Want to Expunge a Criminal Record in New Jersey?

Learn More from a New Jersey Expungement Lawyer

The ramifications of criminal charges in New Jersey can negatively impact your life long after the case itself is resolved, regardless of the outcome. For example, a charge on your criminal record can become an impediment when you are seeking employment, applying to become a coach for a youth sports team, or even attempting to adopt a child. Unbeknownst to many, even in cases in which the charges are ultimately dismissed, a record of the initial arrest and the original charge and/or charges remains, and as such, will appear on a criminal background check. Fortunately, New Jersey provides a legal solution for eligible applicants through a process called an expungement, a service Travis J. Tormey and the New Jersey expungement lawyers at The Tormey Law Firm provide for their clients on a regular basis.

Depending on the circumstances of your previous case or cases, you may be able to expunge any documentation of the arrests, criminal complaints issued against you, and even convictions for certain offenses, allowing you the move on with your life with a truly clean slate. By completing the necessary procedure associated with the expugement process, which entails filing of an expungement petition with the Superior Court of New Jersey and a series of subsequent steps, Mr. Tormey and his team have assisted countless clients with successfully expunging their criminal records.

Am I eligible for an expungement? What’s on my criminal record?

The best way to determine New Jersey expungement eligibility is to first get a background check. The most accurate background check is a fingerprint check through New Jersey State Police. Their website offers helpful information to proceed with the process. Specifically, you will want to schedule an appointment for a personal records request so that the results will be sent directly to you. Once you schedule an appointment, pay the fee and get your fingerprints done, you will be sent the results of your New Jersey record check. After you receive the results, we can help you determine eligibility and, if you are eligible, the best way to file your New Jersey criminal record expungement.

There are several ways to file an expungement – Electronic or Paper

The age of your case will help determine if your petition needs to be filed on paper or electronically. Although filing an expungement electronically is the most common way to proceed with the filing, it is not the case for every petition. The older the case the more likely it will be required to file the petition on paper. This is mainly because of the way records were stored years ago. The court record-keeping system changed in the early 90s so it is likely if your case was around that time or earlier, a paper petition may need to be filed. Generally, the older case numbers will not generate through the expungement portal because they were not stored in an electronic format.

What’s the difference between an electronically filed expungement petition and a paper expungment?

Paper expungements were the only way expungements were filed up until the new laws/system came into effect in 2020. Utilizing this way to file an expungement required much more steps than an electronic filing. To proceed with this process, certified dispositions from each Court must be requested for each matter you are seeking to expunge. A disposition is the Court’s record of the resolution of your case. After the dispositions are received from each of the Courts, we can draft the petition, an Order setting a hearing date, and a proposed Order of expungement. The petition itself “petitions” the Court to seal the records associated with each matter we are asking to have expunged. The petition will lay out the municipality the arrest occurred in, the date of the arrest, the Court the matter was resolved in and the disposition of each matter. The proposed Order will also lay out this information. The Order and the petition need to match this information because the Order is what the involved entities will use to update their records (we will get into what this means later on). However, the next step after everything is drafted and complete, is to file it with the Court. Once the Court files our documents, they will send us a filed/stamped copy with an Order Setting a Hearing Date. An Order Setting a Hearing Date is essentially a tracking date for the Courts to keep track of the petition. It is not a Court date that you or your attorney need to attend. Once we receive the documentation back, we need to serve a copy on the Prosecutor’s Office in the County the filing is in. Once the Prosecutor’s Office receives/reviews the petition, they will provide consent or objection to the petition. If the Prosecutor’s Office provides consent, then they will provide a letter indicating same. If there is an objection, they will outline why they oppose the Court’s granting of the expungement. In most cases, the State will run a multi-state background check on the petitioner through New Jersey State Police to make their determination. There are ways to overcome an objection, however, it is very important that you are candid with your attorney so they can anticipate any issues that may come up with the petition.

