NJ Small Claims Virtual Hearing: Teams and Zoom Guide

Virtual Hearings Are Standard in Many NJ Counties

Since the pandemic-era court reforms, many New Jersey vicinages conduct Small Claims hearings by video — typically through Microsoft Teams, though some use Zoom. Your summons or a separate notice from the court will specify whether your hearing is in person or remote, along with the platform and access link.

Virtual hearings follow the same core procedure as in-person ones: calendar call, mandatory mediation, and a bench trial if mediation fails and the court schedule permits. The judge administers the oath remotely. The New Jersey Rules of Evidence apply, subject to the judge's discretion to conduct Small Claims hearings informally under Rule 6:4-5.

Setting Up Before the Hearing

Test your setup a day or two in advance. Make sure your camera and microphone work, your internet connection is stable, and you know how to join the meeting link. Dress as you would for an in-person court appearance — judges notice.

Find a quiet, well-lit space with a plain background. Mute yourself when you are not speaking. The judge will tell you when it is your turn.

If you do not have reliable internet or a device with a camera, contact the Special Civil Part Clerk's office well before your hearing date to ask what options are available for your hearing.

Submitting Evidence for a Virtual Hearing

This is where virtual hearings get tricky. You cannot hand a binder to the judge through a screen.

Each vicinage handles remote evidence differently; there is no single statewide submission process. Confirm the required submission method and deadline with the clerk's office for your hearing.

Contact the clerk's office well before your hearing to ask how your specific vicinage handles evidence in virtual proceedings. As a practical checklist, the judge, the opposing party, and you all need access to the same documents. For a remote hearing, this usually means:

1. Provide labeled copies of your exhibits to the opposing party using the method required by court rules or the court's instructions
2. Submit the same exhibits to the court using the method specified by the vicinage
3. Have your own copies open and ready to reference during testimony

Label everything clearly: Defendant Exhibit D-1, D-2, and so on.

Witnesses in a Virtual Hearing

Witnesses can testify remotely too. They join the video call, get sworn in by the judge, and give testimony just like they would in person. Written statements from absent witnesses remain inadmissible hearsay — the remote format does not change that rule.

If your witness needs the meeting link, make sure they have it in advance along with the date, time, and instructions for joining. They should be available for the full session since you will not know exactly when the judge calls your case after mediation.

What Not to Do

Do not read from your phone screen or hold up documents to the camera. The judge cannot read a contract held up to a webcam. Do not have other people in the room coaching you — the judge can hear and see everything, and it undermines your credibility.

Do not record the hearing. New Jersey courts prohibit unauthorized recording of judicial proceedings, including virtual ones.

For a step-by-step virtual hearing preparation checklist — including the evidence upload timeline and platform-specific tips — the New Jersey Small Claims Response Guide covers remote proceedings alongside the in-person workflow.

See more New Jersey guides →