Union County Criminal Statistics
The New Jersey State Police Department publishes annual statistical crime data as part of the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting Program. According to the 2016 report, Union County law enforcement agencies recorded a net total of 11,967 index crimes within the 12-month span. Larceny-theft was reported to be the most recurring criminal offense with 6,985 reported incidents, followed by burglary and motor vehicle theft which were each reported 1,725 and 1,380 times. Also recorded, were 903 incidents of aggravated assault, 855 reported incidents of robbery and 96 and 23 incidents of rape and murder which were concluded to be the least occurring criminal offenses.
Union County Criminal Records
The Union County Sheriff’s Office provides law enforcement services to the residents of the county including maintaining records and reports of criminal offenses within county limits. However, requests for criminal records and background checks are processed by the New Jersey State Police Department which serves as the state's primary custodian of criminal history information.
How to Get Criminal Records
Requests for Union County criminal records are processed by the New Jersey Criminal History Records Information Division. The Division provides records of subject's arrests, misdemeanor, and felony charges as well as conviction and disposition information.
Interested persons may request personal-use criminal records, which require the requestor to download and complete the Personal Record Request Form, schedule an appointment with the Fingerprint vendor and pay the standard fee of $42.80. The requested records will be delivered to the requesting party within 10 days of the query.
On the other hand, the criminal records of other persons may be obtained by submitting to a request stating the subject's name, date of birth and social security number with the SBI 212 Portal. Requestors will also be required to make a payment of $20 to access the requested record, which will then be sent through any of the requestor's preferred channels.
How to Find Sex Offender Information
Information regarding sex offenders resident in Union County is featured on the New Jersey Sex Offender Internet Registry. Interested persons may retrieve details of offender's location and compliance status by searching offenders on the database by name, address, city and the home, school or work address of the offender. The site also provides information regarding the internet identifiers of offenders and offers safety tips for staying alert. Union county residents may also subscribe to the free Email Alert System which provides email notifications to registered persons when offenders arrive within specific vicinities.
Where and How to Get Inmate and Jail Information
All information regarding the Union County jail and current detainees of the facility is contained on the County Jail Website. County residents may retrieve information regarding facility housing and maintenance as well as inmate programs, visitation guidelines, and inmate welfare by viewing the information packets on the site. Other inmate-specific information such as an inmate's primary charges, sentence, assigned fines or bail and bond condition, and mug shot can also be retrieved using the inmate index available on the site. Detainees can be searched by name, arrest or booking date, their date of birth or arresting officer.
Union County Court Records
Where and How to Get Court Records
Records of court cases heard by the Union County Superior Court are maintained and issued by the office of the Superior Court Clerk. As per state law, the Clerk provides copies of non-confidential court records to interested persons upon request. However, in order to obtain a Union County Court Record, the requesting party will be required to provide information regarding the record of interest such as, the names of the plaintiff, defendant and litigant as well as the case file number, the date the case was filed and other general information that may be useful for tracking the record. Alternatively, record requests can be made using the state-designated Records Request Form. The form may be completed and submitted along with the stated fees to:
Union County Superior Court
Union County Courthouse
2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Phone: (908) 787-1650
Location of All Courts in County
Listed below are the addresses and contact information of all the courthouses in Union County, New Jersey:
Union County Superior Court
Union County Courthouse
2 Broad Street,
Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Phone: (908) 787-1650
Union County Surrogate's Satellite Office - Cranford
Cranford Community Center
220 Walnut Avenue,
Cranford, NJ 07016
Phone: (908) 527-4280
Union County Surrogate's Satellite Office - Scotch Plains
Scotch Plains Municipal Building
430 Park Avenue, Room 202,
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076
Phone: (908) 527-4280
Union County Surrogate's Satellite Office - Summit
Summit City Hall
512 Springfield Avenue,
Summit, NJ 07901
Phone: (908) 527-4280
Union County Surrogate's Satellite Office - Union
Union Township Municipal Building
1976 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ 07083
Phone: (908) 527-4280
Berkeley Heights Municipal Court
360 Elkwood Avenue,
New Providence, NJ 07974
Phone: (908) 743-1055
Fax: (908) 464-3435
Clark Township Municipal Court
315 Westfield Avenue,
Clark, NJ 07066
Phone: (732) 381-5395
Fax: (732) 381-9630
Cranford Municipal Court
Cranford Municipal Building
8 Springfield Avenue,
Cranford, NJ 07016
Phone: (908) 709-7242
Fax: (908) 709-7244
Elizabeth Municipal Court
One Police Plaza,
Elizabeth, NJ 07201
Phone: (908) 558-6800
Fanwood Municipal Court
75 North Martine Avenue,
Fanwood, NJ 07023
Phone: (908) 322-6750
Fax: (908) 322-1378
Garwood Municipal Court
403 South Avenue,
Garwood, NJ 07027
Phone: (908) 789-0780
Fax: (908) 789-6414
Hillside Township Municipal Court
1409 Liberty Avenue,
Hillside, NJ 07205
Phone: (973) 926-1881
Fax: (973) 926-2240
Kenilworth Municipal Court
567 Boulevard,
Kenilworth, NJ 07033
Phone: (908) 276-1104
Fax: (908) 276-1597
Linden Municipal Court
301 North Wood Avenue,
Linden, NJ 07036
Phone: (908) 474-8429
Fax: (908) 474-8619
Mountainside Municipal Court
1385 US Highway 22 East,
Mountainside, NJ 07092