Let’s say the State consents to the petition, if they do, then we will receive a Final Order of Expungement. A Final Order is the main piece needed for the expungement because it orders each of the involved entities to seal your record. The Final Order must then be served on all of the required parties also known as entities. They need to be served via Certified Mail with a Return Receipt. Once the receipts or green cards come back, then an Affidavit of Service must be filed with the Court. From there, each of the entities must comply with the Final Order of Expungement and update their records accordingly. New Jersey State Police is arguably the most important entity involved in the process because the update of their records seems to be the link that triggers the FBI to also update their records as well.

It used to be that New Jersey State Police would provide a letter indicating that they updated their records and would provide the petitioner with a letter that acted as proof that the expungement was complete because they updated their records. However, that is no longer the case. Now, once we receive confirmation that New Jersey State Police has complied with the Order, we suggest that our clients get another background check to ensure the process is complete. As you can see, the paper petition route requires a lot of mailings and a lot of verification along the way. However, at this juncture, it is the only way (in most cases) to file for an expungement of older records. An electronically filed petition is the preferred and more accepted way to file an expungement petition. Unless your case is old, it is the only way the Court will accept your petition. New Jersey Courts have an expungement portal that attorneys and pro se litigants can utilize to file an expungement petition online. It efficiently allows for a petitioner to track the status of the petition, upload documents in connection to the expungement, monitor the expungement and have verification of the entities or agencies notified about the petition. The portal allows the filer to choose the type of expungement to be filed, the venue in which it should be filed, etc. In order to start the electronic petition, one must use the case number at the County or the Complaint number. From there, the petition will be generated. You can add matters (old and recent) that do not populate in the portal, you can add out of state  matters and also add the necessary entities that will be able to view the petition, Final Order, etc. A Party Court History (“PCH”) Search will also generate through the portal that you must check before you file the petition. The PCH is helpful because it allows for the filing party to be able to see linked cases to the Defendant/Petitioner (evening including juvenile matters). Once the petition and the Order are ready to be filed, you must check the petition and Order before filing it. Notably, you may upload dispositions or any documents relevant for the Prosecutor and/or Court to view. Once the petition is filed, the attorney’s notice of appearance will be entered, and an expungement scheduling notification will be generated with a hearing date. The notification with a hearing date is similar to the Order setting a hearing date in the paper expungement as this is just a tracking date. Therefore, there is no hearing that you are required to attend. These notices are sent to the email on file for the electronic system. Earlier you said that you can add out-of-state matters. What does that mean? Although
New Jersey cannot expunge out-of-state matters, non-New Jersey matters will count toward your eligibility for an expungement in New Jersey. Every situation is different, so it is important to speak with an attorney to discuss the best way to proceed.

For example, if you have a few matters from the 80’s and then a recent matter in 2004, you may be able to file your record electronically. How can that be? Well, more recent (or newer) cases are more inclined to show up in the system so you can you use the newest case to generate the petition in the expungement portal and then add the older cases manually.

What are the different types of expungement petitions that can be filed?

The two main types of expungements are regular expungement petitions and Clean Slate petitions. Regardless of the petition that is filed, the offense convictions one seeks to expunge must be eligible pursuant relevant expungement statutes. In other words, you cannot seek to expunge convictions that are barred by statute. You may, however, expunge charges that would not otherwise be expungable had there been a conviction. The most important part in determining eligibility is what one has been convicted of. For example, if you were convicted of terroristic threats but were also charged with arson and robbery, and the charges were dismissed, you may seek an expungement of the conviction and charges on your record. This is relevant because convictions associated with arson and robbery are ineligible for expungement, however, the mere charges are eligible. This is important to know because no matter what type of expungement is filed, the offense convictions need to be eligible under the statute. A regular expungement allows up to five disorderly persons offenses convictions to be expunged in one petition, or a combination or three disorderly persons and one felony to be expunged in one petition. Whereas a Clean Slate expungement allows for an unlimited amount of eligible felonies and disorderly persons offenses to be expunged under one petition so long as the petitioner has been offense free in the last ten years (since the completion of the last sentence).

