How to search New Jersey court records
New Jersey runs a single statewide case-lookup system, so one search — with the name spelled correctly — reaches courts across the entire state. Searching itself is free, but the portal requires creating a free account before you can view results.
statewide free · account criminal data
Open the official New Jersey portal →
What's actually there
Statewide searches for civil and foreclosure cases, criminal cases, criminal judgments and judgment liens are free but require registering a New Jersey Courts account. They show docket information, not documents. Municipal tickets need a ticket or complaint number. A paid Electronic Access Program ($4 per minute) also exists.
Other official lookups for New Jersey
How New Jersey's courts are organized
New Jersey runs a single statewide court system. The main trial court is the Superior Court, which sits in every county and is split into divisions: the Civil Division (including the Special Civil Part for smaller claims and landlord-tenant cases, and Chancery for general equity), the Criminal Division for indictable offenses, and the Family Division for divorce, custody, juvenile and domestic violence matters. Municipal courts handle traffic and parking tickets, disorderly persons offenses and local ordinance violations. The Tax Court hears state and local tax appeals. Appeals go to the Appellate Division of the Superior Court and then the New Jersey Supreme Court.
Because the Superior Court uses statewide case systems, the Judiciary's Find a Case page offers separate statewide searches for civil and foreclosure cases, criminal cases, criminal judgments, judgment liens, Tax Court cases, Supreme Court cases and municipal court cases.
Using the official online searches
The public searches are free but most require you to register a New Jersey Courts account first; if you already have eCourts or similar Judiciary credentials you use those. Civil and foreclosure cases can be searched by party name or docket number and return the case jacket, meaning parties, filings and status. Criminal judgments can be searched by defendant name, SBI number, complaint number or indictment number, and include convictions, acquittals and dismissals. Judgment liens can be searched by party name, judgment number or docket number. Tax Court cases can also be searched by block and lot.
Municipal court cases are a different story. NJMCDirect is built for people paying or checking their own ticket and needs a ticket or complaint number, so it is not a name search. The Judiciary also offers the Electronic Access Program, a paid service billed at $4 per minute through a Judiciary Account Charge System account, which reaches the criminal, civil, judgment, divorce and traffic systems but, like the free searches, shows docket information and not the text or images of filed documents.
- Not returned: records closed by law, court rule or court order, such as cases involving child victims of sexual abuse, trade secrets, and impounded cases.
- Divorce and name change records are released only to the parties and attorneys of record.
- Adoption records are sealed and need a court order.
Getting copies and certified copies
Open cases are handled by the Superior Court in the county where the case is pending. Closed civil, criminal, Special Civil Part and non-divorce family cases, foreclosure records, judgments of conviction, statewide judgment liens and archived files go through the Superior Court Clerk's Office in Trenton. Either way you use Records Request Form CN 10200, submitted electronically through the Judiciary's JEDS system or mailed to Records Administration, Superior Court Clerk's Office, P.O. Box 971, Trenton, NJ 08625-0971. Records are emailed to you.
The Clerk's Office posts its copy fees: 5 cents per letter-size page and 7 cents per legal-size page for plain copies, $15 for a certified copy, $10 for the court seal, $50 plus copy fees for an exemplified copy, $10 for a certificate of divorce and $25 for a certified copy of a final judgment of divorce. Pay by check or money order to Treasurer, State of New Jersey. Appellate records go to the Appellate Division clerk and probate records to the county Surrogate.
Records that are not public
New Jersey's expungement law is Chapter 52 of Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes. A regular expungement under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2 through 2C:52-4 generally requires waiting five years after the sentence is completed for an indictable or disorderly persons offense, sometimes four, and two years for an ordinance violation, with limits on how many convictions can be cleared. The Clean Slate provision, N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.3, allows expungement of an entire record once at least ten years have passed since the last conviction and since fines, probation or parole were completed. Separate sections cover marijuana offenses, Recovery Court graduates, juvenile records and dismissed or acquitted cases, which can be expunged right away under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-6.
An expunged record is removed, sealed or isolated from court, corrections and law enforcement files, and the State Police remove it from the criminal history system used for background checks. The Judiciary's eCourts Expungement System lets you file online for free with your case number. This describes the law only; talk to a lawyer or use the Judiciary's self-help pages.
New Jersey tip: read the docket number
Superior Court docket numbers start with a three-letter county code followed by a two-digit year and a case number, in the format shown by the Judiciary as ATL-00-000000. The county code tells you which courthouse handled the case, which matters for open-case copy requests. If a criminal case started as a municipal complaint, the complaint number is a separate identifier that also works in the criminal judgments search.
Sources
- New Jersey Courts — Find a Case
- New Jersey Courts — Criminal Judgments Public Access
- New Jersey Courts — Electronic Access to Court Records
- New Jersey Courts — Copies of Court Records
- Records Request Form CN 10200
- New Jersey Courts — Expunging Your Court Record (N.J.S.A. 2C:52)
- How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record (court kit)
- Municipal Court Case Search
Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.
Federal cases filed in New Jersey
State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.
Search tips
- Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
- Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
- A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
- An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to search New Jersey court records online?
Searching is free once you create an account on New Jersey's portal — there's no subscription fee.
Does this include criminal records?
Yes. New Jersey's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.
Does one search cover the whole state?
New Jersey runs one statewide system, so a single search covers the whole state.
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