Except for New Hampshire, all states and the District of Columbia require adult front-seat occupants of motor vehicles to use seat belts. Adult rear-seat passengers are also covered by the laws in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Children are covered by separate laws.

State seat belt laws are divided into two categories: primary and secondary. Primary seat belt laws allow law enforcement officers to stop a motor vehicle and to issue a ticket or citation to a driver or passenger for not wearing a seat belt without any other traffic offense having occurred. Secondary seat belt laws only allow law enforcement officers to issue a ticket or citation for not wearing a seat belt when there has been another traffic offense by an occupant of the vehicle for which the occupant may be issued a ticket or citation.

In Nebraska, seat belt use is mandated by law under the Nebraska Revised Statute 60-6,267, which requires all front-seat occupants of a motor vehicle to wear a safety belt. Nebraska's law is a 'secondary' seat belt law for adults, meaning that law enforcement officers can issue a ticket for not wearing a seat belt only if there is another traffic violation. However, for children, Nebraska has a 'primary' seat belt law, which allows law enforcement officers to stop a vehicle and issue a citation solely for a child restraint violation. The law requires that all children up to age eight must be secured in a federally-approved child safety seat, and children ages eight to eighteen must wear seat belts. Nebraska's seat belt laws aim to promote safety on the roads and reduce the risk of injury or death in the event of an accident.