This comprehensive guide on How to Expunge Your Criminal Record in Gloucester County has been prepared for those who are seeking to expunge their criminal records in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The entire expungement process in New Jersey will take approximately six months from start to finish and can be broken down into the following eight basic steps.
Step 1. Obtain a Copy of Your Criminal Records
The first step in the expungement process is for you to obtain a copy of your criminal record(s). The name of the record you will want to request is the Disposition (for those offenses that were resolved in Municipal Court) or the Judgment of Conviction (for those offenses that were heard in a County Superior Court). You will need the case information from this document in order to complete your expungement paperwork.
The easiest way to request the Disposition or Judgment of Conviction will be to request it directly from the court. If you can appear in person with proper identification to request the record, you will usually be provided with the record that same day.
If you are unable to appear in person, however, you will have to request the record in writing. We suggest that you contact the Criminal Records Department of the court where you are requesting the record to ask what their procedure is for requesting a record in writing. Some will require a small copying fee, while others will not. Most courts, however, will require that you complete a Record Request Form and either mail or fax it to them.
Click here for a County Directory of New Jersey Superior Courts. Note that you will want to send your record request to the attention of the “Criminal Records Department.”
If you are requesting records from the Gloucester County Superior Court, you can either mail or fax your request to the Gloucester County Superior Court at:
Gloucester County Superior Court
Attn: Criminal Records Department
Justice Complex, 1st Floor
70 Hunter Street
Woodbury NJ 08096
Phone: 856-686-7515
Fax: 856-853-3735
Click here for a Directory of New Jersey Municipal Courts.
If you decide to mail or fax your record request, it could take anywhere from a couple of days to four weeks to receive your court disposition.
Warning! Make Sure You Request All Records. It is vital that you make sure you are requesting Dispositions and/or Judgments of Conviction for all of your charges. When you file for an expungement in New Jersey, you must disclose all of your arrests in the Expungement Petition, regardless of what state they occurred in. This includes minor offenses including arrests that resulted in dismissals, records that were expunged, ordinance violations in a municipal court, and DWI charges in a state where they are considered a criminal offense.
If you fail to do so, either you or your attorney will need to re-do and re-file your expungement paperwork if the County Prosecutor assigned to handle your expungement objects on the basis that you failed to disclose your entire arrest record (and they most likely will object). If this happens, it will not only result in a lengthy delay in completing your expungement, but you possibly may not qualify for expungement at all.
If you are unsure of exactly what is on your criminal record, then we suggest that you have a complete FBI background check conducted before proceeding any further. You FBI arrest record will contain a complete list of your criminal history. For information on how to obtain an FBI background check, read our post on How to Obtain a Copy of Your Arrest Record in New Jersey.
Remember that time frame for expungement eligibility begin to run on the date that the petitioner completed their sentence – which includes payment of fines and completion of probation, whichever is later. If you are unsure of when you completed probation, contact the probation department. The Gloucester County Probation Department can be reached at:
Gloucester County Adult Probation Services
55 Delaware Street
Woodbury, NJ 08096
Phone: (856) 853-3600
Step 2. Draft the Expungement Pleadings
The next step in the New Jersey expungement process is to fill out the proper court pleadings. Initially, there are four documents that you must complete and file with county Superior Court where your arrest and/or conviction took place.
These documents include the following:
- Cover Letter
The cover letter tells the court that you are applying for an expungement and encloses the three additional documents listed below.
- Verified Petition for Expungement
The Verified Petition for Expungement is the pleading that asks the court to expunge your records. Your entire criminal record must be listed on the Verified Petition. For each arrest, you must include the date of your arrest, the law enforcement agency that arrested you, the municipality you were arrested in, the statute number for the charges that were filed against you, the complaint number/summons number/indictment number/accusation number/docket number/ or warrant number, the disposition date, the disposition (i.e., the outcome), the sentencing date, the sentence. You will also need to include your date of birth and social security number on the petition.
The last page attached to the petition should be titled the “Verification.” You will need to sign the Verification in the presence of a notary public.
- Proposed Order for Hearing
The Order for Hearing is the pleading that will set forth the hearing date and time. The court will fill out the part of the Order for Hearing setting forth the hearing date and time after you file your pleadings. You will be required, however, to fill out your personal information and to list the agencies that you will be sending copies of the Petition and Order to.
- Proposed Expungement Order
The Expungement Order is the pleading that will be signed by the judge who has been assigned to handle your expungement. In the Expungement Order, the judge will either grant or deny your expungement. While the judge will fill out the part of this form granting or denying your expungement, you will need to fill out the part of this form containing your personal information.
You must complete these forms with 100% accuracy. In addition, it is vital that you follow all procedures when filling out the forms in order to prevent your expungement application from being rejected.
Please note that if you retained an attorney to represent you on your expungement, your attorney will request the requisite records, draft the expungement pleadings, and handle the entire expungement process for you. The only thing you should have to do is sign the Expungement Petition in front of a notary and attend the expungement hearing with your attorney, if there is one. If you are not represented by an attorney, the New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts has prepared a pro se packet containing forms that can be used by self-represented litigants for your reference.
Step 3. File the Expungement Pleadings with the Court
Next, you will need to file the four documents listed above with the New Jersey Superior Court in the county where your arrest took place. Click here for a Directory of New Jersey County Superior Courts.
If you are filing your expungement in the Gloucester County Superior Court, you will want to send your pleadings to:
Gloucester County Superior Court
Attn: Criminal Case Management
Justice Complex, 1st Floor
70 Hunter Street
Woodbury NJ 08096
Phone: 856-686-7515
When filing these documents with the court, you will need to file the original and two copies of each of the four documents with the court. Make sure, however, that you make a third copy of the documents for yourself. Along with the original and two copies of each of the documents, you will need to enclose two self-addressed stamped return envelopes with the packet to the court so that the court can return the Order for Hearing and the Expungement Order to you at the appropriate time.
