New Jersey Expungement Laws: How to Clear or Seal a Criminal Record

New Jersey offers expungement: the removal, sealing, impounding or isolation of all records held by courts, detention or correctional facilities, law enforcement and criminal justice agencies. The courts list several types: regular expungement of indictable (crime), disorderly persons and ordinance convictions; "Clean Slate" expungement of an entire record after 10 years; expedited expungement of dismissed or acquitted cases; expungement after Recovery Court (drug court); marijuana and hashish expungements; and expungement of juvenile delinquency adjudications. The Governor can grant clemency, including pardons.

According to the New Jersey Courts, the court can order an immediate (expedited) expungement when a case is dismissed or the defendant is acquitted and found not guilty on all counts.

New Jersey's lower-level offenses are disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses, plus municipal ordinance violations. According to the New Jersey Courts, the wait is generally 5 years after the sentence for disorderly persons offenses and 2 years for ordinance violations, all fines and fees must be paid, and the filing period can sometimes be shortened to 4 years. Up to three disorderly or petty disorderly persons convictions can be expunged together with one crime.

A person may apply to expunge one crime (indictable offense) plus up to three disorderly or petty disorderly persons offenses; multiple crimes in a single judgment; or closely related crimes committed in a short period of time. The wait is 5 years after the most recent conviction, payment of fines, completion of probation or parole, or release, whichever is later. A court may allow filing after 4 years if it finds compelling circumstances, or when unpaid fines are not due to willful noncompliance. Never eligible: criminal homicide (except death by auto and strict-liability vehicular homicide), kidnapping, luring, human trafficking, sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact, robbery, arson, perjury, terrorism, several child sexual-exploitation offenses, and crimes by public officials related to their office. Drug sale or distribution convictions are not eligible except small amounts of marijuana or hashish, or third- or fourth-degree offenses where the court finds compelling circumstances. "Clean Slate" expungement lets someone with any number of eligible convictions expunge their entire record 10 years after the most recent conviction, payment, supervision or release.

Partly. Under the 2021 marijuana decriminalization law, the courts automatically expunged cases containing only certain marijuana or hashish offenses, with no application required. The 2019 Clean Slate law also directs the state to build an automated process that would make all eligible convictions inaccessible to the public 10 years after the most recent conviction, payment, supervision or release. The courts' self-help page still describes Clean Slate expungement as a petition, so whether the automated system is running was not confirmed.

According to the New Jersey Courts, juvenile delinquency adjudications can generally be expunged 3 years after final discharge from custody or supervision (or after any other order not involving custody or supervision), if there were no further arrests, pending charges, convictions or delinquency adjudications in those 3 years.

Apply online through the Judiciary's free eCourts Expungement System, using the case number (Superior Court docket or municipal summons or warrant number). The petition is filed in the Superior Court for the county of the most recent conviction, and prosecutors may object. A court appearance is not always required. After a judge signs the order, it is sent to law enforcement agencies, and the New Jersey State Police remove the records from the state criminal history system. Their Expungement Status Portal lets you track processing.

According to the New Jersey Courts, filing for expungement through the eCourts Expungement System is free.

Expungement removes from public view the arrest, all related court proceedings, the conviction, and the outcome and sentence. Expunged cases cannot be found in any public Judiciary database and cannot be disclosed by court staff. The state police remove expunged complaints from the criminal history system used for background checks.

The Governor grants executive clemency, including pardons, commutations and remission of fines. People who are not incarcerated mail a Petition for Executive Clemency to the State Parole Board's Clemency Unit (P.O. Box 862, Trenton, NJ 08625); people in custody give it to their facility's administrator.

Yes. The Marijuana Decriminalization Law, effective July 1, 2021, required certain marijuana and hashish cases to be expunged, and the courts expunged them without applications. This covers cases whose only offense was distributing less than 1 ounce of marijuana or less than 5 grams of hashish, or possessing marijuana or hashish, along with certain related offenses, attempts and conspiracies. People who think their case should have been included can file a motion for judicial review. Separate petition-based marijuana expungement also exists, and many marijuana convictions no longer count against eligibility for other expungements.

The New Jersey State Police Criminal Information Unit provides your own New Jersey criminal history record (a Personal Record Request). Schedule fingerprinting with IDEMIA at an IdentoGO site online or at 1-877-503-5981, using service code 2F1BJG, and bring ID showing the home address you used. The fee is $45.73 (including a $15.73 vendor fee and sales tax), paid at the site. If a record exists, it is mailed to you; if none exists, you can download an official letter from the NJ portal within 24 to 72 hours using your IdentoGO PCN, last name and date of birth (available for 90 days). Results cover New Jersey records only. Questions: Criminal Information Unit, 609-882-2000 ext. 2302, CIU@njsp.gov.