| Statewide case search | Civil and Foreclosure Public Access (NJ Courts) |
|---|---|
| Criminal history check | NJSP Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) |
| Appellate opinions | Published Appellate Division Opinions (NJ Courts) |
| Federal cases | PACER (1 district) |
| Plain copy fee | $0.05 per letter-size page; $0.07 per legal-size page |
| Certified copy fee | $15 per document (plus $10 for the court seal, or $50 for an exemplified copy) |
| Who keeps trial records | Clerk of the Supreme Court; Clerk of the Appellate Division (Superior Court Clerk's Office) |
New Jersey runs one unified trial court — the Superior Court — organized into 15 vicinages that roughly follow county lines (some vicinages combine two smaller counties, but Bergen, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, and Monmouth are each their own vicinage). Case records are not split between a "district clerk" and a "county clerk" the way many states do it. The Superior Court Clerk's Office, and each vicinage's Civil and Criminal Case Records divisions, hold the actual court files. The county's County Clerk is a separate, non-judicial office that records deeds, mortgages, business filings, and passports — it does not keep court case records at all, which trips up a lot of first-time searchers.
The Judiciary's public-facing tools include the Civil and Foreclosure Public Access portal for Superior Court civil and foreclosure dockets, the Municipal Court Public Portal for traffic and local-ordinance tickets, and JEDS (Judiciary Electronic Document Submission) for e-filing documents and record requests, including into the eCourts Expungement System. There is no single free statewide search that covers criminal, family, and probate case types together; family and most criminal case detail is more restricted, and probate is handled at the Surrogate's Court in each county (not covered in depth here).
The most common mistake is contacting the County Clerk expecting to find a court case. Court records come from the Superior Court Clerk's Office or the vicinage's Case Records division for the county; the County Clerk can help only with land records, UCC filings, notary/trade-name registrations, and passports.
How New Jersey courts are organized
Which court heard a case decides who keeps the file. Use this table to pick the right clerk before you search, and see the guides to criminal, civil, family, and probate records for what each court's file contains.
| Court | Handles | Who holds the records |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court of New Jersey |
| Clerk of the Supreme Court New Jersey has a single highest court for both civil and criminal matters. |
| Superior Court, Appellate Division |
| Clerk of the Appellate Division (Superior Court Clerk's Office) Intermediate appellate court; 28 judges sitting in panels. |
| Superior Court, Law Division |
| Superior Court Clerk's Office / vicinage Civil and Criminal Case Records divisions Organized per vicinage; the Law Division includes the Special Civil Part for smaller civil claims and landlord-tenant cases. |
| Superior Court, Chancery Division |
| Superior Court Clerk's Office / vicinage Family and Civil (foreclosure) Case Records divisions Family Part records, especially custody and domestic violence, are largely confidential under Court Rule 1:38. |
| Tax Court of New Jersey |
| Tax Court Management Office (Superior Court Clerk's Office) Statewide court that sits in Trenton; not organized by vicinage. |
| Surrogate's Court (per county) |
| County Surrogate Elected county office, separate from the Superior Court Clerk's Office and the County Clerk. |
| Municipal Courts |
| Municipal Court Administrator / Violations Clerk for that municipality One court per municipality (some municipalities share a court); searchable statewide through the Municipal Court Public Portal. |
Search New Jersey court records online
Statewide case search
Civil and Foreclosure Public Access (NJ Courts)
- Cost
- Free to search
- Coverage
- Superior Court civil and foreclosure case dockets statewide; excludes confidential case types (e.g., cases involving child victims, impounded cases)
- Records
- Civil
First-time users must register; credentials from eCourts, JEDS, or the Municipal Court portal also work. njcourts.gov blocks automated verification tools (Imperva bot protection returns 403 to curl), so this was confirmed by directly fetching the live page content rather than by the standard curl check; re-fetched 2026-09-13 with a browser user-agent (HTTP 200).
Statewide case search
Municipal Court Public Portal
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Statewide search of municipal court traffic tickets, parking tickets, and local ordinance/complaint records by name or ticket number
- Records
- Traffic, Criminal
Covers all municipalities statewide from one search screen; served from a subdomain that returns a normal 200 status (not behind the same bot-blocking as the main njcourts.gov site).
