Nebraska veteran benefits
- Verified veteran benefits
- 17
- plus 3 general-law and correction records
- Counties covered
- 93
- every one has its own page
- Veterans in this state
- 0.11M
- Rating thresholds that matter
- 0
- each one opens something different
How to use this, in four steps
You are on step 1. Nothing is locked — browse everything first, then check the ones that look relevant.
See what you may be entitled to
Browse every verified benefit in your state. No questions, no account — everything is open.
Check whether you qualify
Open any benefit and answer a few questions about that one. We stop as soon as we know.
Get the letter that shows the finding
A VA Benefit Summary Letter configured to show service connection, the rating and permanence satisfies most offices without disclosing any diagnosis.
File before the deadline
File Form 458 with Form 458B between February 1 and June 30, every year.
Which of these sounds like you?
Pick one and we will narrow the list. You can change or clear it at any point.
Two things sharpen this a lot
Both optional. Your county decides where you file and what a property tax exemption is actually worth; your rating decides which thresholds you cross.
Where do you live?
We use this once to work out your county, because property tax is decided county by county. No benefit is ever matched on a ZIP code alone.
Your VA disability status
What does my rating actually unlock?
Read the record for the cap in Nebraska — the exemption is generous but NOT unlimited, whatever the summaries say.
1 likely, 28 possible
What you appear to qualify for — worth checking.
One question checks 21 of them. You can skip it and keep browsing.
Did you serve in the U.S. armed forces?
2 more questions could resolve others. We ask them one at a time.
Category 2: the Homestead Exemption for a Disability That Has Nothing to Do With Service
Nebraska's Category 2 homestead exemption reaches a wartime veteran who is TOTALLY DISABLED BY A NON-SERVICE-CONNECTED accident or illness. That is the opposite of what almost every other benefit asks. A veteran who served in a listed wartime period and was later disabled in a car crash, or by cancer, is inside this. It is income-tested on a sliding scale: for 2026 full relief runs to $41,600.99 single and $47,700.99 married or closely related, tapering to nothing at $59,001 and $68,701. Homestead value limits apply. You must own and occupy the home from 1 January to 15 August.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to 100% of the exempt amount, tapering with income
Read it and check if you qualifyHomestead Exempt — No Income Test, and No Value Ceiling Either
A veteran drawing compensation for a 100% service-connected disability gets the homestead exempt with no income testing and no home-value limit. Category 4V is one of four categories — with 4S, 5 and 7 — that the Department of Revenue exempts from both tests. The filing is not annual: the form goes in when you first apply, in years ending in 0 or 5, and whenever your status changes.
VeteransApplies statewideThe homestead exempt, with no income limit and no home-value ceiling
Read it and check if you qualifyCDL Skills Test Waived for Military Drivers — the Written Tests Are Not
Nebraska waives the CDL skills test — driving, vehicle inspection and control — for a currently licensed service member or veteran who is, or was within the past 12 months, in a military post requiring the operation of a military vehicle equivalent to a commercial motor vehicle. Be clear about the limits: THE WRITTEN TESTS ARE NOT WAIVABLE, and School Bus (S) and Passenger (P) endorsement transfers are prohibited. The waiver is emailed to the DMV and reviewed within three business days.
VeteransApplies statewideThe CDL skills test waived — driving, vehicle inspection and control
Read it and check if you qualifyThe County Pays for the Funeral — and Not in a Pauper's Cemetery
Where a Nebraska veteran with an honorable or general under honorable conditions discharge dies without sufficient means for a funeral, the county of their legal residence at death pays for a decent interment. The statute says something few burial provisions do: the burial may NOT be in a cemetery used exclusively for the pauper dead. The county veterans service committee handles it and the county board audits and pays. The dollar limit is not published in the sources reviewed, so ask rather than assume it is nominal.
VeteransApplies statewideThe cost of a decent interment, paid by the county
Read it and check if you qualifyLost Your DD-214? The State Will Go and Find It
The Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs will obtain discharge documentation for you, free of charge. It is a small service and it unlocks a large number of others: almost every record in this corpus asks for a DD-214, and a lost one is the most common reason a veteran gives up on a claim before starting it. For a WWII, Korea or Vietnam veteran the paperwork may be seventy years old and held in a federal archive that once burned — NDVA knows how to work that, and an individual usually does not.
VeteransApplies statewideFree assistance obtaining discharge documentation
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Tie-Break That Voids the Contract If It Is Ignored
Where a Nebraska state contract goes to the lowest responsible bidder and all other factors are equal, a resident disabled veteran business takes preference over any other bidder, resident or not. It is a tie-break rather than a points bonus — but the enforcement is unusually sharp: a contract awarded in breach IS NULL AND VOID. You need a Nebraska-resident veteran with an honorable or general discharge, a VA disability rating letter or DoD equivalent, and ownership and control of the business, or more than 50% of the stock with management authority.
