Copies of Court Records | NJ Courts (2024)

How to Request Court Records

These court records are available for public inspection. All exceptions are listed in Court Rule 1:38.

• Civil division, including general equity records
• Special civil part records
• Criminal division records
• Family division Records
• Municipal court Records
• Tax Court Records
  (Note: Tax Court Record Requests should be emailed to the txctrecords.mailbox@njcourts.gov)

Complete the records request form and submit it electronically.

This request system is for court records only. To get a transcript of a court proceeding, contact the Appellate Division.

Download Request FormSubmit Completed Form

Instructions:

1. Download the form and save it to your computer.
2. Complete the form and save it again.
3. Include the correct processing location from the information below. Use “SCCO” for records processed by the Superior Court Clerk’s Office.
4. Submit the saved form using the “Submit Completed Form” button above.
5. Records will be sent electronically to the email address you provide on the form.
6. Fees for certified, exemplified, and sealed copies can be paid by credit card.

Processing Locations

Open Cases

For open cases in:

• Civil Division including Chancery General Equity Records
• Special Civil Part Records
• Criminal Division Records
• Family Division Records

The division is the county Superior Court where the case was heard. You will be asked to choose one of these divisions on the form. Choose the division, and then the county.

For open cases in:

• Statewide judgment lien records
• Foreclosure case records

The division is the Superior Court Clerk's Office (SCCO).Choose SCCO as the division, and then the county.Please be advised when requesting divorce documents, those documents will only be released to a party to the case or the attorney of record. If the party is requesting they must include a valid state id. Anyone else must provide a court order directing the clerk to release the documents.

For questions regarding submitted records requests, email SCCO.Mailbox@njcourts.gov

Closed Records

For closed cases in:

• Civil Cases including Chancery General Equity until archived
• Criminal Cases
• Divorce Cases until archived
• Family Cases (except divorce cases)
• Special Civil Part Cases

The division is the Superior Court Clerk's Office (SCCO).

Closed Archived Records

For these archived records:

• Case Files
  • Civil Cases (archived)
  • Divorce Cases(archived)
  • Foreclosure Cases (all)
  • General Equity Cases (archived)
• Judgment Records
  • Statewide judgment liens
  • Satisfaction of statewide judgment liens

The division is the Superior Court Clerk's Office (SCCO). Choose SCCO even if the record is a civil, divorce, or general equity record.

Please be advised when requesting divorce documents, those documents will only be released to a party to the case or the attorney of record. If the party is requesting they must include a valid state id. Anyone else must provide a court order directing the clerk to release the documents.

For questions regarding submitted records requests, email SCCORecordReq.Mailbox@njcourts.gov.

Refer to theJudiciary Records Retention Scheduleto see how long the Judiciary keeps each type of court record. This will let you determine if the judiciary has the record.

Types of Copies and Court Authentication

Plain Copy: A plain copy is a photocopy of the court document.

Certified Copy: A certified copy is a plain copy with a stamp affixed with the Superior Court Clerk/Deputy Clerk's signature attesting to the authenticity of the document.

Seal of the Court: The seal of the Superior Court may be affixed to a certified copy.

Exemplified Copy: An exemplified copy includes the attestation of the clerk and seal of the court annexed, if a seal exists, together with a certificate of a judge of the court that the said attestation is in proper form. An exemplified copy is usually requested when the document shall be proved or admitted in other courts within the United States and its Territories and Possessions.

Triple Exemplified Copy: A triple exemplified copy contains an additional certification in which the judge certifies as to the form of the attestation in the verification and the authority of the Clerk of the Court who signed the exemplification, and the Clerk certifies as to the authority of the judge.

Apostille: An Apostille is provided attesting to the legal status of selected public officials, such as Judges, Clerks of Court and County Clerks. It is provided if the transaction involves a country that subscribes to the Hague Treaty and is processed through theNew Jersey Division of Revenue. A requester must first receive the exemplified copy from the Superior Court Clerk's Office and forward to the Division of Revenue.

NOTE: We will need time and staff to find your records. Records stored off-site might take longer to retrieve. Some requests will be sent to local management for handling. This includes very large requests. It also includes requests to receive records on a regular basis. Judiciary staff must balance the need for public access and the Judiciary’s need for efficient court operations. They will work with you to come up with a reasonable timeframe for your request.