Statewide case search
Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS)
- Cost
- Free to use the system; standard court filing fees apply to the documents you submit
- Coverage
- Lets self-represented litigants and attorneys electronically submit documents and record requests, including filings into the eCourts Expungement System and municipal court submissions
- Records
- Civil, Criminal, Family, Traffic
Does not cover civil commitment, guardianship, estate/probate, or Tax Court filings. Confirmed by fetching the live page; njcourts.gov returns 403 to automated curl checks (Imperva bot protection); re-fetched 2026-09-13 with a browser user-agent (HTTP 200).
Criminal history (convictions)
NJSP Criminal History Record Information (CHRI)
- Cost
- Varies by request type; the online SBI 212B name-check for authorized entities is $20 ($12 for volunteer-related requests), and personal record checks generally require IdentoGO live-scan fingerprinting for a separate fee
- Coverage
- Fingerprint- and name-based criminal history checks run by the NJ State Police State Bureau of Identification, for individuals, employers, government agencies, and volunteer organizations
- Records
- Criminal
The online SBI 212B form (njportal.com/njsp/212b) cannot be used to request your own personal background check; individuals requesting their own record are directed to fingerprint-based channels. njsp.njoag.gov also returns 403 to automated curl checks; confirmed by fetching the live page content directly; re-fetched 2026-09-13 with a browser user-agent (HTTP 200).
Appellate courts
Published Appellate Division Opinions (NJ Courts)
- Cost
- Free
- Coverage
- Searchable, free archive of published Supreme Court and Appellate Division opinions; new opinions post at 10 a.m. on business days
- Records
- Appeals
Unpublished opinions have a separate archive linked from the same opinions hub. Confirmed by fetching the live page; njcourts.gov returns 403 to automated curl checks (Imperva bot protection); re-fetched 2026-09-13 with a browser user-agent (HTTP 200).
Federal court records in New Jersey
Federal cases (bankruptcy, federal crimes, lawsuits under federal law) are not in state portals. They live in PACER, organized by district. New Jersey has 1 federal judicial district.
| District | Main courthouse | Court website |
|---|---|---|
| District of New Jersey | Newark | www.njd.uscourts.gov |
Read our PACER guide for registration, the per-page fee, and the quarterly fee waiver.
New Jersey county court records
Trial-court records are kept by the clerk in the county where the case was filed. These are the largest counties in New Jersey; each guide covers the superior court (vicinage) and other court offices, their addresses, and what is searchable online.
- Bergen County court records County seat: Hackensack Online search Free
- Middlesex County court records County seat: New Brunswick Online search Free
- Essex County court records County seat: Newark Online search Free
- Hudson County court records County seat: Jersey City Online search Free
- Monmouth County court records County seat: Freehold Online search Free
- Ocean County court records County seat: Toms River Online search Free
- Union County court records County seat: Elizabeth Online search Free
- Camden County court records County seat: Camden Online search Free
- Passaic County court records County seat: Paterson Online search Free
- Morris County court records County seat: Morristown Online search Free
Request records in person or by mail
In person. Court case records are requested from the Superior Court Clerk's Office or the vicinage's Case Records division for the county where the case was filed — not from the County Clerk. Bring the case number if you have it, or the party names and approximate filing year. Land records, business filings, and passports go to the County Clerk instead.
Online. The Civil and Foreclosure Public Access portal covers Superior Court civil and foreclosure dockets statewide after a free registration. The Municipal Court Public Portal covers traffic and ordinance tickets with no login required. JEDS lets you submit a record request or file documents electronically, including expungement petitions through the eCourts Expungement System.
By mail or through JEDS. Written requests can go to the vicinage's Case Records division; include the case number, the parties' names, the specific document requested, whether you need a certified copy, and payment or a request for a fee quote. JEDS is the Judiciary's preferred channel for self-represented litigants who want to submit a record request without an in-person visit.
Fees. The Superior Court Clerk's Office publishes a copy-fee schedule; confirm the current amount before sending payment, since court rules periodically update it.