Veteran business ownersApplies statewidePreference over all other bidders where the bids are otherwise equal
Read it and check if you qualifyA VA-Adapted Home: No Income Limit, No Value Limit, No Ceiling At All
Where the VA substantially contributed to a home for a paraplegic or multiple-amputee veteran, Nebraska exempts that homestead with NO INCOME LIMIT AND NO HOMESTEAD VALUE LIMIT. Every other Nebraska homestead category is bounded by one or both. A surviving spouse is covered. The catch is administrative and annual: VA certification must be filed with Form 458 EVERY YEAR between 1 February and 30 June, and you must own and occupy from 1 January to 15 August.
VeteransApplies statewideHomestead exemption with no income limit and no value limit
Read it and check if you qualify5% on the Exam, 10% If Disabled — and If They Do Not Hire You, They Must Tell You Why
Nebraska adds 5% to a veteran's passing examination score for state and local government jobs, and a further 5% for a disabled veteran. Where there is no examination, the preference operates among equally qualified candidates. The provision worth knowing is procedural: a veteran not hired gets NOTIFICATION WITHIN 30 DAYS AND APPEAL RIGHTS. It applies to initial employment, reassignment, transfer and non-disciplinary return, so it is not only about getting in the door. Spouses are included.
VeteransApplies statewide5% added to a passing exam score, 10% if disabled
Read it and check if you qualifyTwo Hundred Health Professions: the Initial Licence Fee Is Waived, and Your Training Counts
Since 1 January 2020 Nebraska has waived the INITIAL licence fee for honorably discharged veterans across the 200-plus health professions DHHS licenses, and for spouses. Separately, military education or training from active, Reserve or National Guard service must be credited toward the licensure requirements where it is substantially similar. The one fee that is NOT waivable is the fingerprint background check. Two hundred professions is wider than people assume — it is not just nursing and medicine but the whole DHHS licensure book.
Licensed professionalsApplies statewideInitial licence fee waived across 200+ DHHS-licensed health professions
Read it and check if you qualifyOperation Recognition — 1,700 Diplomas Since 1999, and You Need Not Live Here Any More
Nebraska awards an honorary high school diploma, jointly by the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Department of Education, to honorably discharged veterans who left school to serve in WWII (7 Dec 1940 – 31 Dec 1946), Korea (25 June 1950 – 31 Jan 1955) or Vietnam (1 Nov 1955 – 7 May 1975) and did not complete their education afterwards. More than 1,700 have been awarded since 1999. FORMER NEBRASKA RESIDENTS LIVING OUT OF STATE REMAIN ELIGIBLE, so moving away did not close it.
VeteransApplies statewideAn honorary high school diploma from the state
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Retirement — 100% Excluded, No Election
From tax year 2022, 100% of military retirement benefits are excluded from Nebraska income tax — automatically, with no election or form.
VeteransApplies statewide100% of military retirement benefits, excluded automatically
Read it and check if you qualifyWaiver of Tuition — 100% of Tuition and Fees for Dependents
Spouses and children of a veteran rated 100% permanently and totally disabled — or who died of service-connected causes, or was captured or missing — pay no tuition or tuition-related fees at the university campuses, state colleges and community colleges, for one credential per level: one community-college award and one bachelor's degree.
VeteransApplies statewide100% of tuition and tuition-related fees at the university, state colleges and community colleges
Read it and check if you qualifyMotor Vehicle Tax and Fee — Exempt on One Vehicle, Even at 0%
From 1 January 2026, a veteran with an established service-connected disability — a 0% rating counts — or receiving federal veterans affairs compensation, disability retirement or pension, is exempt from the motor vehicle tax and motor vehicle fee on one personally used vehicle. Blind veterans have their own route. Plate fees, sales tax and wheel tax remain due.
VeteransApplies statewideMotor vehicle tax and motor vehicle fee exempt on one vehicle owned and used for personal transportation
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans’ Homes — $0 to $5,549 a Month, and Nothing at All at 70%
Four state veterans’ homes charge a member contribution on a sliding scale from nothing to $5,549 a month, set on income and assets. A veteran rated 70% to 100% service-connected may receive care at no cost.
VeteransApplies statewideMember contribution from $0 to $5,549 a month; care at no cost at a 70% to 100% rating
Read it and check if you qualifyVeterans’ Aid Fund — Temporary Emergency Money, on a Closed List
A fund running since 1921 pays temporary emergency aid to veterans, their spouses and their dependants when an emergency disrupts the normal way of living and other resources are not immediately available. It can only be spent on food, fuel, shelter, transportation, daycare, clothing, funeral, and medical and surgical items.