Locating Divorce Records

In New Jersey, divorce cases (termed "dissolution cases" by the courts) are filed and heard in the Family Division of the Superior Court at the county court level. After a case is completed and a judgment of divorce issued, the case is closed. Records for closed divorce cases are stored and archived by the Superior Court Clerk's Office at our warehouse in Trenton. The number of years between the time a case is closed and the time the case records are transferred to the Superior Court Clerk’s Office for archiving varies from county to county.

In many circ*mstances it may not be necessary to obtain a copy of the actual Judgment of Divorce. The Superior Court Clerk’s Office can prepare a Certificate of Divorce for a nominal fee. The certificate contains the county of venue, docket number, names of the parties and date of the Final Judgment of Divorce, and is stamped with the Seal of the Superior Court.

The Dissolution Files Inventory chart below shows the inventory of divorce case files currently stored at the RIC. The "Case Year" refers to the most recent docket year sent for storage at the RIC. This means that all divorce records up to and including the year listed under "Case Year" are available at the RIC.

To determine whether your case file is located at the RIC you must know both the county in which the divorce case took place and the year the case was filed. This information can be determined from the docket number assigned to the case. The docket number will have either an "FM" or "M" pre-fix followed by a 7- or 9-digit number. The last two digits of the docket number indicate the case year. See the following for examples of docket numbers:

• Example 1: "FM-01-07500-00" would mean that the divorce case was filed in Atlantic County ("01") in the year 2000 ("00"). (Please note, when the docket number contains 9 digits, the first two digits may represent the county code. The two-digit county codes are listed on the chart below after the name of each county.)
• Example 2: "Atlantic County, M-07500-85" would mean that the divorce case was filed in Atlantic County in 1985 ("85").

Using the case docket number, find the county where the divorce case took place and the corresponding case year in the chart below. If your divorce case falls within the records listed in the chart, contact Customer Service about viewing your case or to obtain copies of case documents. Refer to our information onCopies of Court Recordsand subsequent authentication and/orcopy fees.

If your divorce case file is not at the RIC in Trenton, contact theFamily Divisionof the county court in which the divorce took place for information on how to obtain a copy.

Dissolution Files Inventory

* FM – 1989 Boxes (1&2) lost in Transit by Contract Messenger
** FM – 2017 (Entire year) was destroyed in a flood.

Locating Adoption Records

Adoption records are not public records in the State of New Jersey. Refer to N.J. CourtRule 1:38-3(16). All judgments of adoption and all records of proceedings relating to adoption are sealed, which means that they are not open to inspection, copying or otherwise made public except upon order of the court. (N.J.S.A. §9:3-51 and 52.) The Surrogate’s Court in each county enters judgments of adoption, places adoption records under seal and maintains these records.

In order for an adoption record to be opened, an order must be obtained from a judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part. This usually involves filing a notarized petition with the Surrogate and paying the required fees; however procedures may vary depending on the county in which the request is being made.

To obtain specific information on filing procedures for obtaining adoption records, contact theSurrogate’s Officein the county in which you believe the adoption took place. The Surrogate’s Office can advise you on the necessary procedures and filing fees in connection with petitioning the court to open adoption records.

Copy and Authentication Fees

Plain Copies:

*NOTE: When requesting copies of judgments of divorce, the terms of property settlement agreements are not always contained within or attached to the judgment. Additional copy fees may apply to a property settlement agreement that is not contained within the judgment of divorce.

Methods of Payment for Copy Fees

Payment for fees is accepted in the form of check and money order; cash is only accepted in person only. Checks/money orders must be payable toTreasurer-State of New Jersey.

NOTE: Only checks with pre-printed names will be accepted. Attorneys may use their Superior Court Attorney Collateral Account to pay for copies. Since for plain copies the copy fee is based on the number of pages, we cannot determine the exact fee for copies until the request is processed. Please ensure that you provide a daytime telephone number on your copy request form so that we can inform you of the copy fee for your request.

How to Request Copies of Court Records

For additional information on how to obtain copies of records, contact customer service at 609-421-6100

Record Retention Schedule

Judiciary Records Retention Schedules have been issued pursuant toAdministrative Directive #3-01 and subsequent related directives.

Below are links to each section of the Records Retention Schedule in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format. In order to view or print each section, you will need to download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free of charge. A set of free tools that allow visually disabled users to read documents in Adobe PDF format is available at Access.adobe.com.