New Jersey Expungement Lawyer

A conviction from ten years ago should not decide whether you get the job, the apartment, or the professional license you are applying for today. In New Jersey, it often does. Background checks routinely turn up old arrests and convictions, including cases that were dismissed.

Expungement can change that. Once a New Jersey court grants an expungement order, the arrest and conviction are treated as though they never occurred for most purposes. But relief is not automatic for most records. The petition has to be filed under the right section of the law, at the right time, with a complete and accurate criminal history.

The Law Offices of Ron Bar-Nadav, based in Hackensack, helps people throughout New Jersey find out whether they qualify and pursue expungement under N.J.S.A. 2C:52. Ron Bar-Nadav has practiced exclusively criminal defense in New Jersey for more than 25 years. He knows how these records are built, and how prosecutors review expungement petitions.

Many people can file an expungement on their own through the court’s online system. The problems come from what the system does not do for you: it does not tell you whether you are actually eligible, which statute applies, or what you left out. Our work focuses on those gaps:

• Reviewing your full criminal history. We gather your State Police record and court records from every county and municipality involved. We also look for out-of-state matters that affect eligibility.
• Determining eligibility. We count your convictions the way the statute counts them, check for offenses that can never be expunged, and look for a prior expungement that could bar a new one.
• Calculating your waiting period. The clock runs from the latest of several dates. We pin down each one, including when fines and restitution were actually paid.
• Choosing the right procedure. That may be a standard expungement, Clean Slate, a dismissed-charge petition, or Recovery Court relief. Sometimes the right answer is to wait.
• Preparing and filing the petition. It must be verified, list every arrest and conviction, and include a sworn statement that no charges are pending. An open case has to be resolved first.
• Responding to prosecutor objections. If the State Police, the Attorney General or a county prosecutor raises a problem, we answer it and appear at any hearing.
• Handling complicated records. That includes multiple convictions, drug distribution cases, unpaid financial obligations, parole supervision, and cases across several counties.
• Following up after the order. We confirm the order reaches the agencies holding your records and that State Police processing is completed.

New Jersey law allows expungement of many kinds of records:

• Indictable offenses (New Jersey’s term for felony-level crimes), within limits on the number of convictions
• Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses, New Jersey’s misdemeanor-level offenses
• Municipal ordinance violations
• Arrests and charges that were dismissed, including acquittals and cases resolved through PTI or conditional discharge
• Drug-related convictions, including many marijuana cases and some distribution offenses
• Clean Slate expungements for people with longer records

Whether your record qualifies depends on what is on it, in what order, and when the sentence ended. Certain serious offenses can never be expunged.

Not sure if you qualify? Call (201) 525-1555 for a free, confidential record review.

The table below is a quick orientation, not a substitute for a record review. For the full rules, see our guide to New Jersey expungement laws.

Waiting periods run from the latest of your most recent conviction, payment of fines and restitution, completion of probation or parole, or release from incarceration. A single overlooked date can make a petition premature. A detailed breakdown of expungement waiting periods is in the guide.

If you have several convictions, Clean Slate may be your only path. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-5.3, a person who has gone ten years without a new conviction can petition to expunge their entire New Jersey record at once. That includes crimes, disorderly persons offenses and ordinance violations, with no cap on the number. A prior expungement does not disqualify you.

Three things decide most Clean Slate cases:

• The ten-year clock. It restarts with any new conviction and runs from the latest end date in your record.
• Money owed. Unpaid fines or restitution will not, by themselves, block relief if the nonpayment was not willful. The court converts the balance to a civil judgment. In April 2026, the Appellate Division affirmed a denial where the petitioner made no restitution payments after leaving prison and could not prove she was unable to pay. Documenting your financial situation matters.
• Excluded offenses. The same convictions that bar ordinary expungement also bar Clean Slate.

Clean Slate still requires a petition. The automated system the 2019 law promised has not launched as of November 2026. Read more about Clean Slate expungement.

Often, yes. New Jersey does not use the word “felony.” It classifies serious offenses as indictable crimes of the first through fourth degree. Many indictable convictions can be expunged after five years, including third- and fourth-degree theft, fraud, drug possession and assault offenses.

Some cannot. The statute permanently excludes criminal homicide (with narrow exceptions), robbery, arson, kidnapping, human trafficking, sexual assault, certain offenses against children, perjury and terrorism. It also excludes first- and second-degree drug distribution. Your other convictions matter as much as the indictable offense itself: a later conviction can block expungement of an earlier one. A careful review of the whole record is the only reliable way to answer this question.

Petitions are denied for predictable reasons:

• the waiting period had not run;
• an out-of-state or municipal conviction was left off;
• the record contained an excluded offense or a prior expungement;
• fines were unpaid without a good explanation; or
• a prosecutor argued that the need for the records outweighed the benefit of expungement.

A denial is not always the end of the road. Depending on the reason, the next step may be correcting and refiling, waiting until you become eligible, pursuing Clean Slate later, or challenging the ruling. Some denials cannot be fixed, and appeals carry strict deadlines. If you have been denied, have the decision and your record reviewed promptly. If you have not filed yet, the best protection is getting the petition right the first time.

1. Free initial consultation. We discuss your record, your goals, and any deadline you are facing, such as a job offer, a license application or a housing application.
2. Criminal history review. We obtain your official records and compare them against court files to make sure nothing is missing.
3. Eligibility assessment. We identify every pathway open to you, give you a candid assessment, and explain the timing.
4. Petition preparation. We prepare the verified petition and proposed order with every required disclosure.
5. Filing and agency review. We file through the Judiciary’s eCourts Expungement System. The State Police, the Attorney General and the county prosecutor then have 60 days to review it.
6. Responding to objections. If an objection is raised, we address it in writing and at any hearing.
7. Final order and follow-up. Once the order is signed, we track its processing so the expungement is actually reflected in State Police records.

• More than 25 years of New Jersey criminal defense. Ron Bar-Nadav was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1997, and his practice is devoted exclusively to criminal defense.
• Deep criminal-court experience. The firm has handled more than 4,750 criminal cases, from charge through trial, sentencing and appeal. That background helps in reading old dispositions and spotting what a prosecutor will look for.
• Statewide practice. From the Hackensack office, Mr. Bar-Nadav appears in municipal and Superior Courts across all 21 New Jersey counties.
• Direct attorney involvement. Every client works directly with Attorney Bar-Nadav.

Learn more about attorney Ron Bar-Nadav.

This page provides general information about New Jersey law as of November 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Expungement eligibility depends on the specific facts of your record. Consult a licensed New Jersey attorney about your situation.