QuickLinks -- Click here to rapidly navigate through this document

Exhibit 99

[NIC INC. LOGO]	3Q 2003 EARNINGS
	For Immediate Release
	Contact: Chris Neff 435-645-8898 cneff@nicusa.com

NIC Reports Third Quarter 2003 Net Income of $1.1 Million
Innovative new services drive 47% increase in same state non-DMV revenue

        OLATHE, Kan.—October 30, 2003—NIC Inc. (Nasdaq: EGOV) today reported net income of $1.1 million and earnings per share of 2 cents for the three months ended September 30, 2003, as compared to net income of $212,000 in third quarter 2002. Operating margins were 14% for the quarter, compared to 6% a year ago.

        Revenues for NIC's core outsourced portal business were $9.9 million, up 12 percent over the prior year quarter. During the same period, portal gross profit rose by 17 percent. The Company posted a 46 percent gross profit percentage for the portal business, up from 43 percent during the same period last year. Total revenues for the quarter were $12.9 million, up from $11.7 million in third quarter 2002.

        Portal revenue growth included a 47 percent increase in same state non-DMV revenue in the current quarter. Non-DMV growth for the quarter was driven primarily by the addition of more than 70 revenue-generating services and higher usage for NIC's eGovernment applications.

        "Non-DMV revenue growth is a key indicator of long-term strength in our core business," said Jeff Fraser, Chief Executive Officer of NIC. "Our 47% growth in the third quarter demonstrates how bringing innovative solutions to our government partners translates into strong results for investors."

        The financial performance of the software and services business for the third quarter also matched the Company's expectations.

        Selling and administrative expenses for the quarter were $2.9 million, down 12 percent from the same quarter last year. "We continue to be successful in driving down our overhead costs," said Harry Herington, Chief Operating Officer of NIC. "At 22 percent of revenue, selling and administrative expenses are at their lowest level since NIC went public in July 1999."

        NIC ended the third quarter with $16.3 million in cash and equivalents, up more than $300,000 from June 30, 2003. During the same period, working capital grew by $2.0 million to $22.2 million.

Third Quarter Operating Highlights

        During the third quarter, NIC signed a two-year portal contract extension with the state of Indiana and a one-year renewal agreement with the state of Tennessee. The Company's portal operations were also enhanced by the September 15 launch of a self-funded eGovernment portal for the Commonwealth of Kentucky (www.Kentucky.gov).

        This month, eight NIC partners were honored by the Center for Digital Government's 2003 Best of the Web competition for eGovernment excellence. Four of NIC's partners ranked among the top five finishers for state Web sites, including Utah (www.Utah.gov) in first place, Maine (www.Maine.gov) in second, Indiana (www.IN.gov) in third, and Arkansas (www.Arkansas.gov) in fifth place. Indianapolis/Marion County (www.CivicNet.net) ranked third in the county government category, and services for the Maine Secretary of State (www.Maine.gov/sos), Montana's Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department (www.DiscoveringMontana.com), and Iowa State County Treasurers Association (www.IowaTreasurers.org) were also recognized.

        In addition, three NIC partners were singled out in the annual eGovernment survey conducted by the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University. Indiana was ranked the third best state for overall eGovernment services, while Tennessee (www.Tennessee.gov) placed fourth and Kentucky was ranked tenth.

        "We thank Indiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky for putting their trust in NIC, and we congratulate all of our government partners for their ongoing commitment to offering the best possible eGovernment services to their constituents," concluded Fraser.

Fourth Quarter Outlook

        Despite normal fourth quarter seasonality, the Company expects the portal business to drive solid fourth quarter 2003 results. Portal revenues should be comparable to third quarter 2003, as should portal gross margins, selling & administrative costs, operating income, and earnings per share. On the software & services side, revenues and gross margins are expected to decrease moderately.

