What are New Jersey Court Records?

Over 9.2 million people reside in New Jersey, making it the 11th most populous state in the United States. The state's court structure follows a three-tier system, with a supreme court at the top, the appellate division of the superior court in the middle, and trial courts at the bottom.

In accordance with New Jersey law, court records are information maintained by a New Jersey court in any form in connection with a case or judicial proceedings. However, they do not include information collected, maintained, or stored by a government agency or entity to which the court has access but which is not part of the court record. Unfiled discovery materials in court actions are also not referred to as court records.

Typically, New Jersey court actions include the following:

Types of Court Cases

State courts in New Jersey typically handle civil and criminal cases.

What Are the Different Courts in New Jersey?

New Jersey operates a unified, state-funded court system led by the Supreme Court and administered statewide by the Administrative Office of the Courts, with the Judiciary's annual budget estimated at roughly $900 million; municipal courts are locally operated. Cases move through municipal courts and the Superior Court, with appeals going to the Appellate Division and the Supreme Court.

How Many Federal Courts Are in New Jersey?

New Jersey has one federal district court - the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. This court has jurisdiction over federal cases arising within the state, including civil and criminal matters. The federal court operates in Newark, Trenton, and Camden.

The court hears cases involving federal laws, the U.S. Constitution, disputes between citizens of different states, and other matters that fall under federal jurisdiction. It has exclusive jurisdiction over certain areas, including bankruptcy, patents, and federal crimes.

Judges in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey are appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. These judges serve lifetime appointments. Appeals of the decisions of the court are heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which is based in Philadelphia.

How Many Court Cases Are Filed Each Year in New Jersey?

New Jersey's courts handled an estimated 7.1 million new filings in the July 2024–June 2025 court year, about 81% of them traffic and parking matters in the municipal courts. Overall dispositions exceeded filings, for a clearance rate of about 110%, partly because of omnibus orders dismissing old municipal cases.

How Do I Look Up Court Cases in New Jersey?

The New Jersey judiciary makes the following court records available to requesters in various ways:

• Criminal division records
• Civil division, including general equity records
• Municipal court records
• Special civil part records
• Family division records
• Tax court records

To request a court record in any of the listed categories, download and complete a court record request form. Ensure that the appropriate processing location is included in the information provided on the court record page of the New Jersey courts website. Submit the completed form online on the New Jersey courts website. Requested records will be sent electronically to the email address on the court record request form. The required request fee for exemplified, certified, and sealed copies of court records may be paid by credit card.

Alternatively, you may submit your request by mail to:

If you request a tax court record, requests should be emailed to the txctrecords.mailbox@njcourts.gov.

New Jersey courts allow attorneys and self-represented litigants to request court transcripts. If your request for a transcript is for a superior court case unrelated to an appeal, contact your local county transcript office. If the request is for a tax court case and unrelated to an appeal, complete the court transcript request form and email the completed form to Appeal-Trans.mailbox@njcourts.gov. Attorneys must order their court transcripts through eCourts Appellate.

Self-represented litigants may order transcripts from the superior court and tax court using the court transcript request form. Send the completed by email to Appeal-Trans.mailbox@njcourts.gov or mail it to:

The transcript unit or court reporter will contact you to request a deposit before starting your request. The deposit must be sent within five business days after your notification. Once your transcripts are completed, they will be forwarded to the Appellate Division Transcript Unit. Attorneys typically retrieve a copy through the eCourts system. If you are a self-represented litigant, you will be mailed a copy on CD or by email.

To access appellate court opinions, visit the opinions page of the New Jersey courts website. Appellate Court opinions are posted at 10:00 a.m. every business day. Expected opinions for the following business day are also posted at 10:00 a.m. Supreme court opinions can be found on the Supreme Court page of the New Jersey Courts website.

In addition, court record requesters can search case information and access other court records via the find a case feature of the New Jersey courts website. The feature makes judgment liens, civil and foreclosure information, criminal judgments, and municipal court case information available to users.

Number of Active Judges — State & Federal

New Jersey has roughly 760 active state judges across its Supreme, appellate, trial, tax and municipal courts, plus 17 sitting federal district judges. State judges are appointed rather than elected, while federal judges are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

What Court Records Are Not Available to the Public in New Jersey?

Per New Jersey law, certain records must remain confidential and inaccessible to the public even when attached to a non-confidential document unless otherwise ordered by a court. Such records include:

• Medical, psychological, psychiatric, and alcohol and drug dependency records, reports, and evaluations
• Paternity records except for the final judgments or birth certificates
• Records relating to child placement matters
• Adoption records
• Records about applications for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) predicate orders
• Notes, draft opinions, memoranda, or any working paper maintained by or for the use of a justice, judge, or judiciary officer in the course of performing official duties
• Records relating to grand jury proceedings
• Victim statements, unless placed on the record at a public proceeding
• Records created or maintained by the Pretrial Services Program
• Records of adjudications of delinquency for offenses involving marijuana or hashish sealed
• Records relating to actions to change the name of a minor Expunged juvenile records
• Sealed juvenile records
• Records about child victims of sexual abuse or assault
• Domestic violence records and reports, except for parties and their counsel of record in the underlying domestic violence matter
• Names and addresses of alleged victims or victims of domestic violence or sexual offenses
• Sealed records and records of other proceedings as outlined under Rule 1:38-3 of the New Jersey Rules of Court

Average Case Processing Time & Clearance Rates

Processing times in New Jersey vary widely by case type, from weeks for traffic and small claims matters to a year or more for complex civil and felony cases. The figures below are estimates derived from published court-year caseload data.

Court Case Types