matters far beyond the parties in the case. Section 25-531 — Nebraska’s lis pendens statute — says that while an action affecting title to real property is pending, no third party can acquire an interest in that property free of the plaintiff’s claim. The filing of a notice makes that pending status impossible to miss: it puts the world on constructive notice, whether or not a particular buyer or lender ever saw the filing.

The plaintiff may file the notice with the clerk or register of deeds of any county where the affected land sits, at the time the complaint is filed or later. A defendant who raises an affirmative claim affecting title can file one too, at the time of the answer or afterward. The notice has to name the parties, state what the action is about, and describe the property. If the case is a mortgage foreclosure, the notice also has to give the mortgage’s date, the parties to it, and where and when it was recorded.

Once the notice is recorded and indexed, anyone who buys the property or takes an encumbrance on it afterward is bound by everything that happens in the case from that point forward, to the same extent as if they had been named a party. That is the real force of lis pendens: it keeps a defendant from selling the property out from under a pending claim to someone who could otherwise claim ignorance of the suit.

The notice does not last forever unconditionally. The court, or a judge, can order it canceled on the application of anyone aggrieved, for good cause and on whatever notice the court sets, and the party who filed it — or that party’s attorney — can release it voluntarily at any time. The clerk or register of deeds handling either type of cancellation collects the statutory filing fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does filing a lis pendens notice do?

It gives constructive notice to the world that a lawsuit affecting title to specific real estate is pending, so anyone who later buys the property or takes a lien on it is bound by the outcome of the case as though they had been a party to it.

When can a plaintiff file a notice of pendency?

At the time of filing the complaint or at any point afterward, with the clerk or register of deeds of each county where the affected property sits.

Can a defendant file a lis pendens notice too?

Yes, if the defendant asserts an affirmative claim demanding relief that would affect title to the real estate, filed at the time of the answer or afterward.

What has to be in the notice?

The names of the parties, the object of the action, and a description of the affected property; in a mortgage foreclosure case, the notice also needs the mortgage’s date, the parties to it, and where and when it was recorded.

Can a lis pendens notice be canceled?

Yes. A court or judge can order it canceled on the application of an aggrieved person for good cause, and the party who filed it can release it voluntarily at any time.

Does the notice have to be filed in every county where the property is located?

Yes, to be effective as to land in a particular county, the notice generally has to be filed with the clerk or register of deeds of that county.

Source & verification. Section text and the amendment-history citation are reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Legislature, Revisor of Statutes, enacted by the Nebraska Legislature. Last verified July 22, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: lis pendens nebraska statutenotice of pending lawsuit real estatefiling lis pendens nebraskaconstructive notice property lawsuitcancel lis pendens nebraska25-531 statute