Third Quarter Earnings Call and Webcast Details

Dial-In Information Thursday, October 30, 2003 9:00 a.m. EDT
Call bridge:	1-800-240-6709
Call leaders:	Jeff Fraser, Chief Executive Officer Eric Bur, Chief Financial Officer Harry Herington, Chief Operating Officer

        A replay of the call will be available until 5:00 p.m. EDT on November 6 by dialing 1-800-405-2236 and using passcode 555404.

Webcast Information
October 30, 2003
9:00 a.m. EDT
To sign in and listen: The Webcast system is available at www.nicusa.com/investor.

        Some users may need to refresh their browsers to view the Webcast information. A replay of the Webcast will be available until 5:00 p.m. EDT on December 30 by visiting www.nicusa.com/investor.

About NIC

        NIC manages more eGovernment services than any provider in the world. The company is helping governments communicate more effectively with citizens and businesses by putting essential services online. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for 1,400 state and local agencies that serve more than 71 million people in the United States. Additional company information is available at www.nicusa.com.

        The statements in this release regarding continued implementation of NIC's business model and its development of new products and services are forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested or indicated by such forward-looking statements. These include, among others, the success of the Company in signing contracts with new states and government agencies, including continued favorable government legislation; NIC's ability to develop new services; existing states and agencies adopting those new services; acceptance of eGovernment services by businesses and citizens; competition; and general economic conditions and the other important cautionary statements and risk factors described in NIC's 2002 Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 20, 2003, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(financial tables follow)

NIC INC.

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

(UNAUDITED)

(Thousands except for per share amounts)

			Three months ended September 30,						Nine months ended September 30,
			2003			2002			2003			2002
Revenues:
	Portal revenues		$	9,942		$	8,863		$	29,891		$	26,351
	Software and services revenues			2,931			2,805			8,418			10,348
		Total revenues		12,873			11,668			38,309			36,699
Cost of revenues:
	Cost of portal revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization			5,416			5,065			15,791			14,713
	Cost of software and services revenues, exclusive of depreciation and amortization			2,276			2,125			6,662			12,138
	Selling and administrative			2,852			3,255			8,909			10,831
	Impairment loss			—			—			—			4,316
	Stock compensation			—			—			—			1,307
	Depreciation and amortization			471			567			1,413			2,433
		Total operating expenses		11,015			11,012			32,775			45,738
Operating income (loss)				1,858			656			5,534			(9,039	)
Other income (expense):
	Interest income			21			38			80			134
	Interest expense			(6	)		(20	)		(15	)		(53	)
	Equity in net loss of affiliates			(41	)		(286	)		161			(968	)
	Other income (expense), net			(12	)		—			(12	)		(36	)
	Total other income (expense)			(38	)		(268	)		214			(923	)
Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes				1,820			388			5,748			(9,962	)
Income tax provision (benefit)				737			168			2,319			(3,933	)
Income (loss) from continuing operations				1,083			220			3,429			(6,029	)
Discontinued operations:
	Loss from discontinued operations (less applicable income tax benefit of $—, $5, $—, and $1,307)			—			(8	)		—			(2,036	)
Net income (loss)			$	1,083		$	212		$	3,429		$	(8,065	)
Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share:
	Earnings (loss) per share—continuing operations		$	0.02		$	0.00		$	0.06		$	(0.11	)
	Loss per share—discontinued operations		$	—		$	(0.00	)	$	—		$	(0.03	)
	Net earnings (loss) per share		$	0.02		$	0.00		$	0.06		$	(0.14	)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
	Basic			58,357			56,811			58,242			56,556
	Diluted			59,402			57,006			58,742			56,556
Key Financial Metrics:
Revenue growth—outsourced portals				12	%		14	%		13	%		36	%
Revenue growth—software and services				5	%		(3	)%		(19	)%		26	%
Gross profit %—outsourced portals				46	%		43	%		47	%		44	%
Gross profit %—software and services				22	%		24	%		21	%		(17	)%
Selling and administrative costs as a % of revenue				22	%		28	%		23	%		30	%
Operating margin %				14	%		6	%		14	%		(25	)%

NIC Inc.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(UNAUDITED)

