There is no New Jersey court records system called MyCase. If you’re trying to look up a New Jersey court case online, the tool you want is the state judiciary’s free “Find a Case” page on njcourts.gov, which routes you into the eCourts platform based on what type of case you’re searching for.1NJ Courts. Find a Case Basic searches are free, no account is required, and you can look up civil, criminal, tax, and municipal matters from any browser.
eCourts is the judiciary’s electronic filing and case management platform. Attorneys and self-represented parties use it to file documents; the public uses a set of free lookup portals that read from the same underlying court databases.2NJ Courts. eCourts You don’t need to know which database holds your case. The public portals figure that out for you.
Pick the Right Portal for Your Case Type
From “Find a Case,” you’ll be sent to a different search tool depending on what you’re looking for:1NJ Courts. Find a Case
- Civil cases, including general civil, foreclosure, and Special Civil Part matters. These portals also provide electronic images of filed documents.
- Criminal cases, covering indictable offenses in Superior Court.
- Tax Court cases, searchable by party name, docket number, or the block and lot number of the property for real property tax appeals.
- Municipal Court matters, including traffic tickets, searchable through the separate Municipal Court Case Search portal and NJMCDirect.3NJ Courts. Municipal Court Case Search
One important boundary: family court records are largely not public. Public access through the Family Automated Case Tracking System is limited to dissolution (divorce) cases only.4NJ Courts. Family Automated Case Tracking System Manual Juvenile delinquency, domestic violence, and adoption matters do not appear in public search results at all.
How to Run the Search
You can search two ways: by party name or by docket number. Docket number is faster and more reliable because it pulls exactly one case. Name searches rely on exact matches, so a misspelled surname or a missing middle initial can return nothing even when the case exists.
Party name searches let you narrow by plaintiff or defendant. Criminal searches can be filtered by county. Judgments can be pulled up by judgment number directly.
New Jersey docket numbers follow a standardized format identifying the case type, county, a sequential case number, and the court year. Family docket numbers, for instance, begin with a docket type code, followed by a county code, a six-digit sequential number, and a two-digit year.5NJ Courts. Docketing, Uniform Docket Numbers and Statistics for Family Division If you have any prior correspondence from the court, the docket number is usually printed near the top.
What You’ll See in the Results
A public case search returns high-level information: the chronological list of filings, motions, and court events (the docket entries), the names of parties and their attorneys, scheduled hearings, and final dispositions like judgments or dismissals.
For certain case types, the electronic case jacket goes further. It displays case summary information and contains documents filed through eCourts, including complaints, motions, briefs, signed orders, and court notifications. For Special Civil Part and foreclosure cases, the jacket also includes documents previously submitted through the older Judiciary Electronic Filing and Imaging System.6NJ Courts. What Is the Electronic Case Jacket?
Documents originally filed on paper may not appear in the electronic jacket. For those, you’ll need to submit a records request to the court clerk. The public system also does not contain unfiled discovery, deposition transcripts, or most evidentiary exhibits. What you’re getting is the official court file, not the full body of evidence the parties exchanged.
Full electronic case jackets with all filed documents are reserved for registered users, meaning attorneys and parties with verified credentials.
What Won’t Show Up
Court Rule 1:38 treats court records as public unless a specific exception applies, and the exceptions are meant to be read narrowly. Several categories are nonetheless excluded from public view:
- Juvenile delinquency, domestic violence complaints, and adoption cases.
- Grand jury proceedings, jury questionnaires, and detailed financial affidavits.
- The Family Case Information Statement, which contains income, expense, and asset data.
- Medical, psychiatric, and substance abuse records in court files.
On top of that, Rule 1:38-7 requires parties to keep confidential personal identifiers out of filings unless a statute or court order specifically requires them. That list covers Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, vehicle plate numbers, insurance policy numbers, active financial account numbers (though the last four digits may be used when the account is at issue), active credit card numbers, and military status information. When one of these identifiers has to be included, the filing must be redacted before public inspection. Compliance falls on the filer, so mistakes happen. If you spot an unredacted identifier in your own case, flag it to the court.
Records can also be sealed by court order, but the bar is high. Under Rule 1:38-11, the party asking to seal has to prove good cause by a preponderance of the evidence. Embarrassment or inconvenience isn’t enough.
Getting an Official Copy
The online results are useful for checking status, but they aren’t official copies. If you need a document to file elsewhere or use in another proceeding, request either a plain copy or a certified copy from the court using the judiciary’s records request form (Form CN 10200). Named parties and attorneys pay 5 cents per page for letter-size copies.7NJ Courts. Records Request Form CN 10200 A certified copy is a plain copy with an official stamp and the Superior Court Clerk’s signature attesting that it’s a true copy of what’s on file.8NJ Courts. Copies of Court Records Certified copies cost more and are what you’ll need for legal proceedings, real estate closings, or filings in another jurisdiction.
Common Places People Look in the Wrong Portal
The most common mistake is searching Superior Court for something that lives in municipal court. Traffic tickets, disorderly persons offenses, and DWI matters are handled by municipal courts, and their records are searchable through the Municipal Court Case Search portal. NJMCDirect lets you look up your own traffic ticket and pay fines online.1NJ Courts. Find a Case If a Superior Court search returns nothing, try the municipal side before concluding the record doesn’t exist.
A court record search is also not the same thing as a criminal background check. The court portals show you a specific case file. Official criminal history checks pull from law enforcement databases maintained by the New Jersey State Police and cover arrests, convictions, and dispositions statewide. Those requests go through Form 212A, cost $20 per submission, and require an Originating Agency Identifier (ORI) number obtained from the requesting police department or state agency.9New Jersey Government Services. Criminal History Record Request Form 212A can’t be used for a personal background check on yourself; for that, contact the State Police directly or go through a fingerprint-based identity history check.
If a case has been expunged, it should not appear in any public court search. Expungement in New Jersey means extracting, sealing, impounding, or isolating all records tied to the arrest, trial, or disposition from every court, law enforcement, and criminal justice agency in the state, including complaints, warrants, arrest records, fingerprints, photographs, and judicial docket entries. If an expunged record still shows up online, bring it to the court’s attention immediately. You can check the status of a pending expungement through the New Jersey State Police Expungement Status Portal.10New Jersey State Police. Expungement Status Portal Even after a court grants an expungement order, agencies need time to process the removal from their systems.