Monmouth County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Monmouth County is densely populated, with around 643,064 inhabitants spread across 661.40 square miles. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and its county seat is Freehold Borough. The Monmouth County court system, which is made up of a superior court, municipal courts, and a surrogate's court, protects the rights and liberties of the county residents.

The Monmouth County Superior Court is located in Freehold, and it processes around 40,000 cases yearly. It has multiple divisions including civil, criminal, chancery, municipal, and family divisions. The responsibility of the Family Division is to provide an impartial forum for couples to settle disputes concerning child support, divorce, termination of a domestic partnership, and dissolution of a civil union. The Chancery Division handles non-monetary disputes such as restrictive covenants, trade secrets, and tax foreclosure actions as well as contested probate matters. Conversely, the Civil Division resolves monetary damages, ranging from small claims to complex commercial litigation. The Probation Division ensures that probationers adhere to court-ordered conditions by monitoring and supervising them. This division caters to 4,000 clients each court year, having served a total of 4,035 probationers between court years 2021 and 2022. Monmouth County has 54 municipalities, each with its own municipal court. These municipal divisions have limited jurisdiction over cases within their respective boundaries, dealing with minor criminal-type offenses, municipal ordinance violations, and motor vehicle and parking tickets. The Monmouth Surrogate's Court handles uncontested probate matters such as wills, estate administration, and adoptions.

Compared to the 2018 crime index rate of 1,336 incidents per 100,000 population, the Monmouth County index crime rate decreased to 1301.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2019 and 1266.6 incidents per 100,000 population in 2020. Court records are maintained by the Superior Court Clerk. These records are obtainable by completing a Records Request Form and submitting it through the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) or by subscribing to the Electronic Access Program (EAP). Additionally, interested parties are limited to court records that are publicly accessible, which do not include adoption, domestic violence, or child abuse records.

The Monmouth County court system enforces the law and ensures compliance with the legal requirements through the superior, municipal, and surrogate courts. These courts handle criminal, probate, delinquency, traffic, and civil matters. Court users can access and request court records, thereby demonstrating the transparency of the justice system.