Union County Court Records
Per New Jersey Court Rule 1:38-2, Union County court records include
- All documents and information (such as pleadings, briefs, dockets, motions, or exhibits) in any form generated by a court about a suit or legal proceeding
- Court orders, verdicts, opinions, or sentences pronounced in a judicial proceeding
- Transcripts and recordings of a public court proceeding, in any form
- Information produced and assembled from court cases held in a computerized case management system
- Record created or managed by a Surrogate acting as a judicial officer.
A Union County court record search provides members of the public with official records, data, and papers generated by the courts in the County for investigative and legal usage. It can also aid case parties in monitoring the advancement of litigation, inspecting pending lawsuits, and collating information about an individual's court history.
The Union County Clerk of Superior Court is the custodian of court records in the county. The New Jersey judiciary system also keeps records of court cases decided in the County. Inquirers can retrieve court records from the clerk's office in person or online by providing specific search criteria, such as party name, date of filing, case number, and court record type.
Are Court Records Public in Union County?
Yes. The New Jersey Open Public Records Act and New Jersey Court Rule 1.38-2 contain the provisions for public access to court records in Union County and specify records available to the public and those restricted by statute or court decree. As stipulated in Court Rule 1:38-3, the court records listed below are exempted from public access and cannot be reviewed without appropriate approval from a court.
- Internal memos, notices, and decisions of the Judicial system in the County
- Records of criminal and Municipal court trials
- Diagnostic and hospital records containing the mental, emotional, and drug abuse reports of a person
- Court case records and information in which juveniles or minors are involved such as custody cases, adoption filings and negligence, domestic violence, sexual assaults, and harassment
- Court cases involving individuals with a disability
- Recordings and reports of cases resolved by the Family Court, such as divorces and marriage dissolution.
What Do Union County Court Records Contain?
Union County court records contain vast and elaborate information about case proceedings that take place in the county. Some of the data that inquirers can obtain from these records include:
- Suit information, such as the names and contact details of parties involved in the case, the case status, lawsuit or court docket number, filing date and year, case type
- Court proceeding papers which include petitions, appeals, motions, summonses, responses, and all other legal paperwork filed in the process of resolving a case
- Exhibits and evidence documents such as witness statements, photos, and audio or video recordings, presented in court
- Information about the presiding judge
- Court name, address, and jurisdiction
- Dockets and calendars of the Court handling the case.
The information aforementioned is usually contained in court records for reference, research, and case appeal application purposes.
Where to Conduct a Union County Case Lookup
Persons willing to conduct a Union County case lookup or find court records on a person can either visit the Clerk's Office in the county courthouse where the case was resolved to request access to view the court records stored or contact the State's Superior Court Clerk's Office. Court case records requests can be submitted physically, online, or through mail and have fees attached for obtaining copies.
How to Conduct a Union County Case Records Search
To conduct a Union County Case records search, an individual can submit a request from the Union County Clerk's office by filling and submitting an OPRA request form at:
Union County Administration Building
Office of the Clerk of the Board
10 Elizabethtown Plaza, 6th Floor
Elizabeth, NJ 07207
Phone: (908) 527-4140
Fax: (908) 558-0915
Email: opra@ucnj.org.
The Clerk's office has a record request processing time of seven days and has no charge attached to inspecting court records on-site but charges $0.05 per page for letter-size documents and $0.07 for legal-size documents for all pages after the tenth page of the document.
Additionally, the New Jersey Superior Court Clerk's Office provides public access to Union County court case records on request. An inquirer can retrieve these records by submitting a completed request form via the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) portal. The Clerk's office has different fees for obtaining certified, plain, or exemplified copies of court records. The fee schedule can be found on the copy fees webpage.
Union County Civil Court Case Records
Union County Civil Court case records are created from legal proceedings involving legal dissensions between two or more case parties. The Union County Superior Court has jurisdiction to resolve civil cases and the Clerk of Court manages the records generated from these civil actions.
To review Civil Court Case records from Union County, an individual can submit requests via mail, online, or in-person to the Union County Clerk's Office. Alternatively, the inquirer can query the New Jersey Superior Court Clerk's office to obtain copies of Union County Civil Court case records.
Union County Criminal Court Case Records
Requests for criminal court case records go to the Clerk’s Office at the court that handled the case or where the case was filed. This is usually the Union County Clerk's Office or the New Jersey Superior Court Clerk's Office, depending on which court has jurisdiction. Generally, to obtain court records, requestors must provide the necessary information to help administrative staff identify and retrieve the records sought. These include the case number, the names of the persons involved, the case filing date, the attorneys’ names, or the presiding judge’s name.
How to Get Union County Court Records Online for Free
Obtaining Union County court records online for free may not be feasible as the custodial office attaches a fee to public access to county court records. However, an interested individual can visit the county courthouse managing the desired court record to utilize the provided public access terminals for free. The inquirer should note that the custodial office may have extra charges for additional services provided by the court staff.
Alternatively, an inquirer may consider using PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records), or other third-party aggregate sites which are low-cost options to access Union County court records online.
Courts in Union County
Union County's judicial system is made of a Superior Court, Municipal Courts, and Surrogate Courts. The addresses and contact details of all courthouses located in Union County, New Jersey are listed below:
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
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
