New Jersey Court Records
How New Jersey's courts are organized, where their records are kept and how to search them.
New Jersey has a unified, state-run court system. The Superior Court is the single general trial court in all 21 counties, and municipal courts handle traffic and minor offenses.
The New Jersey Courts offer free online public access to civil, criminal and municipal case information through several statewide tools.
New Jersey is unusual in that its Superior Court Clerk's Office in Trenton keeps statewide indexes and records for the civil, foreclosure and judgment lien systems, while each county courthouse handles day-to-day filings. Public access terminals at every courthouse can show more than the online tools.
How New Jersey's courts are organized
New Jersey's courts have three levels, plus a Tax Court.
Supreme Court of New Jersey
Seven justices hear appeals of major importance and oversee the state's courts and lawyers.
Appellate Division of the Superior Court
Hears appeals from the trial courts and state agencies.
Superior Court, Law Division
Hears civil cases (including the Special Civil Part for small claims and landlord-tenant) and criminal cases.
Superior Court, Chancery Division
Hears equity cases, family law (Family Part) and probate (Probate Part).
Tax Court and municipal courts
The Tax Court hears property and state tax appeals. Municipal courts hear traffic, disorderly persons offenses and local ordinance violations.
Searching New Jersey court records online
New Jersey offers several free public access tools.
- New Jersey Courts public accessLinks to civil, criminal, municipal and appellate case searches.
- New Jersey CourtsOpinions, court directories, forms and self-help.
Getting records from the clerk's office
Superior Court records are kept by the Superior Court Clerk's Office in Trenton and by each county's court offices. Records requests can be made online, by mail or in person. Copies and certified copies are available for set fees.
Deeds are kept by the county clerk.
For criminal cases, the county criminal case management office keeps the files, and the state's Criminal Public Access tool shows case information for indictable cases. Municipal court records, such as traffic tickets and disorderly persons offenses, come from the municipal court where the case was heard.
- Request court recordsHow to request copies of New Jersey court records.
What is public, and what is not
New Jersey Court Rule 1:38 governs public access to court records. Most records are open, but juvenile, family, adoption, mental health and many other records are excluded.
New Jersey allows expungement of many convictions after a waiting period, and its Clean Slate law lets people expunge their entire record after ten years. Expunged records are removed from public view.
New Jersey Court Rule 1:38 lists dozens of record types excluded from public access, including family court records, child abuse and neglect records, grand jury materials, juvenile delinquency records, and personal identifiers such as Social Security numbers. Records in eCourts that are marked confidential cannot be seen by the public, even at a courthouse terminal.
- New Jersey Courts: ExpungementHow expungement works in New Jersey.
Older and archived records
Historical court records, including Supreme Court case files and county court records, are held by the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton.
Older closed files may be stored in the Superior Court Clerk's records center. Historical records, including colonial and early state court files, are at the New Jersey State Archives.
- New Jersey State ArchivesHistorical state and court records.
Criminal history and background records
A court file tells you what happened in one case in one court. A criminal history record (often called a rap sheet) pulls together arrests, charges and outcomes reported from across the state, so it is a different product kept by a different agency.
The New Jersey State Police keeps the state's criminal history records. Name-based checks are available for authorized purposes.
- NJSP criminal history recordsHow to request a New Jersey criminal history record.
- New Jersey sex offender internet registryPublic search of certain registered sex offenders.
- NJ Department of Corrections offender searchInformation about people in New Jersey state custody.
Federal court records in New Jersey
Federal cases, including federal crimes, bankruptcies, and lawsuits over federal law or between citizens of different states, are not filed in New Jersey's state courts. New Jersey is a single federal judicial district, and each has its own clerk's office:
Federal case files are searched through PACER, the federal judiciary's records system. PACER charges a small fee per page, but you pay nothing if your charges stay under the quarterly fee-waiver threshold, court opinions are free, and every federal courthouse has public terminals you can use at no cost. Many PACER documents have also been copied into the free RECAP Archive on CourtListener. Appeals from New Jersey's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Tips for a faster search
- New Jersey docket numbers include a county code and a case type, such as L for law or F for family.
- Municipal court cases are searchable separately from Superior Court cases.
- Expunged records will not appear in public searches.
- For an old civil judgment or lien, use the statewide judgment lien search, which covers judgments docketed in the Superior Court.
- Have the full names of the parties, the county and a rough date range ready. A case number is the fastest way in if you have one.
- Online indexes are not the official record. If a decision depends on it, get a copy (or a certified copy) from the clerk's office that holds the file.
Legal help and law libraries
Clerks and law librarians can explain how to find a record, but they cannot give legal advice. These organizations can point you in the right direction:
- New Jersey State Law LibraryPublic law collections in Trenton.
- LSNJLAWFree legal information from Legal Services of New Jersey.
- New Jersey Courts self-helpForms and help for people without a lawyer.
This guide is general information about public records, not legal advice. Court websites, fees and rules change, so confirm details with the court before you rely on them. Civics-Online.org is not affiliated with any court or government agency.