If you drive in Nebraska, state law sets a floor on the coverage you have to carry, and it sits a little higher than the bare liability numbers most people quote. Every vehicle registered here has to be backed by proof of financial responsibility, and every liability policy sold in the state has to include uninsured and underinsured motorist protection whether you ask for it or not. Here is exactly what the law requires, the numbers that apply in 2026, and what happens if you drive without coverage.
The minimum liability limits
Nebraska's minimum liability coverage is written as 25/50/25. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-509, an auto liability policy has to provide at least $25,000 for bodily injury to or death of one person in an accident, $50,000 for bodily injury or death when two or more people are hurt, and $25,000 for injury to or destruction of another person's property.1 Those three figures are the legal minimum, not a target to aim for.
Liability coverage pays other people when you are the one at fault. It does nothing for your own injuries or your own car.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is not optional
This is the part Nebraska drivers most often miss. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-6408 requires every motor vehicle liability policy delivered or renewed in the state to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, matching the liability floor.2 You cannot buy a policy in Nebraska that leaves it off.
You can raise those limits. The statute says an insurer has to provide higher UM/UIM limits on written request, though it is not required to sell more than $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.2 What you cannot do is reject the coverage outright the way drivers in some other states can. The Nebraska Department of Insurance lists uninsured and underinsured protection alongside bodily injury and property damage as coverage that comes with a Nebraska policy.3
That matters because this is the coverage that pays you when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little of it.
Nebraska is an at-fault state, and there is no required PIP
Nebraska has no no-fault insurance law. The Department of Insurance puts it plainly: the driver who caused the crash is responsible, and that driver's liability coverage pays the claim.3 There is no state requirement to carry personal injury protection (PIP), and no filing deadline tied to it the way Florida and a few other states have.
Medical payments coverage exists here, but it is optional. The Department of Insurance describes MedPay as coverage that pays to treat injuries to you and your passengers, sold as an add-on rather than required by statute.3 If you want coverage for your own medical bills regardless of who was at fault, you have to buy it.
Because fault decides who pays, it helps to know how Nebraska divides it. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09, your recovery is reduced by your share of the blame, and you recover nothing if your fault is equal to or greater than the combined fault of everyone you are suing.4 A driver who is 40% responsible can still collect 60% of the damages. A driver who is 50% or more responsible collects nothing.
How you prove you are covered
Proof of financial responsibility is required on every vehicle registered in Nebraska, and it has to be kept in the vehicle.5 For almost everyone that proof is a car insurance policy or certificate meeting the 25/50/25 minimum. Insurance is not the only way to satisfy the requirement, though.
The Nebraska DMV recognizes a few alternatives. You can post a surety bond of $75,000 from an authorized company, or a bond backed by two individual sureties who own Nebraska real estate and are approved by a judge. You can deposit a $75,000 cash bond with the State Treasurer by certified check, bank draft, or money order. Or you can qualify as a self-insurer, which under Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 60-562 to 60-564 is generally open only to owners of a fleet of 26 or more registered vehicles.6 For an ordinary driver, a policy is the practical route.
What happens if you drive without insurance
Driving without proof of financial responsibility is a criminal offense in Nebraska, and the fallout goes well past a ticket. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-3,167 makes it a Class II misdemeanor to operate or allow the operation of a vehicle without a current liability policy or other proof.7 A Class II misdemeanor carries up to six months in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-106.8
The administrative side stings more. On a violation, your driver's license, certificate of registration, and license plates are suspended, and you have to maintain proof of financial responsibility for a continuous three-year period afterward.7 That proof is an SR-22 filing, which the DMV calls the only form of proof it will accept for these suspensions, and it has to stay on file for three years.9 If the policy behind an SR-22 lapses, the suspension comes right back.
There is a fair-warning provision worth knowing. If you actually had valid insurance at the time but could not show it to the officer, § 60-3,167 gives you ten days to produce proof to the prosecutor, and the citation is dismissed without cost.7 The penalty targets drivers who were genuinely uninsured. Someone who simply left the insurance card at home has a way out.
The numbers are not changing in 2027
There was a real push to raise Nebraska's minimums. LB793 in the 109th Legislature would have lifted the floor to 50/100/50 starting January 1, 2027. That bill was indefinitely postponed on April 17, 2026, so it is off the table for now.10 The 25/50/25 minimum in § 60-509 remains the law.1
Why the minimum is often not enough
Meeting the legal minimum keeps you legal. It does not always keep you whole. A single trip to a Nebraska emergency room can burn through $25,000 of bodily injury coverage, and if you cause a multi-car crash the $50,000 per-accident cap gets split among everyone you hurt. When the at-fault driver's damages exceed their limits, your own underinsured motorist coverage is what fills the gap, which is one reason it is worth asking your agent about raising those UM/UIM limits above the $25,000 floor.2
The minimums also say nothing about your own vehicle. Liability and UM/UIM do not repair your car, and even a well-repaired car loses resale value after a documented wreck. If your car was damaged by an at-fault driver, see our Nebraska guide on diminished value, and if you need the official crash report to back a claim, start with crash reports in Nebraska.
If another driver's coverage will not cover what you lost, or an insurer is fighting you over fault, it can help to talk to someone local. You can find a Nebraska attorney through our legal directory.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-509. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-509
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 44-6408. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=44-6408
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Nebraska Department of Insurance, Important Auto Insurance and Types of Coverage. https://doi.nebraska.gov/important-auto-insurance-and-types-coverage
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25-21,185.09. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=25-21,185.09
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Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, Insurance Requirements (Proof of Financial Responsibility). https://dmv.nebraska.gov/dvr/ins-req
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Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, Proof of Financial Responsibility. https://dmv.nebraska.gov/fr/proof-financial-responsibility
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-3,167. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=60-3,167
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Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-106. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=28-106
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Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles, SR-22 for Revocations and Suspensions. https://dmv.nebraska.gov/fr/sr-22-revocationssuspensions
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Nebraska Legislature, LB793, 109th Legislature. https://legiscan.com/NE/bill/LB793/2025