What Nebraska expects from a new trade business

Register first, and license if you're electrical

The state step most Nebraska contractors deal with is Contractor Registration with the Department of Labor. Before performing construction work, general contractors and subs have to be registered, with a separate number for each business name you use. The fee is $40 a year since August 1, 2026. The Department says if you have one or more employees, you must keep a current workers' comp certificate on file, or you come off the registered list. The statute also lets a contractor file a signed statement that it isn't required to carry comp.

The part-time exception: someone earning under $5,000 a year from construction services isn't a contractor under the act. Neither is someone working on their own property.

Electrical is licensed at the state level by the State Electrical Division. Check with your city and county too before you bid. Skip registration and the Labor Commissioner can issue a citation with a penalty up to $500 for a first violation and $5,000 after that.

Sold at a customer's home or anywhere but your business, at $25 or more? The contract needs the Buyer's Right to Cancel notice in 10-point bold type. They can cancel until midnight of the third business day after you give it, and you refund within 10 days. A construction attorney can sort out what your trade needs in your town.

Source: Nebraska Department of Labor: Contractor Registration · Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104 (registration required) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2114 (citations, penalty) · Nebraska State Electrical Division · Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2105, registration application · Neb. Rev. Stat. 69-1601, home solicitation sales · Neb. Rev. Stat. 69-1603, right to cancel · Neb. Rev. Stat. 69-1604, notice wording · Neb. Rev. Stat. 69-1605, refund

Who to call: an attorney near you

One employee in your regular trade

Nebraska's comp law reaches every employer with one or more employees in the regular course of the business. Construction gets no special count because one is already the number. You have to insure it or qualify to self-insure.

Owners sit outside unless they opt in. A partner, LLC member or self-employed person working substantially full-time in the business can elect to come under the act. Without that election, you've got no comp on yourself. Corporations differ: an executive officer owning under 25% is an employee by law. At 25% or more, the officer is out unless they elect in writing.

Subs: a contractor who in good faith lets part of a job to a sub is protected if he requires that sub to carry a comp policy. Without it, you can be on the hook. Get the certificate.

Willfully going uninsured is a Class I misdemeanor, and an LLC member or manager with authority can be personally liable. An insurance agent who writes contractors can walk you through the election.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-106 (coverage) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-115 (employee, owner election) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-116 (contractors and subs) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-145.01 (penalty)

Who to call: an insurance agent near you

Getting paid: 120 days, then 2 years

Under the Nebraska Construction Lien Act:

• Record your lien within 120 days of your own final furnishing of services or materials.
• It stays enforceable for 2 years after recording, and if you sue in that time it continues while the case is pending. But if an owner or other interested party gives you a written demand to sue, you've got 30 days to file suit or record an affidavit that the contract price isn't yet due. Otherwise the lien lapses.
• Notice of commencement: if the owner didn't record one, a claimant can, and sends the owner a copy by that day. With no stated term it lasts 1 year.
• Surety bond recorded: no lien. Sue the surety within 1 year of finishing. No direct contract with the prime? Give the prime written notice within 90 days.
• Waivers: a signed waiver binds you even with no payment.

Public property can't be liened.

A homeowner who lives there, or plans to, on four units or fewer is a protected party. Only there, a sub or supplier's optional notice of the right to assert a lien, with the statute's double-liability warning, sets your number: the lesser of what you're owed and what's still unpaid under the prime contract when the owner receives it. So send it early. Also send the contracting owner a copy of a recorded lien within 10 days, and answer job information requests (10 days for primes, 5 for others) or owe actual damages or $200. A construction attorney can get your forms ready.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-137 (recording deadline) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-140 (duration) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-135 (notice) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-129 (protected party) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-136 (amount of lien) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-145, notice of commencement · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-141, surety bond · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-132, public property · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-143, information requests · Neb. Rev. Stat. 52-144, waivers

Who to call: an attorney near you

Pick your option: 1, 2 or 3

In Nebraska you elect how you're taxed when you register with the Department of Labor. It's the unusual part of doing business here.

• Option 1: you act as a retailer of materials. You need a sales tax permit, buy materials tax-free for resale, and collect tax from the customer. Labor isn't taxed if it's separately stated on the invoice. Charge one total and the whole thing is taxable.
• Option 2: you're the consumer. You pay tax when you buy materials and don't charge any on the job.
• Option 3: you're still the consumer, but you hold inventory tax-free and remit use tax when materials come out for a job.

Not elected within three months of starting? The law treats you as a retailer, which is Option 1. Changing later needs the Tax Commissioner's prior approval. On every option, the Department of Revenue says to withhold 5% of payments to contractors not registered in the Labor database. A CPA who works with contractors can help pick the one that fits.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2701.10 (contractor elections) · Nebraska DOR: Taxation of Contractors, Option 1 · Nebraska DOR: Taxation of Contractors, Option 2 · Nebraska DOR: Taxation of Contractors, Option 3

Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you

$100 to form, plus the newspaper

A certificate of organization with the Nebraska Secretary of State costs $100 online or $110 in office. Then comes the local step: the law requires you to publish notice for three successive weeks in a legal newspaper near your designated office, and file proof with the state, which is $25 online or $30 in office. Ask the newspaper for its price before you order.

Ask the Secretary of State when your LLC's report is due and what it costs.

Pass-through profit lands on your personal return. Nebraska's top rate is 4.55% for 2026 and 3.99% from 2027 under current law.

An S-corp election is a numbers question for a CPA who works with contractors.

Source: Nebraska Secretary of State: Forms and fee information · Neb. Rev. Stat. 21-193 (publication) · Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2715.03 (income tax rates)

Who to call: a CPA or tax pro near you