Custodian · New Jersey · 21 counties
Subpoena
duces tecum New Jersey public records by county: OPRA requests, land records, voter registration, courts and more
Pick your county to find the office that holds the record: OPRA requests, deeds, passports, trade names, the Surrogate, voter registration, the courthouse and more. Every link was opened and checked.
Your county
The Surrogate, passports and trade names
- The County Surrogate, county by countyThe county office that probates a will, appoints an administrator and opens a guardianship. One page for each of the 21 counties.
- U.S. passports at the County ClerkFirst-time applications are filed in person. The Department of State issues the passport. Official DS-11 only at travel.state.gov.
- Business and trade namesSole props and partnerships file at the County Clerk. LLCs and corporations file an alternate name with the Division of Revenue.
Statewide
- OPRA Central — state agenciesFile an Open Public Records Act request with any State department. Counties and towns have their own custodians, below.
- Register to vote — onlineThe State's voter registration system. New Jersey, U.S. citizen, 17 to pre-register, 18 to vote.
- Am I registered? — check your statusLook yourself up by name and date of birth; shows your polling place and party.
- Vote by mailDivision of Elections: the application, deadlines, and where to send it (your County Clerk).
- NJ Courts — find a caseCase search across the Judiciary. Court records are outside OPRA; the courts publish their own access rules.
- NJ Courts — copies of court recordsHow to request copies from the Superior Court Clerk.
- NJ Courts — electronic accessJudgments, liens and other Clerk records online.
- County tax boards — property assessmentsThe Association of County Tax Boards: every county's assessment and tax-list search.
- Vital records — birth, death, marriageDepartment of Health. Certified copies go through the State or the local registrar.
- Business entity searchDivision of Revenue: registered businesses and their filings.
How to file an OPRA request
Instructions to the requester, from the Act itself (N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et seq., as the Government Records Council publishes it, read with P.L.2024, c.16, the 2024 amendments the GRC page does not yet show).
- Name the record, not the question. Ask for a document that exists — “the contract with X dated Y,” “the minutes of the March meeting” — not for answers or research. A custodian must produce records; the Act does not make them explain anything.
- Send it to the custodian. Every county and town names one. Use the portal or form linked below for your county; most take a request online, by mail, or in person. You may request anonymously, but an anonymous requester cannot take a denial to the GRC or to court, and silence is not a deemed denial — give a name and an address you check.
- Count seven business days. The custodian must grant or deny access “as soon as possible, but not later than seven business days after receiving the request” (47:1A-5). Silence past that day is a denial you can act on (some requests get 14 business days; the custodian must tell you within seven).
- Pick the medium. If the agency keeps the record electronically, you can have it electronically. Copies cost the actual cost of duplication; an unusual request may carry a “special service charge,” which must be reasonable and quoted before it is incurred.
- If denied, choose your forum. You may file a complaint with the Government Records Council (no filing fee, no lawyer needed) or an action in Superior Court, heard in the vicinage where it is filed (47:1A-6). Act promptly: the Supreme Court applies a 45-day limit to court actions (Mason v. City of Hoboken, 196 N.J. 51 (2008)). A requester who prevails may be awarded a reasonable attorney’s fee; the award is mandatory only if the agency acted unreasonably, in bad faith, or knowingly violated the Act (47:1A-6, as amended by P.L.2024, c.16).
This is the Act as written, not advice about your request. The GRC’s Citizen’s Guide to OPRA is the official walkthrough.
Every office, county by county
Fifteen offices per county, every link opened and checked on 2026-09-02. A link nobody could open is shown as text with the reason, not guessed.
Jump to: Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Salem, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren.