How Do You Expunge a Criminal Record in New Jersey?

If you meet the necessary criteria, a petition for expungement may be submitted to the Superior Court for approval. If the Superior Judge subsequently signs the order approving your expungement, any documentation related to the offense or offenses listed in your expungement petition is essentially eliminated. After the court enters the expungement order, you are legally permitted to respond to any questions regarding these previous arrests, charges, or convictions with the answer “No.” In addition, if potential employers, agencies, or others seek to verify your statement by a running a criminal background check in the future, you will have a clean record to prove it. It is important to note that there are two exceptions to this rule, applicable only to those pursuing employment in law enforcement or the judicial branch of government.

By enlisting an experienced New Jersey expungement attorney who can facilitate this complex legal process, you can ensure that your expungement petition is submitted, substantiated, and resolved with the best chances for a successful outcome, and (in most cases) you never even have to appear in court. Our NJ expungement lawyers are available anytime to discuss your potential eligibility for an expungement in New Jersey. Simply contact the offices of The Tormey Law Firm at (201)-556-1570 for a free consultation.

Types of New Jersey Expungements

Access the following pages to view the various types of expungements which may be available to you in New Jersey:

• Expungement of an Arrest Not Resulting in Conviction
  • charge dismissed or not guilty verdict: There is no waiting period, the charge can be expunged immediately.
• Expungement of a Municipal Ordinance
  • Two (2) year waiting period from the date of plea or payment of fine
• Expungement of a Petty Disorderly and/or Disorderly Persons Offense
  • Five (5) year waiting period from the payment of Court ordered fines/costs, completion of probation or parole, or release from incarceration – whichever is later.
• Expungement of an Indictable Felony
  • Five (5) year waiting period from the completion of the sentence; i.e. payment of Court ordered fines/costs, completion of probation/parole, or release from jail – whichever is later.
• Expungement of a Diversionary Program (i.e. Pretrial Intervention, Conditional Discharge, or Conditional Dismissal)
  • Six (6) month waiting period after the successful completion of the program. You have no criminal record after you complete the program but the arrest record remains which can still be expunged after six (6) months.

When it comes to the process for expunging an arrest and/or charge that was dismissed from your record, there is going to be an automated expungement system for dismissals, acquittals, and discharges. In 2020, New Jersey approved new expungement legislation which stipulates that the record of an individual’s arrest and charge for a disorderly persons offense or petty disorderly persons offense will be automatically removed from all NJ government databases when the charge is dismissed or the individual is acquitted. Minor marijuana possession convictions have also been included under the new umbrella for expungement eligibility, with the courts instructed to seal these convictions once disposed, and all marijuana convictions become immediately eligible for expungement.

What Criminal Charges Can be Expunged in New Jersey?

Below is a List of Some of the Offenses that May be Eligible for Expungement in New Jersey:

• Drug (CDS) offenses
• Shoplifting
• Disorderly conduct
• Simple assault
• Criminal mischief
• Possession of a fake ID
• Underage Possession of Alcohol
• Hindering Apprehension or Prosecution

NJ Offenses that Cannot be Expunged

New Jersey Law Prohibits the Expungement of Certain Offenses, Some of which Include:

• Homicide/Murder (with the exception of vehicular homicide)
• Luring or enticing
• Aggravated sexual assault
• Aggravated criminal sexual contact
• Robbery
• Arson and related crimes
• Endangering the welfare of a child (by sexual conduct)
• Terrorism

Contact New Jersey Expungement Attorneys for a Free Consultation

An expungement can significantly improve your life, creating opportunities which may have otherwise been out of your reach, even if you were ultimately found “not guilty.” Contact The Tormey Law Firm today to find out if you’re eligible for an expungement in New Jersey and change your life for the better. Our New Jersey expungement lawyers can be reached at (201)-556-1570 and always provides consultations free of charge.