File Small Claims Court NJ: Step-by-Step Filing Instructions

Filing a small claims case in New Jersey takes four things: the right forms, the correct fees, a properly identified defendant, and a submission through the right channel. Miss any one of those and the clerk returns your paperwork with a deficiency notice — and every day of delay eats into your statute of limitations.

Get Your Forms

For non-motor vehicle claims (contracts, invoices, deposits, merchandise), you need packet CN 10151. It contains Form A (the Complaint) and Form B (the Summons). Motor vehicle damage claims use packet CN 10148 instead.

Both packets are available as free downloads from njcourts.gov. You can also pick them up at any county Special Civil Part office.

Identify the Defendant Correctly

This is where many pro se filers make their first mistake. You need the defendant's exact legal name — not a nickname, not a brand name, not an abbreviation.

• Individuals: Full legal name and residential address.
• Sole proprietors: Personal name plus trade name — "John Smith d/b/a Smith's Plumbing."
• LLCs and corporations: The exact registered name. Search the NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) database to verify the entity name, status, and registered agent address.

A judgment against the wrong name is nearly impossible to collect. Take five minutes to verify before you file.

Calculate Your Fees

The fee structure is straightforward:

So a typical one-defendant filing costs $60 total. Pay by credit card, debit card, or ACH through the online portal, or by check or money order payable to "Treasurer, State of New Jersey" if filing by mail or in person.

Redact Personal Identifiers

Under Rule 1:38-7, you must black out Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, license plate numbers, credit card numbers, insurance policy numbers, and bank account numbers (except the last four digits when the account itself is what the suit is about). The court will not do this for you, and unredacted filings can be rejected or flagged for sanctions.

Submit the Complaint

Self-represented filers have three submission options:

1. JEDS portal — the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission system, available 24/7. Upload your completed forms as PDFs (max 35MB). The clerk processes submissions during business hours, weekdays 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM.
2. In person — bring your forms to the Special Civil Part office in the county courthouse.
3. By mail — send the original plus copies for each defendant to the county Special Civil Part office via certified mail.

A document is not legally filed until the clerk accepts it and processes the fee. The upload timestamp alone doesn't establish your filing date.

After Filing

Once the clerk accepts your complaint, a docket number is assigned and the court handles service — mailing copies to the defendant via certified and ordinary mail. You'll monitor service status through eCourts public access or by calling the vicinage office.

Our New Jersey Small Claims Filing Guide breaks this entire process into a single linear workflow, including the redaction checklist, fee calculator, and service tracking steps that keep your case from stalling.

See more New Jersey guides →