Genealogy

New Jersey County Offices

The New Jersey County Clerks and Surrogates are Constitutional 5 year term elected offices whose record holdings (in most cases) date back to the incorporation of their county. 

The County Clerk oversees elections, and retains the related records as well as land and property records, county marriages, registered businesses, and county level naturalizations.

The County Surrogate is a Clerk of New Jersey Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part and Judge of the Surrogate’s Court, who acts in place of the Governor for each county, overseeing the administration of estates and adoptions. The Surrogate retains the records related to these functions, including: administrations, wills, divisions of land, probate, orphan’s court, and adoption records.

Note that the individual County Clerks' and Surrogates' Offices are their own unique entities, not part of the New Jersey State Library. For questions about collections, services, or copy fees, please contact the appropriate individual offices.

The New Jersey State Archives has microfilmed copies of Clerk’s and Surrogate’s records for in-person public use for most counties until about 1900.   The county offices generally retain ownership in of the original records, and should be contacted if copies are needed for any official purpose. 

Familysearch.org has begun digitizing various county records, including County Marriages and Deeds.  Genealogical researchers may use this site to obtain copies for unofficial use.  If copies are needed for any other reason, the owning office should be contacted. (Note: to access collections on the website, you must login with a free account.)

Links to Searchable Records Online

Some county offices have searchable online databases for property, wills, naturalizations, or businesses.  If the county does not offer a searchable index, links are provided to the main website.