How to Expunge a Criminal Record in New Jersey
You can clean up your criminal record in New Jersey by petitioning the court to expunge your record. An expungement order will mean that your criminal record is segregated from the publicly available court records and no longer disclosed to the public. Although the requirements for an expungement order will vary depending upon the nature of your conviction, the procedure is the same for all cases and the New Jersey courts have standardized forms available for your use.
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Things You'll Need
- Criminal record information
- Petition for Expungement (court form)
- Order for Hearing (court form)
- Expungement Order (court form)
- Proof of Notice (court form), if necessary
Instructions
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1
Gather all information related to the record of your criminal conviction from your arrest until disposition of your case through completion of your sentence, probation or parole. This should include all important dates, identification of the arresting law enforcement agency, court where you were convicted and the criminal statute you were convicted of violating. If you do not have this information among your own records, contact the Criminal Case Management Office in the county where you were convicted for information on how to obtain this information from the court.
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2
Obtain an expungement kit from the Superior Court in your county. This kit contains a packet of documents with information and court forms necessary to petition the court for expungement of your criminal record. You can also download this same packet of documents from the New Jersey Judiciary website.
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3
Complete the Petition for Expungement court form by inserting the information you gathered regarding your criminal record in Step 1. This form will be filed in the Superior Court in the county where you were arrested. Your signature on the form must be notarized.
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4
Complete the Order for Hearing court form, which the judge will use to set a hearing for your petition. Fill in all the identifying information you can on the form---your name and address, court name, prosecutor's name, etc.---but leave blank the spaces for the hearing date and time and judge's signature area.
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5
Complete the Expungement Order court form in the same manner your completed the form in Step 4.
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6
Make three copies of the documents you completed in Steps 3, 4 and 5. File the original documents plus two copies with the clerk of the court. On the remaining copy, the clerk will insert the hearing date information, docket number and mark the documents as "filed" with the court---these are your conformed documents. You will need this copy for your records and further use. Be prepared to pay a filing fee to the court.
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7
Make as many copies of your conformed documents as necessary to mail the documents to all governmental agencies involved with your arrest, conviction and incarceration, including probation and parole. A list of the agencies potentially involved in your case is included in the court's expungement kit. Mail the documents to the required agencies by certified mail, return receipt requested.
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8
Contact the clerk of the court after you have received all the certified mail receipts from the agencies you mailed the documents to and ask if you need to file the receipts prior to your hearing date. If so, complete the Proof of Notice court form and file it with the court with the receipts. If not, bring the receipts to court on your hearing date.
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Attend the court hearing on your petition. Be ready to answer the judge's questions about the nature and circumstances of your conviction and the reasons why you want your record expunged.
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Tips & Warnings
The waiting period to file a petition for expungement varies, depending on the type of offense, such as 10 years for indictable crimes (felonies), five years for disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses (misdemeanors), and two years for municipal ordinance violations.
New Jersey expungement law is complex and if your criminal record has more than one conviction, including out-of-state convictions, you may have a more difficult time obtaining an expungement or prohibited from obtaining an expungement. You should consult an attorney in these circumstances.
References
Resources
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