Expungement Petition

IMPORTANT: THIS IS A PREPARATION GUIDE — NOT THE OFFICIAL COURT FORM

New Jersey requires the use of official court form CN 10557 for expungement
petitions. This template provides the substantive legal content to help you prepare —
but you must transfer your content to the official form before filing. The official form
is available at njcourts.gov.
Do not file this document directly with the court.

PETITION FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORD

(New Jersey – Superior Court, Law Division, Criminal Part)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Caption & Document Header
2. Preliminary Statement
3. Jurisdiction & Venue
4. Definitions (Optional)

5. Allegations Supporting Eligibility
   5.1 Personal Identifying Information
   5.2 Conviction/Disposition Details
   5.3 Statutory Waiting Period Compliance
   5.4 Prior or Pending Matters
   5.5 Statutory Eligibility Checklist

6. Relief Requested

7. Notice & Service
8. Verification / Certification
9. Proposed Orders (attached)
10. Signature & Notarization Block

1. CAPTION & DOCUMENT HEADER

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
LAW DIVISION – CRIMINAL PART
[COUNTY] VICINAGE
-------------------------------------------------------------
IN THE MATTER OF THE EXPUNGEMENT OF THE           )
CRIMINAL AND/OR JUVENILE RECORDS OF               )   DOCKET NO.: [To be assigned]
                                                  )
[PETITIONER FULL LEGAL NAME],                     )
               Petitioner.                        )
-------------------------------------------------------------
              PETITION FOR EXPUNGEMENT OF CRIMINAL RECORDS
-------------------------------------------------------------

Date: [MONTH DAY, YEAR]

2. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

1. Petitioner, [PETITIONER NAME] (“Petitioner”), respectfully petitions this Court pursuant to N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2C:52-1 through –32 for an Order directing the expungement and sealing of all records, including but not limited to complaints, warrants, arrests, indices, docket entries, sentencing records, and online databases pertaining to the matters identified herein.
2. This Petition is filed to protect Petitioner’s privacy interests, facilitate employment and housing opportunities, and promote successful reintegration, consistent with the public policy of the State of New Jersey.

3. JURISDICTION & VENUE

3.1 This Court has subject-matter jurisdiction under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-2 et seq.
3.2 Venue is proper in the [COUNTY] Vicinage because the offenses sought to be expunged were [adjudicated / disposed] in the Superior Court, Law Division, Criminal Part, [COUNTY].

4. DEFINITIONS (Optional – Use if referring to defined terms repeatedly)

“Eligible Offense(s)” – those criminal or disorderly persons offenses identified in Section 5.2 that are not barred from expungement under N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-2(b)–(d).
“Waiting Period” – the statutory period beginning on the date of (a) conviction, (b) payment of fine, (c) completion of probation/parole, or (d) termination of incarceration, whichever is later, as defined in N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-2(a).

5. ALLEGATIONS SUPPORTING ELIGIBILITY

5.1 Personal Identifying Information

a. Full Name (at time of arrest): [PETITIONER NAME]
b. Date of Birth: [MM/DD/YYYY]
c. Social Security Number (last four digits only): [XXXX]
d. Current Address: [STREET, CITY, STATE, ZIP]
e. Driver License / SBI / SBI Number: [IF APPLICABLE]

5.2 Conviction / Disposition Details

5.3 Statutory Waiting Period Compliance

Petitioner affirms that [X] years have elapsed since the later of (i) date of sentence completion; (ii) payment of any fine; (iii) termination of probation/parole; or (iv) release from incarceration, satisfying the Waiting Period prescribed by N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-2(a).

5.4 Prior or Pending Matters

a. Petitioner has / has not been convicted of any subsequent indictable offense, disorderly persons offense, or petty disorderly persons offense.
b. Petitioner does / does not have any pending charges or open warrants in any jurisdiction.
c. Petitioner has / has not previously obtained an expungement. If yes, details: [INSERT].

5.5 Statutory Eligibility Checklist

6. RELIEF REQUESTED

WHEREFORE, Petitioner respectfully requests that the Court enter an Order:

1. Directing the expungement and sealing of all records relating to the Eligible Offense(s) listed in Section 5.2, including but not limited to records maintained by:
   a. The Superior Court of New Jersey;
   b. [MUNICIPAL COURT NAME] (if applicable);
   c. The Prosecutor’s Office of [COUNTY];
   d. The New Jersey State Police;
   e. The [LOCAL] Police Department;
   f. Any other law-enforcement or correctional agency identified in the attached Proposed Order;

2. Requiring said agencies to remove Petitioner’s name from any index or database and insulate the records from public access, consistent with N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-15;

3. Permitting limited access to sealed records only under the circumstances expressly authorized by N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-17 (e.g., subsequent expungement applications, sentencing for new offenses, or by court order);

4. Providing that Petitioner may lawfully respond in the negative to inquiries regarding the expunged matter, in accordance with N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-27; and

5. Granting such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.

7. NOTICE & SERVICE

7.1 Pursuant to N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2C:52-10, Petitioner will serve a copy of this Petition, with all attachments, by certified mail, return receipt requested, upon each of the following:
• County Prosecutor of [COUNTY]
• Attorney General of New Jersey
• Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, Expungement Unit
• Chief of Police of [ARRESTING MUNICIPALITY]
• [MUNICIPAL COURT ADMINISTRATOR] (if applicable)
• Warden/Superintendent of [CORRECTIONAL FACILITY] (if incarceration occurred)

7.2 Proofs of Service will be filed with the Court prior to the scheduled hearing.

8. VERIFICATION / CERTIFICATION

I, [PETITIONER NAME], being duly sworn, upon my oath depose and state:

1. I am the Petitioner in the foregoing matter.
2. I have read the Petition and the statements contained therein are true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.
3. I understand that if any of the statements made by me are willfully false, I am subject to punishment.

__________________________________    ______________________
[PETITIONER NAME]                     Date

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ___ day of __________, 20___.

__________________________________
Notary Public of New Jersey
My Commission Expires: __________

9. PROPOSED ORDERS (Attach as Separate Documents)

A. Order Fixing Date for Hearing & Directing Service
B. Final Order of Expungement / Sealing of Records

10. SIGNATURE BLOCK

Respectfully submitted,

__________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME], Esq. [if pro se, omit]
Attorney for Petitioner
[LAW FIRM NAME]
[ADDRESS]
[PHONE]  |  [EMAIL] |  NJ Attorney ID: [___]

End of Document