Atlantic
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Election Services (Superintendent of Elections)
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Atlantic/Cape May vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 609-402-0100 ext. 47230
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Atlantic County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 609-345-3444
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 609-909-7860
Bergen
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Superintendent of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Bergen vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 201-221-0700 ext. 25103
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Bergen County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 201-488-0044
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 201-646-2057
Burlington
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Superintendent of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Burlington vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 609-288-9500 ext. 38118
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Burlington County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 609-261-4862
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 609-265-5048
Camden
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Commissioner of Registration
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Camden vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 856-650-9100 ext. 43090
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Camden County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 856-482-0618
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 856-225-8440
Cape May
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Atlantic/Cape May vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 609-402-0100 ext. 47230
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Cape May County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 609-463-0313
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 609-465-1135 x3443
Cumberland
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 856-878-5050
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Cumberland County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 856-453-7000
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 856-453-0486
Essex
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Essex vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 973-776-9300 ext. 56886
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Essex County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 973-622-6207
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 973-621-4687
Gloucester
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Superintendent of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 856-878-5050
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Gloucester County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 856-848-4589
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 856-384-5500
Hudson
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Commissioner of Registration
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Hudson vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 201-748-4400 ext. 60145
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Hudson County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 201-798-4708
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 201-795-6508
Hunterdon
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Hunterdon County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 908-200-7822
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 908-788-1129
Mercer
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Superintendent of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Mercer vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 609-571-4200 ext. 74205
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Mercer County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 609-585-6200
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 609-989-6428
Middlesex
14 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Middlesex vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 732-645-4300 ext. 88748
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Middlesex County Bar Association: not yet verified
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 732-828-3433
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit
Monmouth
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Monmouth vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 732-358-8700 ext. 87260
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Monmouth Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 732-431-5544
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 732-431-6459
Morris
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Morris/Sussex vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 862-397-5700 ext. 75160
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Morris County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 973-267-5882
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit
Ocean
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Election Board
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Ocean vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 732-504-0700 ext. 64480
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Ocean County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 732-240-3666
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 732-929-2195
Passaic
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Superintendent of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Passaic vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 973-653-2910 ext. 24470
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Passaic County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 973-345-4585
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 973-881-4800
Salem
14 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 856-878-5050
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Salem County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation: no county service found; NJSBA statewide list · 856-935-5629
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 856-935-7510 x8364
Somerset
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 908-332-7700
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Somerset County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 908-685-2323
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit
Sussex
14 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Morris/Sussex vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 862-397-5700 ext. 75160
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Sussex County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation: no county service found; NJSBA statewide list
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit · 973-383-1570
Union
15 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Union vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 908-787-1650
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Union County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation · 908-353-4715
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit
Warren
14 of 15 checked
- OPRA request
- OPRA request
- Land records
- County Clerk / Register search
- Surrogate
- Wills, estates, guardianships
- Voter registration
- Board of Elections
- Sheriff’s sales
- Foreclosure auctions
- Civil process
- Service of papers, writs, levies
- Courthouse
- Somerset/Hunterdon/Warren vicinage
- Ombudsman
- Help without a lawyer · 908-750-8100
- Tax appeals
- County Board of Taxation
- Trade names
- Business / trade name certificate
- County Clerk
- Notary, recording, other clerk services
- Bar association
- Warren County Bar Association
- Lawyer referral
- Low-fee first consultation: no county service found; NJSBA statewide list
- Crime victims
- Prosecutor’s victim-witness unit
A lawyer
Records are the raw material; sometimes the next step is a person who can read them for you. Free legal help, every county’s referral service, how to check a lawyer’s licence and discipline, and how to complain: the Lawyers page.
Your case
Once the records are in hand, the case itself has stations and clocks. Sixteen kinds of New Jersey case, from a civil complaint to probate, appeal, criminal, family, foreclosure, tenancy and municipal court, each step quoting its rule: the Your case page.
About this page, and the Act behind it
duces tecum — “bring with you.” The order that makes a custodian of records show up with the records.
- To
- The Custodian of Records of each of the twenty-one counties of New Jersey, and every office named below.
- You are commanded
- to grant or deny access, within seven business days of a request under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, to the government records so requested, or to state in writing the specific basis for withholding each one.
- Issued by
- the Legislature, in the Open Public Records Act. This page only tells you where to serve it.
New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act, N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1, says a government record is public unless a listed exception applies, and it gives the custodian seven business days to answer — the same clock a subpoena runs on. Deeds, mortgages and liens are filed with the County Clerk or Register and are public without any request at all. Every link on this page was opened and checked before it was listed. A link nobody has opened is shown as not yet verified instead of being guessed.
Custodian is legal information, not legal advice. Records offices change their websites; when a link is wrong, the county’s own site is the source of truth. Court records are not covered by OPRA and follow the Judiciary’s own access rules, listed above; the Judiciary’s request forms for transcripts, record searches and court access are free walkthroughs at in.formapauperis.com.
Cross-reference. Going to court and cannot pay the filing fee? See the notice of motion to proceed in forma pauperis (the New Jersey court fee waiver) or open the fee waiver form directly. Every other New Jersey court form is free at in.formapauperis.com.