Fees
| Item | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Plain copy | $0.05 per letter-size page; $0.07 per legal-size page |
| Certified copy | $15 per document (plus $10 for the court seal, or $50 for an exemplified copy) |
Figures are from the Superior Court Clerk's Office "Copies of Court Records" fee table, re-checked 2026-09-13 (fetched with a browser user-agent; plain automated requests to njcourts.gov get a 403). The same table lists a triple exemplified copy at $60, a Certificate of Divorce at $10, and a certified copy of a Final Judgment of Divorce at $25. Confirm the current schedule with the clerk before sending payment, since court rules periodically update fees.
Need a copy an agency will accept? See how to get certified copies of court records.
Sealed, expunged, and restricted records
New Jersey court records are governed by Rule 1:38 (Public Access to Court Records and Administrative Records), which lists categories excluded from public access — including most Family Part records (custody, domestic violence, adoption), juvenile matters, and cases a judge has ordered impounded.
Expungement. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq., a person can petition to expunge (remove from public access) eligible arrests, charges, and convictions. New Jersey recognizes several expungement pathways, including the standard petition process, the automated "Clean Slate" expungement for individuals with no new convictions after ten years, and marijuana/decriminalization expungements created after cannabis legalization. Petitions are filed through the eCourts Expungement System, reachable via JEDS.
Family and juvenile records. Custody, domestic violence, and adoption cases are confidential by rule, and juvenile delinquency records are shielded from public search with narrow statutory exceptions.
What stays out of the public portals regardless. Records involving child victims of sexual abuse, matters ordered impounded by a judge, and trade-secret material in civil cases are excluded from the Civil and Foreclosure Public Access portal even though the underlying case type is otherwise public.
New Jersey does not have a general public-information-act analog for judiciary records; access to case files is governed by the Rules of Court, not the Open Public Records Act (which applies to executive-branch agencies).
To remove your own record from public view, read how to expunge or seal a criminal record.
Frequently asked questions
Are New Jersey court records public?
Most Superior Court civil, criminal, and appellate records are public under Court Rule 1:38, but Family Part records such as custody and domestic violence cases, juvenile matters, and any case a judge has ordered impounded are excluded from public access.
Is there a free statewide search for New Jersey court cases?
The Civil and Foreclosure Public Access portal covers Superior Court civil and foreclosure dockets statewide for free after registration, and the Municipal Court Public Portal covers traffic and ordinance tickets with no login. There is no single free portal covering criminal, family, and probate cases together.
Why can't I find a court case on the County Clerk's website?
The County Clerk in New Jersey does not keep court case records at all. It records deeds, mortgages, business filings, and passports. Court case records are held by the Superior Court Clerk's Office and the vicinage's Case Records divisions.
How do I expunge a New Jersey criminal record?
File a petition under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq. through the eCourts Expungement System, reachable via JEDS. New Jersey also runs an automated "Clean Slate" expungement for people with no new convictions after ten years, so some records clear without a petition.
How do I run a criminal background check in New Jersey?
The NJ State Police State Bureau of Identification runs the state's criminal history checks. Employers and other authorized entities can use the online SBI 212B name-check for a fee; that form cannot be used for a personal background check, so individuals checking their own record generally need fingerprint-based (IdentoGO) processing instead.
How do I get a certified copy of a New Jersey court record?
Request it from the Superior Court Clerk's Office or the vicinage Case Records division that holds the file, in person, by mail, or through JEDS. Certified copies cost more than plain copies and carry the clerk's authentication stamp.
Sources
- NJ Courts — Superior Court Clerk's Office — https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/superior-court-clerks-office
- NJ Courts — Vicinages (Superior Court locations) — https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/vicinages
- NJ Courts — Civil and Foreclosure Public Access — https://www.njcourts.gov/public/find-a-case/civil-and-foreclosure-public-access
- NJ Courts — Municipal Court Public Portal — https://portal.njcourts.gov/webe41/MPAWeb/
- NJ Courts — Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) — https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/jeds
- NJ Courts — Published Appellate Division Opinions — https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/opinions/published-appellate
- NJ Courts — Expunging Your Court Record (self-help) — https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/expunge-record
- NJ Courts — Court Record Copy Fees — https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/superior-court-clerks-office/copies-court-records
- NJ State Police — Criminal History Records — https://njsp.njoag.gov/criminal-history-records/
- New Jersey Legislature — Statutes (search N.J.S.A. 2C:52 for expungement) — https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
- U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey — https://www.njd.uscourts.gov/