Thousands except for share amounts

			September 30, 2003			December 31, 2002
ASSETS
Current assets:
	Cash and cash equivalents		$	10,643		$	9,559
	Cash and cash equivalents—restricted			5,401			6,300
	Marketable securities			250			249
	Trade accounts receivable			17,268			14,465
	Deferred income taxes			219			606
	Prepaid expenses			807			761
	Other current assets			7,744			3,215
		Total current assets		42,332			35,155
Property and equipment, net				2,862			3,054
Deferred income taxes				33,435			35,049
Other assets				118			139
Investments in affiliates				698			839
Intangible assets, net				105			220
		Total assets	$	79,550		$	74,456
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
	Accounts payable		$	13,274		$	12,701
	Accrued expenses			5,703			3,792
	Note payable—current portion			154			332
	Application development contracts			563			1,559
	Other current liabilities			424			815
		Total current liabilities		20,118			19,199
Note payable—long-term portion				247			201
		Total liabilities		20,365			19,400
Commitments and contingencies				—			—
Shareholders' equity:
	Common stock, no par, 200,000,000 shares authorized 58,441,075 and 58,092,346 shares issued and outstanding			—			—
	Additional paid-in capital			197,860			197,160
	Accumulated deficit			(138,460	)		(141,889	)
				59,400			55,271
	Less treasury stock			(215	)		(215	)
		Total shareholders' equity		59,185			55,056
		Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$	79,550		$	74,456

NIC Inc.

CASH FLOW SUMMARY

(UNAUDITED)

Thousands

			Three months ended September 30,						Nine months ended September 30,
			2003			2002			2003			2002
Cash flows from operating activities:
	Net income (loss)		$	1,083		$	212		$	3,429		$	(8,065	)
	Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:
		Depreciation and amortization		471			567			1,413			2,824
		Compensation expense recognized related to stock options		—			—			—			1,307
		Loss on disposal of property and equipment		12			—			12			1,459
		Accretion of discount on marketable securities		—			—			—			(4	)
		Application development contracts		(264	)		(2,154	)		(996	)		(858	)
		Impairment loss		—			—			—			4,316
		Deferred income taxes		628			143			2,089			(5,311	)
		Equity in net loss of affiliates		41			286			(161	)		968
	Changes in operating assets and liabilities
		(Increase) in trade accounts receivable		(567	)		(442	)		(2,803	)		(2,806	)
		(Increase) in prepaid expenses		(343	)		(206	)		(46	)		(25	)
		(Increase) decrease in other current assets		(1,198	)		(638	)		(4,518	)		248
		(Increase) decrease in other assets		7			(22	)		21			71
		Increase (decrease) in accounts payable		(960	)		942			554			27
		Increase (decrease) in accrued expenses		1,225			273			1,959			(595	)
		Increase (decrease) in other current liabilities		308			9			(90	)		110
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities				443			(1,030	)		863			(6,334	)
Cash flows from investing activities:
	Purchases of property and equipment			(453	)		(341	)		(1,075	)		(644	)
	Purchases of marketable securities			—			(404	)		—			(20,999	)
	Maturities of marketable securities			—			866			—			17,907
	Investments in affiliates and joint ventures			—			(191	)		—			(191	)
	Net cash used in investing activities			(453	)		(70	)		(1,075	)		(3,927	)
Cash flows from financing activities:
	Decrease in cash and cash equivalents—restricted			36			—			899			—
	Payments on notes payable			(36	)		(84	)		(132	)		(237	)
	Payments on capital lease obligation			—			(2	)		—			(8	)
	Proceeds from exercise of employee stock options			396			1,029			529			1,646
	Net cash provided by financing activities			396			943			1,296			1,401
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents				386			(157	)		1,084			(8,860	)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period				10,257			8,532			9,559			17,235
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period			$	10,643		$	8,375		$	10,643		$	8,375

QuickLinks

NIC Reports Third Quarter 2003 Net Income of $1.1 Million Innovative new services drive 47% increase in same state non-DMV revenue
NIC Inc. CASH FLOW SUMMARY (UNAUDITED) Thousands