VeteransApplies statewideAn emergency bill from the named list, paid — the department publishes no dollar cap
Read it and check if you qualifyState Veterans Cemeteries — No Fee for Any Service, Spouses Included
Two state veterans cemeteries, at Alliance and Grand Island, charge nothing for any service they provide. Grave excavation, an upright marble headstone, use of the committal shelter and perpetual care are all included, for the veteran and for an eligible spouse or dependant alike.
VeteransApplies statewideGrave, excavation, upright marble headstone, committal shelter and perpetual care — no fee for any of it
Read it and check if you qualifyVets Get Pets — Up to $350 of Adoption Fees, Once
The veterans’ affairs department pays up to $350 of a veteran’s pet adoption fees directly to a licensed shelter or rescue. One adoption per veteran, and the veteran must already be on the state veterans’ registry.
VeteransApplies statewideUp to $350 of adoption fees, paid to the shelter, one adoption per veteran
Read it and check if you qualifyReservist Tuition Credit — 75% Off, With Only 200 New Places a Year
A Nebraska resident serving in a Nebraska-based Active Selected Reserve unit can have 75% of tuition credited at a University of Nebraska campus, a state college or a community college — 50% for a graduate or professional degree. The programme is limited to 200 new applications per calendar year and there is no lifetime cap on the credit itself.
VeteransApplies statewide75% of tuition credited — 50% for a graduate or professional degree
Read it and check if you qualifyLifetime Hunt, Fish and Park Permits at No Fee — From 50%
A Nebraska resident veteran rated 50% or more service connected, or 100% non-service-connected and drawing a VA pension, receives a Disabled Veteran’s Lifetime Annual Small Game Hunt/Fish/Fur Harvest Permit at no fee — all state stamps included — and one perpetual Lifetime Annual Park Entry Permit at no fee. A veteran aged 64 or over pays $5 for the small game permit.
VeteransApplies statewideSmall game hunt/fish/fur harvest and park entry permits at no fee, for life
Read it and check if you qualifyMilitary Honor Plates — $5 Numeric, $40 Message, and No Limit on How Many Vehicles
A veteran or serving member enrolled in the Nebraska Military and Veterans’ Registry may take Military Honor plates in place of regular county plates. Numeric plates cost $5, all of which goes to the Veteran Cemetery Cash Fund; message plates cost $40, of which $30 goes to the same fund. There is no limit on how many vehicles or trailers may carry them.
VeteransApplies statewide$5 numeric or $40 message, annually, in place of the regular county plate
Read it and check if you qualifyA VA Pension Is a Door Into the Phone Discount — $3.50 From the State on Top of the Federal $9.25
The Nebraska Telephone Assistance Program pays a $3.50 monthly state subsidy on voice telephone service, landline or mobile, to Nebraskans who also qualify for the federal Lifeline programme. Receipt of a Veterans Pension or the Survivors Benefit is one of the listed qualifying programmes in its own right — no separate income test needed — and federal Lifeline adds $9.25 a month on bundled voice and internet or $5.25 on voice only.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefit$3.50 a month from Nebraska on top of $9.25 federal on bundled service, or $5.25 voice only
Read it and check if you qualifyTwo Counties Have a Veterans Treatment Court — Graduate and the Charges Are Dismissed
Douglas and Lancaster counties run veterans treatment courts for justice-involved veterans facing criminal charges. A participant pleads, sentencing is withheld while they complete an 18 to 24 month programme of treatment, judicial supervision and veteran mentoring, and on graduation the court dismisses the charges. Separately, the University of Nebraska law school’s civil clinic has run a free one-hour legal advice programme for veterans.
VeteransApplies statewideCharges dismissed on graduation, in place of a felony sentence — in two of ninety-three counties
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Attorney General Runs a Military Consumer Desk — and an Active Duty Credit Alert Is Free
Nebraska’s Attorney General maintains a consumer protection programme aimed at servicemembers and veterans, naming the scams that target them disproportionately — advanced funding buyouts of VA benefits, bait-and-switch pension annuities, yo-yo car financing, credit repair, affinity marketing — and taking complaints. It also sets out how a deploying servicemember places a free active duty alert on their credit file, which lasts a year and can be renewed for the length of the deployment.
VeteransApplies statewideA complaint route with the state’s own enforcement office, and a free renewable active duty credit alert
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Veteran Designation on Your Licence — Free at Renewal, Chargeable Any Other Time
A Nebraska veteran enrolled in the state Military and Veterans’ Registry may have a Veteran designation printed on their driver’s licence or state ID. Added at the time of a renewal it costs nothing extra; asked for mid-cycle it is a replacement document and the replacement fee is charged. The registry must be confirmed and the driver record updated, which takes at least one business day.
