New Jersey Free Public Records Directory

The State of New Jersey is one of the original 13 colonies that revolted against British rule and declared themselves free and independent states during the Revolutionary War. New Jersey passed its own Constitution on July 2, 1776, two days before the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1787, New Jersey became the third state to ratify the United States Constitution. As the site of over 100 battles, New Jersey played an important part in the Revolutionary War. Strategically situated between the port cities of New York and Philadelphia, northern and central New Jersey became a major manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution in the early part of the 19th Century. Southern New Jersey remained mostly agricultural, earning the state’s nickname: The Garden State. Today, New Jersey is the 12th most populous state at approximately 9 million residents, but is only 47th in size at 8,723 square miles. That makes New Jersey the most densely populated state.

New Jersey is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the southeast, New York on the northeast, Pennsylvania and Delaware on the west, and Delaware Bay on the south. The sparsely populated higher elevations in the northwestern part of the state have a humid continental climate, while the rest of the state has a humid subtropical climate. The average annual precipitation of 43 to 51 inches is spread throughout the year. Average temperatures range from lows in the mid-20s to highs in the mid-80s.

New Jersey’s population is also spread relatively uniformly across the state, which has only five cities of over 100,000 in population. In contrast, the state boasts 565 municipalities, all bordered by other municipalities. There are five types of municipalities: cities, towns, boroughs, townships, and villages. New Jersey has 21 counties, varying in size from 47 square miles (Hudson County) to 805 square miles (Burlington County) and in population from 66,000 (Salem County) to 905,000 (Bergen County). Its capital is Trenton.

New Jersey is crucial link in the transportation corridor that serves the entire East Coast megalopolis from Boston in the north to the Baltimore/D.C. metro are in the south. Because if its location, New Jersey is criss-crossed by a complex network of railroads and highways. It is linked to New York and Pennsylvania by many bridges, as well as the famous Holland and Lincoln Tunnels under the Hudson River.

The state’s most notable geographic feature is “The Shore” – the sandy Atlantic Ocean beaches spanning three quarters of its eastern boundary from Sandy Hook southward to Cape May. Those beaches and the many inlets and bays behind them make tourism a major component of New Jersey’s economy – along with telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, publishing, shipping, and agriculture. The state motto is Liberty and Prosperity. ^[1]

Among all states, New Jersey is ranked #2 in education and #3 in household income. On the other hand, it is #41 in cost of living, largely due to its high cost of housing and high level of taxation. ^[2]

With its long history, dense population, and numerous municipalities, New Jersey has an abundance of public records. To find them, see our directory database below for all types, such as vital records, criminal records, and court records.

Abbreviation	NJ
Capital	Trenton
Population	9,005,644 (2017 est.)
Area size	8,723 sq. mi
Demonym	New Jerseyan or New Jerseyite
Primary languages spoken	English, Spanish
Governor	Phil Murphy
Lieutenant Governor	Sheila Oliver
U.S. Senators	Bob Menendez, Cory Booker
U.S. House Delegation	7 Democrats, 5 Republicans
Time Zone	Eastern: UTC -5/-4

*The map and data in the table are from Wikipedia.

Browse by Public Record Category

Public records are official records that document major life milestones in a person’s life or government records that are made public to any member of the community. The Freedom of Information Act is a national law that releases government agency public records and makes it possible to view most public records. There are two types of public records: personal public records and business or government public records. Personal records typically document major events in a person’s life, such as birth certificates, marriage records, divorce records, death certificates, etc. Business or government public records are generally internal information recorded in the business or agency, such as revenue, business ownership, etc. ^[3] A multitude of records are available, such as court records and arrest records, but it can be difficult to know where to access them. We have provided helpful categories and links to popular public access documents to help you in your records search. These links will direct you to the best website or contact information for the record you are searching for in this state. For example, in New Jersey, bids and proposals are public records but trade secrets, financial information, and any other information that could give an advantage to competitors is not subject to disclosure. This is different than in Washington, where bids and proposals for most types of contracts are public records, and confidentiality of trade secrets is limited to only certain types of contracts such as highway construction and health services. ^[4]