Phone: (908) 232-5335
Fax: (908) 233-6412
New Providence Municipal Court
360 Elkwood Avenue,
New Providence, NJ 07974
Phone: (908) 665-1454
Fax: (908) 464-3435
Plainfield Municipal Court
325 Watchung Avenue,
Plainfield, NJ 07060
Phone: (908) 753-3064
Fax: (908) 753-3030
Rahway Municipal Court
1 City Hall Plaza, Rahway, NJ 07065
Phone: (732) 827-2039
Fax: (732) 381-9879
Roselle Municipal Court
210 Chestnut Street,
Roselle, NJ 07203
Phone: (908) 245-5600
Fax: (908) 245-9508
Roselle Park Municipal Court
110 East Westfield Avenue,
Roselle Park, NJ 07204
Phone: (908) 241-4631
Fax: (908) 241-5719
Scotch Plains Municipal Court
430 Park Avenue,
Scotch Plains, NJ 07076
Phone: (908) 322-6700 ext. 216
Fax: (908) 322-0680
Springfield Municipal Court
100 Mountain Avenue,
Springfield, NJ 07081
Phone: (973) 912-2213
Summit Municipal Court
360 Elkwood Avenue,
New Providence, NJ 07974
Phone: (908) 273-6112
Fax: (908) 464-3435
Union Township Municipal Court
981 Caldwell Avenue,
Union, NJ 07083
Phone: (908) 851-5400
Fax: (908) 851-5256
Westfield Municipal Court
425 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090
Phone: (908) 789-4060
Fax: (908) 654-1520
Winfield Township Municipal Court
12 Gulfstream Avenue,
Winfield, NJ 07036
Phone: (908) 925-3938
Vital Records
New Jersey Vital records are generally maintained and issued by the office of the Registrar of the Township where the event occurred. However, the primary custodian and central repository of vital records is the Vital Statistics Office of the New Jersey Department of Health. Thus, Union county birth, death, and marriage records can be obtained from its various Townships or the state Department, while divorce records are retained in the county courthouse.
Where and How to Get Divorce Records
Records of divorces granted by the Union County Superior Court are retained and disseminated by the office of the Superior Court Clerk.
To obtain copies of divorcee decrees or certificates, interested persons may query the county courthouse in person or via mail.
Requestors may opt to use the Records Request Form or prepare a written request stating details of the divorce including the names of the spouses, the place and date of the divorce as well as the case file number of the record (if known). Both in-person and mail requests may be made to:
Union County Superior Court
Union County Courthouse
2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Phone: (908) 787-1650
Where and How to Get Marriage Records, Birth Records and Death Records
The New Jersey Office of Vital Statistics and Registry responds to requests for records of marriages, births, and deaths which occurred in Union County.
In order to obtain a vital record, the requesting party must be able to prove tangible interest in the record, and present proof of their relationship to the person(s) named on the record.
All record requests require that the requestor provide the name(s) on the record being requested, the date and place were the event occurred, the name of the mother and father of the subject, and the mother's maiden name. Additionally, the requestor must provide any of the acceptable forms of identification, as well as a cheque or money order payment of $25 per each record being requested.
Requestors may order a vital record using any one of the appropriate Vital Record Forms which must be completed, notarized and escorted by the necessary accompanying documents. The complete application must then be submitted to:
New Jersey Department of Health
Office of Vital Statistics and Registry
140 East Front Street
P. O. Box 360
Trenton, NJ
In addition to government agencies, county public records may also be obtained from third-party websites. These non-government platforms come with intuitive tools that allow for expansive searches. Record seekers may either opt to use these tools to search for a specific record or multiple records. Users are able to search third-party websites remotely for multiple records at a time with just the name of the record subject and their last known location, including the city, county, or state. Third-party sites are not sponsored by government agencies. Because of this, record availability and results may vary.
Are Property Records Open to the Public in Union County?
According to the Open Public Records Act (OPRA) of New Jersey, Union County property records are accessible to the public. Requesters can inspect or obtain copies of property records by contacting the Union County Clerk’s Office.
Where and How to Find Property Records in Union County
The Union County Clerk’s Office maintains a central repository for property and land records. It compiles and maintains copies of real estate transactions within the county from 1857 to date. The Clerk’s Office also keeps other information related to the ownership of properties in the county. Applicants can obtain copies of property records by visiting the office of the Union County Clerk in person at:
The Union County Courthouse
Broad Street
Elizabeth, NJ 07207
How to Look Up Union County Property Records
The Union County Clerk’s Office maintains up-to-date property transactions data recorded from June 1, 1977 in its online Public Land Records Search Page. Requesters can conduct a Union County property search by name, instrument number, date range, book, and the page number. People requesting property records before 1857 may have to visit the office of the County Clerk and the record rooms, which houses copies of all land transactions within the county from 1857 to date at:
The Union County Courthouse
Broad Street
Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Certified copies of documents can be directly requested online or by regular mail. To order a document online, a requester will be required to make a credit card payment. If however, interested persons decide to request documents by regular mail, they will have to send a printed list of required documents to the Clerk’s Office, together with a money order, check, or credit card to provide for the cost of copying.
Location of Union County Township Property Assessors
The office of the Union County Township Property Assessor is saddled with conducting a fair assessment of all county properties for tax purposes. It also provides deeds search and tax appeal services, and can be found at:
1976 Morris Avenue
Union, NJ 07083
Phone: (908) 851-8505
Fax: (908) 851-4678
