Expungement of a Municipal Ordinance in Warren County NJ

Remove a Local Ordinance From Your Record in Belvidere, NJ

Expunge a Local Ordinance Violation NJ

If you have a local ordinance violation on your record in New Jersey, you can apply for an expungement after a two-year waiting period and expunge all municipal ordinance violations from your record. It’s true that, technically, ordinance violations are not considered criminal offenses in New Jersey but in any matter where a person pleads guilty to or is found guilty of a municipal ordinance violation, there will be a permanent record of the violation. New Jersey’s expungement laws, specifically N.J.S.A. 2C:52-4, sets forth the requirements and expungement procedure for municipal ordinance violations in in New Jersey and there are a number of rules that must be followed in order to successfully expunge an ordinance violation from a person’s record. Additionally, petty disorderly persons offenses and disorderly persons offenses may be expunged in addition to the expungement of municipal ordinance violations. The Sussex and Warren County expungement attorneys at the Tormey Law Firm have handled countless expungements and they are ready to take care of your expungement needs as well. Contact our offices now for a free initial consultation at 973-755-1695.

NOTE: There is no criminal record for a local ordinance violation (also known as a municipal ordinance violation). However, many of these ordinance violations are downgrades from a disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons offense. As a result, on those charges, there is a record of the arrest that you must expunge in order to remove it from your permanent criminal history.

Expunge a Local Ordinance Violation in NJ – N.J.S.A. 2C:52-4

According to N.J.S.A. 2C:52-4, in all cases wherein a person has been found guilty of violating a municipal ordinance of any governmental entity of New Jersey and who has not been convicted of any prior or subsequent crime, whether within this State or any other jurisdiction, and who has not been adjudged a disorderly person or petty disorderly person on more than two occasions, may, after the expiration of a period of two years from the date of his conviction, payment of fine, satisfactory completion of probation or release from incarceration, whichever is later, present a duly verified petition for expungement of the municipal ordinance violation.

How does the expungement process work?

An expungement is essentially a motion filed in the Superior Court in the county in which you were charged, arrested, and/or convicted. First, we must request a certified disposition from the court showing what charges you had and how those charges were resolved. This must be a certified (stamped) copy that we attach as an exhibit to your expungement petition. Then, we must draft the expungement motion which includes a certification that the client must sign. Once the motion is drafted and the certification is signed, we can file the motion with the court. We must send copies of this motion, certified mail, to all the law enforcement agencies in New Jersey letting them know that we are applying to have your records expunged. These agencies include the local police, attorney general, etc. Then, we will receive a copy back from the court which shows that the motion was successfully filed. At this point, the court will set a hearing date for the expungement. Most expungements proceed “on the papers” so there is no need to appear at the hearing. As long as the prosecutor’s office does not object to the expungement, a Superior Court Judge will sign an order granting the motion to expunge your records. Once we receive this signed order from the court, we must again send certified copies of it to all the law enforcement agencies so that they then remove your records.

Note: The records are not destroyed. They are set aside so they no longer show up on background checks. The expungement process takes a minimum of 90 days but can take up to six (6) months or longer. It depends on the court and the county in which you are filing.

Contact our Warren County Expungement Lawyers Now

Whether you were recently in municipal court in Sussex or Warren County and entered a guilty plea to an ordinance violation for a noise violation, drinking in public, having too many trash cans on your property, disturbing the peace or any other issue, or you have a conviction of a municipal ordinance from decades ago, the expungement lawyers at the Tormey Law Firm are available to answer any questions you have about expunging your record at 973-755-1695.