Rules of Court · Part 4 · New Jersey

R. 4:3-2 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 4:3-2: Venue in the Superior Court, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked

Venue in the Superior Court

the rule, verbatim; Code adds line numbers, links on every cross-reference and the list of rules that cite this one

(a) Where Laid. Venue shall be laid by the plaintiff in Superior Court actions as follows: (1) actions affecting title to real property or a possessory or other interest therein, or for damages thereto, or appeals from assessments for improvements, in the county in which any affected property is situate; (2) actions not affecting real property which are brought by or against municipal corporations, counties, public agencies or officials, in the county in which the cause of action arose; (3) except as otherwise provided by R. 4:44A-1 (structured settlements), R. 4:53-2 (receivership actions), R. 4:60-2 (attachments), R. 5:2-1 (family actions), R. 4:83-4 (probate actions), and R. 6:1-3 (Special Civil Part actions), the venue in all other actions in the Superior Court shall be laid in the county in which the cause of action arose, or in which any party to the action resides at the time of its commencement, or in which the summons was served on a nonresident defendant; and (4) actions on and objections to certificates of debt for motor vehicle surcharges that have been docketed as judgments by the Superior Court Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:29A-35 shall be brought in the county of residence of the judgment debtor.

(b) Business Entity. For purposes of this rule, a business entity shall be deemed to reside in the county in which its registered office is located or in any county in which it is actually doing business.

(c) Exceptions in Multicounty Vicinages. With the approval of the Chief Justice, the assignment judge of any multicounty vicinage may order that in lieu of laying venue in the county of the vicinage as provided by these rules, venue in any designated category of cases shall be laid in any single county within the vicinage.

Note: Source — R.R. 4:3-2. Paragraph (a) amended December 20, 1983 to be effective December 31, 1983. Paragraph (c) adopted January 9, 1984 to be effective immediately; paragraph (a) amended November 7, 1988 to be effective January 2, 1989; paragraph (a) amended June 29, 1990 to be effective September 4, 1990; paragraph (a) amended June 28, 1996 to be effective September 1, 1996; paragraph (a) amended July 28, 2004 to be effective September 1, 2004; paragraph (b) amended August 1, 2016 to be effective September 1, 2016.

Verbatim rule text, unmarked. Nothing here is a summary.

rule 4:3-2 "Venue in the Superior Court" {
(a) Where Laid. Venue shall be laid by the plaintiff in Superior Court actions as follows: (1) actions affecting title to real property or a possessory or other interest therein, or for damages thereto, or appeals from assessments for improvements, in the county in which any affected property is situate; (2) actions not affecting real property which are brought by or against municipal corporations, counties, public agencies or officials, in the county in which the cause of action arose; (3) except as otherwise provided by R. 4:44A-1 (structured settlements), R. 4:53-2 (receivership actions), R. 4:60-2 (attachments), R. 5:2-1 (family actions), R. 4:83-4 (probate actions), and R. 6:1-3 (Special Civil Part actions), the venue in all other actions in the Superior Court shall be laid in the county in which the cause of action arose, or in which any party to the action resides at the time of its commencement, or in which the summons was served on a nonresident defendant; and (4) actions on and objections to certificates of debt for motor vehicle surcharges that have been docketed as judgments by the Superior Court Clerk pursuant to N.J.S.A. 17:29A-35 shall be brought in the county of residence of the judgment debtor.
(b) Business Entity. For purposes of this rule, a business entity shall be deemed to reside in the county in which its registered office is located or in any county in which it is actually doing business.
(c) Exceptions in Multicounty Vicinages. With the approval of the Chief Justice, the assignment judge of any multicounty vicinage may order that in lieu of laying venue in the county of the vicinage as provided by these rules, venue in any designated category of cases shall be laid in any single county within the vicinage.
Note: Source — R.R. 4:3-2. Paragraph (a) amended December 20, 1983 to be effective December 31, 1983. Paragraph (c) adopted January 9, 1984 to be effective immediately; paragraph (a) amended November 7, 1988 to be effective January 2, 1989; paragraph (a) amended June 29, 1990 to be effective September 4, 1990; paragraph (a) amended June 28, 1996 to be effective September 1, 1996; paragraph (a) amended July 28, 2004 to be effective September 1, 2004; paragraph (b) amended August 1, 2016 to be effective September 1, 2016.
}
referenced_by: 4:3-3, 4:44-1, 4:60-2, 4:83-4, 5:2-1
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-29; corpus harvested 2026-09-02

← R. 4:3-1 · R. 4:3-3 → · chapter 4:3 · all rules

The Rules of Court are a government edict and carry no copyright; the text above is the Judiciary’s own publication, unchanged. Structure, links and highlighting are ours and carry no legal weight. Read the rule on njcourts.gov before you rely on it; amendments take effect each September 1.