The Nebraska Publication Requirement

To be considered a legal newspaper, a publication must:

• have at least 300 paid, weekly subscribers.
• have been publishing for at least 52 consecutive weeks.
• be printed, at least in part, in the county where the newspaper is located.

It depends. First, you’ll need to pay a publication fee to the newspaper. Fees varies widely by newspaper, but are typically cheaper in smaller counties. Most newspapers charge by the line, so the shorter you can make your legal notice while still including all the necessary information, the better!

Publication fees range from around $40 to $250. The fee to file your Proof of Publication with the Nebraska Secretary of State is $25 online and $30 by mail or in person.

Since publication fees tend to be much cheaper in some counties than others, you can save money on your publication requirement if your business is located in a county with lower fees. If you’re thinking, umm, that’s great, but I don’t want to relocate my business—you don’t have to. You just need to hire a registered agent whose office is located in a county with lower publication fees and make sure they will allow you to list their business address as your designated office address on your Certificate of Organization or Articles of Incorporation. We do that!

If you hire Northwest as your registered agent, you can use our address in Lancaster County as your designated office address. Lancaster County’s publication fees are significantly lower than in much of the state, including Douglas County. So for Omaha LLCs and corporations, publishing legal notices in Lancaster County can save you substantial cash.

Intrigued? Learn more about hiring a Nebraska Registered Agent.

You’re legally required to publish your legal notice for three consecutive weeks. After that, the newspaper will send you a Proof of Publication, which you’ll need to file with the Secretary of State. There’s no specific deadline for when you need to publish your legal notice, but you might as well get it taken care of right away so you don’t forget. Once your legal notice has run for three weeks in a legal newspaper, you have six months to file your Proof of Publication.

According to NE Rev. Stat. § 21-93, all LLCs in Nebraska need to publish a Notice of Organization, which must include the same information required by the Nebraska Certificate of Organization. This required information includes:

• the name of the LLC
• the street and mailing address of the designated office
• the street and mailing address of the registered agent (sometimes called an “agent for service of process”)
• if company is a PLLC, the professional services they’re authorized to provide

Here is an example of a what a Notice of Organization (for LLCs) might look like:

Notice is hereby given that Jane’s Cheese Shop, LLC, a Nebraska Limited Liability Company, has been organized under the laws of the state of Nebraska, with its initial designated office at 123 Main St., Lincoln, NE 68522. The initial agent for service of process is Jane Doe, 456 1st Ave, Lincoln, NE 68522.

Per NE Rev. Stat. § 21-2, 229, Nebraska corporations are required to publish a Notice of Incorporation to announce their business formation. The information you’re required to include on the Notice of Incorporation is similar to the information required on the Nebraska Articles of Incorporation. On your Notice of Incorporation, you need to include:

• the name of the corporation
• the amount of shares your corporation can issue
• the registered office street address
• the registered agent
• the names and addresses of your incorporators

Note: if you hire a registered agent to incorporate, your registered agent will be your incorporator. Doing so can help you avoid publishing your home address in the newspaper.

There is no specific penalty for failing to publish your business in Nebraska. However, publication is a legal requirement for Nebraska corporations and LLCs. If you fail to publish, you risk losing your business’s good standing, which could potentially jeopardize your liability protection.

It’s totally crazy that Nebraska expects you to publish your incorporators’ street addresses in a newspaper! Have they ever heard of privacy?

Addresses that are published in a newspaper typically end up on “public records” websites. And marketers love to mine that data and send business owners junk mail. Plus, who knows who could show up on your doorstep once your information is out there.

If you’re concerned about your privacy, it’s worthwhile to hire a Nebraska registered agent. As long as the registered agent’s business address is listed as your registered office on your Certificate of Organization or Articles of Incorporation, you can put their address on your legal notice instead of your own.

A Proof of Publication (sometimes called an Affidavit of Publication) is a legal written document swearing that a legal notice was published. The Proof of Publication states when the notice was published and that the newspaper meets the requirements of a legal newspaper. Each newspaper’s Proof of Publication will look different, but they are typically notarized. You must file your Proof of Publication with the Secretary of State within six months after your legal notice runs.

You can file your Proof of Publication with the Secretary of State online, by mail, or in person. The filing fee is $25 online and $30 by mail or in person.

By mail:

Secretary of State

P.O. Box 94608

Lincoln, NE 68509-460860

In person:

1201 N St. Suite 120

Lincoln, NE, 68508

Online:

Corporate Document eDelivery