VeteransApplies statewideNo additional fee when added at renewal; the replacement document fee applies otherwise
Read it and check if you qualifyTick the Box and Somebody Rings You Back Even When You Did Not Get the Interview
The state veterans department runs a programme it calls Every Veteran Gets an Interview. A veteran applying for a job at the department ticks a box asking to be contacted for job search assistance; if not selected to interview, the department’s team reaches out with resume help and advice on meeting the minimum requirements, on other positions to look at, and on including proof of service.
VeteransApplies statewideResume help and a call back after an unsuccessful application — if you tick the box
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Ride to the VA Hospital Is a Volunteer Van, Not a State Programme
The state veterans department’s own Vehicles and Transportation page offers four things, and none of them is a state-funded ride: a volunteer organisation’s national van fleet, motor vehicle items from the licensing agency, the federal automobile allowance, and a specialty plate whose revenue funds pet adoption. There is no state van, no volunteer driver scheme run by the state, and no mileage or fare reimbursement on that page.
VeteransApplies statewideNo state-funded transport — book the volunteer van, and ask the VA about beneficiary travel
Read it and check if you qualifyGold Star Family Plates — and Remarriage Does Not End Them
Gold Star Family plates go to the family of someone who died while serving in good standing. The eligible-applicant list names a surviving spouse "whether remarried or not", which is unusual and decisive. The numeric plate carries no plate fee; a personalised message plate is $40 a year, three quarters of which goes to the veteran cemetery fund. Enrolment in the state veterans registry comes first.
VeteransApplies statewideNo plate fee on the numeric plate; $40 a year for a personalised message plate
Read it and check if you qualifyThe Disabled Veteran Plate Does Not Let You Park in an Accessible Space
Disabled Veteran plates start at a 10% service-connected rating, accept a general under honorable discharge, cost nothing in the alphanumeric format, and may be put on as many vehicles as you own. What they do not do is authorise accessible parking. For that you need the separate Disabled Veteran Handicapped plate, an ordinary handicapped plate, or a parking permit — and the permit is free.
VeteransApplies statewideNo plate fee on the alphanumeric Disabled Veteran plate, on unlimited vehicles — with accessible parking coming from a separate plate or a free permit
Read it and check if you qualifyA Respite Network the Legislature Built — Six Regions, One Phone Number
A caregiver looking after a family member with a disability or chronic condition can get a paid break through a statewide respite network created by the legislature in 1999. Six service areas each have a named coordinator, and one number reaches all of them. Veteran caregiver support is one of the funding streams the network will help you assemble alongside its own subsidy.
VeteransApplies statewideNot a veteran benefitCoordinated respite — a paid break from caregiving, arranged through a regional coordinator
Read it and check if you qualify
Does my county change the answer?
For the statewide records, no — the same law applies in all 93 counties. What changes is the office you file with and the local tax arithmetic, which we do not yet hold for Nebraska.
- Adams County
- Antelope County
- Arthur County
- Banner County
- Blaine County
- Boone County
- Box Butte County
- Boyd County
- Brown County
- Buffalo County
- Burt County
- Butler County
- Cass County
- Cedar County
- Chase County
- Cherry County
- Cheyenne County
- Clay County
- Colfax County
- Cuming County
- Custer County
- Dakota County
- Dawes County
- Dawson County
- Deuel County
- Dixon County
- Dodge County
- Douglas County
- Dundy County
- Fillmore County
- Franklin County
- Frontier County
- Furnas County
- Gage County
- Garden County
- Garfield County
- Gosper County
- Grant County
- Greeley County
- Hall County
- Hamilton County
- Harlan County
- Hayes County
- Hitchcock County
- Holt County
- Hooker County
- Howard County
- Jefferson County
- Johnson County
- Kearney County
- Keith County
- Keya Paha County
- Kimball County
- Knox County
- Lancaster County
- Lincoln County
- Logan County
- Loup County
- McPherson County
- Madison County
- Merrick County
- Morrill County
- Nance County
- Nemaha County
- Nuckolls County
- Otoe County
- Pawnee County
- Perkins County
- Phelps County
- Pierce County
- Platte County
- Polk County
- Red Willow County
- Richardson County
- Rock County
- Saline County
- Sarpy County
- Saunders County
- Scotts Bluff County
- Seward County
- Sheridan County
- Sherman County
- Sioux County
- Stanton County
- Thayer County
- Thomas County
- Thurston County
- Valley County
- Washington County
- Wayne County
- Webster County
- Wheeler County
- York County
Every benefit here was checked against the statute or rule behind it, and each page shows the date. This is an informational match, not a government eligibility determination — the responsible agency decides your application.