What Is a Nebraska Publication Requirement?

We don’t have to tell you that there are a lot of moving parts to starting and running your own business. If you want to start a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation in Nebraska, the law requires announcing your company’s formation or incorporation in the proper publication.

What is a publication notice?

When forming a corporation or an LLC, Nebraska calls a publication notice a Notice of Organization for LLCs and a Notice of Incorporation for corporations. Notices of Organization and Notices of Incorporation are writings that you publish in “legal newspapers.” Legal newspapers are newspapers that have 300 or more bona fide, paid, weekly subscriptions and have been in publication for at least 52 consecutive weeks before your notice. Legal newspapers must also be wholly or partially printed at the location of publication. 

Notices of Incorporation and Notices of Organization contain basic information about your business. While the public can research your business using its name on nebraska.gov, you must still publish notice of your business’s formation in the newspaper to comply with Nebraska law. 

What Nebraska business entities have publication requirements?

The publication requirement in Nebraska applies to LLCs and corporations. The contents of the notice differ for each entity. If you need help forming an LLC, you can visit ZenBusiness’s Nebraska LLC Formation Service page. If you need help forming a corporation, you can visit ZenBusiness’s Nebraska Corporation Formation Service page.  

For how long must I run a publication notice in the newspaper?

Corporations and LLCs must run their publication notices in the newspaper for three consecutive weeks. You must publish business information in the newspaper after many different business events, including:

• Formation of an LLC
• Formation of a corporation
• Amendment to the Certificate of Organization 
• Amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation
• Merger
• Conversion 
• Domestication 
• Dissolution

Generally, there are no specific deadlines for running publication notices in the newspaper, but you have six months after you finish running your publication notice to file a proof of publication. 

There are no specific penalties for failure to file a publication notice. But, for corporations and LLCs, filing a publication notice is a requirement under Nebraska law and failure to do so could negatively affect your business. It’s safest for your business to file your publication notice as soon as possible. 

How do I prove that I complied with Nebraska publication requirements?

You provide proof of publication by filing an affidavit with the Secretary of State. Anyone who has knowledge of the facts regarding your publication notice can fill out an affidavit that provides information about:

• The time when you ran the publication notice
• The paper in which you ran the publication notice
• The status of the publishing newspaper as a legal newspaper 

You can file your proof of publication online at nebraska.gov. 

Nebraska Publication Requirements: LLC

To comply with the Nebraska LLC publication requirement, your Notice of Organization must at least contain the following information:

• The LLC’s name
• The street and mailing addresses of the LLC’s initial designated office
• The name, street, and mailing address  (including any P.O. box) of the LLC’s initial agent
• The professional service that members, managers, employees, or agents are licensed to provide if yours is a professional LLC 

This is also the minimum information you must provide in your LLC’s Certificate of Organization. 

Nebraska Publication Requirements: Corporation

To comply with the Nebraska corporation publication requirement, your Notice of Incorporation must contain the following information:

• The corporation’s name
• The number of shares the corporation can issue
• The street address for the corporation’s initial registered office
• The name of the corporation’s initial agent in its initial registered office
• The name and address of each incorporator

The information you have to provide in a Notice of Incorporation is similar to the information you have to provide in Articles of Incorporation, but there are some minor differences. 

Choosing the right newspaper for publication

As stated before, the newspaper you choose for publication has to be a legal newspaper. The newspaper also has to be located in the same county as your business’s designated office (for LLCs) or principal office (for corporations). If your corporation doesn’t have a principal office, the newspaper has to be in the same county as your business’s registered office. 

You can depend on Zenbusiness to help you get the ball rolling on your business

Don’t let the idea of legal and compliance requirements rattle you. If fulfilling Nebraska’s state requirements feels costly and time-consuming, ZenBusiness can cut down your stress with our legal compliance services.