You also need to enclose a money order or certified check made out to the “Treasurer, State of New Jersey” for the appropriate filing fee. The current filing fee for a New Jersey expungement petition is $75.00.
Step 4. Serve the Order Fixing Hearing
After 4-6 weeks, the County Clerk will send you back a copy of the your expungement documents marked “filed.” These documents will also contain your assigned docket number, which must be used on all future correspondence regarding your case. The Clerk will also mail you back an executed Order for Hearing, which will indicate that date and time your hearing has been scheduled for.
Within 5 days of the date of the Order, you must serve one copy of the “filed” Verified Petition for Expungement, Order for Hearing, and Expungement Order on all required agencies via Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested. As applicable, these documents must be served on:
- The New Jersey Attorney General;
- The Expungement Unit of the New Jersey State Police;
- The County Prosecutor;
- The Court Clerk of the Municipal Court (if any of your offenses were heard in Municipal Court);
- The Chief of Police of the police department where the offense was committed;
- The Chief of Police of any other law enforcement agency that was involved in the arrest;
- The County Probation Department (if you were granted a conditional discharge, were enrolled into Pre-Trial Intervention, were enrolled in a juvenile diversion program, granted a deferred disposition, performed community service, owed fines or restitution, or served a term of probation);
- The Division of Criminal Justice (for state Grand Jury cases only);
- The Warden or Superintendent of any institution where you were incarcerated; and
- The County Family Division (if you are requesting the expungement of any juvenile delinquency matters.
Step 5. File Proof of Notice with the Court
The Proof of Notice is a pleading that indicates that you satisfied your duty to notify all of the applicable governmental agencies of your expungement request. After you received back the green return receipt cards for each of the agencies you served via Certified Mail, you must enclose a copy of the green cards together with the executed Proof of Notice and send it to the Judge’s chambers.
Step 6. Attend the Hearing
An appearance at the expungement hearing may or may not be required, although, in most cases hearings are not required unless the County Prosecutor the New Jersey State Police object to your expungement for some reason.
On the scheduled hearing date, the judge will determine whether or not to grant or deny your expungement and will thereafter execute the Expungement Order. The judge will then mail you back the executed Expungement Order.
Step 7. Served the Expungement Order
Once you receive a copy of the Expungement Order signed by the judge, you will need to send one copy via Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested to each of the ten applicable governmental agencies listed above.
Step 8. Wait for the Final Confirmation from the New Jersey State Police
The final step in the expungement process is to wait until you receive a letter from the New Jersey State Police confirming that your expungement is complete. Currently, the processing time for the State Police to provide this confirmation is 3-4 months from the date they are served with the final Expungement Order. Throughout this time period, all of the applicable agencies are extracting your records from the database. You will know your expungement was successfully completion once you receive the final letter from the State Police, which you should keep for your records.
Additional Expungement Resources
For detailed information on New Jersey’s expungement procedure, you can review the various New Jersey expungement statutes.
If you are wondering how long the expungement process takes in New Jersey, read our post about How Long it Takes to Expunge a Criminal Record in New Jersey.
Click here for a list of New Jersey County Prosecutor’s Offices. The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office can be reached at:
Gloucester County Prosecutor
P.O. Box 623
Woodbury, NJ 08096
Phone: 856-384-5500
Fax: 856-384-8624
Click here for a directory of New Jersey Superior Court Family Division Offices. The Gloucester County Family Division office can be reached at:
Gloucester County Superior Court
Gloucester County Family Division
Justice Complex, 1st Floor
70 Hunter Street
Woodbury NJ 08096
Juvenile Phone: 856-686-7430
Juvenile Fax: 856-686-7432
If you are representing yourself, you can also learn more about the New Jersey expungement process by reading the New Jersey Expungement Pro Se Packet.
For detailed information on specific name change topics, check out our New Jersey Expungement Blog.
Affordable New Jersey Expungement Lawyers
If you are able to afford an expungement attorney, it is highly recommended that you do so. The procedural rules governing expungements in New Jersey are complex. It is therefore recommended that you retain a New Jersey expungement lawyer if you are able to do so.
This is especially true if your expungement application is more complex. Your expungement would be considered complex if you have more than three arrests, you are applying for an “early pathway” expungement, or you are seeking to expunge a conviction for possession of a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute. In these cases, you can expect that the County Prosecutor will object to you expungement and that a court appearance may be required. In addition, these types of expungements entailed additional requirements over and above what is required for a simple expungement case. Thus, it is strongly recommended that you retain an attorney in those situations.
At Katherine O’Brien Law, we charge a flat-rate fee of only $895.00 to represent you in your New Jersey expungement. Moreover, our fees are all-inclusive, and include all court costs, filing fees, publication fees, etc. We also offer flexible payment plans and can start your expungement with only $350.00 down.
Moreover, we represent clients in every city in Gloucester County, New Jersey, including: Clayton, Deptford Township, East Greenwich Township, Elk Township, Franklin Township, Glassboro, Greenwich Township, Harrison Township, Logan Township, Mantua Township, Monroe Township, National Park, Newfield, Paulsboro, Pitman, South Harrison Township, Swedesboro, Washington Township, Wenonah, West Deptford Township, Westville, Woodbury, Woodbury Heights, and Woolwich Township.
If you have questions about how to expunge your criminal record, contact Gloucester County Expungement Lawyer Katherine O’Brien for a free Expungement Analysis Session. You can reach us at 856-832-2482.
