What is an Expungement?

 Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record

What is an Expungement?

source https://www.njcourts.gov/forms/10557_expunge_kit.pdf?c=qGX

An expungement is the removal and isolation of all records on file within any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement, criminal justice agency or juvenile justice agency concerning a person's apprehension, arrest, detention, trial or disposition of an offense within the criminal or juvenile justice system. Unless otherwise provided by law, if an order for expungement is granted, the adult arrest, the record of law enforcement taking you into custody as a juvenile, conviction, adjudication of delinquency, disposition and any related proceedings are considered not to have occurred. See the section on Comparison of Adult and Juvenile Terms for a glossary of terms that are specific to juvenile court.

The New Jersey expungement law states in detail who is eligible for an expungement. You should review the current applicable provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 through N.J.S.A. 2C:52-32 to determine if you are eligible. If eligible you must prepare and file a Petition for Expungement. The Petition for Expungement must be filed in the Superior Court in the county where you were arrested or prosecuted as an adult or taken into custody or adjudicated as a juvenile. A judge then decides whether you should be granted an Expungement Order.

In general, these materials provide basic information about how to file a Petition for Expungement. These materials do not provide specific advice about a particular legal problem that you may have, and they are not a substitute for seeing a lawyer. If you encounter a problem or are in doubt as to whether you need a lawyer, talk to one.

NOTE: These materials have been prepared by the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts for use by self-represented litigants. The guide, instructions, and forms will be periodically updated as necessary to reflect current New Jersey statutes and court rules.