Rule 5:10-12.Judgment of Adoption; Procedures for Closing and Sealing Adoption Records
Last amended September 1, 2013 · Current through September 1, 2026 · Last verified September 8, 2026
Full Text of Rule 5:10-12
Amendment History
New Jersey publishes each rule’s amendment record in a “Note” beneath the rule. It is reproduced verbatim below; a “Source” line names the former rule the current one grew out of, and “R. (1969)” citations refer to the earlier numbering it replaced.
Note: Source-R. (1969) 4:94-8(a), (b) and (c). Adopted as Rule 5:10-9 December 20, 1983, to be effective December 31, 1983; paragraph (c) amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; redesignated as Rule 5:10-12, caption amended, new paragraph (a) adopted, former paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) redesignated as paragraphs (b), (c), and (d), paragraph (d) amended, new paragraphs (e), (f), and (g) adopted July 21, 2011 to be effective September 1, 2011; paragraphs (a), (e) and (g) amended July 9, 2013 to be effective September 1, 2013.
Plain-English Summary
A separate judgment is entered for each adoptee, and it must include ten items. Several exist to protect privacy: the child is identified by the initials of their birth name only, except in stepparent, second parent, foreign adoption or readoption cases where the full birth name may appear. The rest record what the judgment does — terminating all parental relationships, rights and responsibilities of the birth parents including the right of inheritance through intestacy, except rights that vested before the judgment, and establishing all of those same relationships between the child and the adopting party. The judgment also confirms that the federal Indian Child Welfare Act requirements have been met, states the new name, and directs the issue of a birth certificate in that name listing the adoptive parent.
Sealing is comprehensive. All records of proceedings related to adoption — the complaint, judgment, petitions, affidavits, testimony, reports, briefs, orders and other relevant documents — are filed under seal and are at no time open to inspection or copying unless the court orders otherwise for good cause. Even the index is closed: the clerk maintains one, but no index of adoption proceedings may be inspected, copied or made public except by court order. Certified copies go out before sealing, on payment of the fee, to the plaintiff, their attorney, the Clerk of the Superior Court and the placing agency.
A related child placement case on the FC docket is closed to reflect the adoption, but only once the Division provides a Notice of Change — and for an out-of-state adoption, both the judgment and the Notice. Those documents must reach the court presiding over the placement case no later than 30 days after the adoption judgment is entered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes into a New Jersey judgment of adoption?
Ten items, including the child's identity (by initials of the birth name in most cases), date and place of birth, date of placement, the agency and its consent, termination of the birth parents' rights including inheritance through intestacy, confirmation of Indian Child Welfare Act compliance, the grant of adoption, the new name, and an order directing issue of a new birth certificate.
Are adoption records sealed in New Jersey?
Yes. All records of proceedings related to adoption are filed under seal and are at no time open to inspection or copying unless the court, on good cause shown, orders otherwise. Even the index is closed except by court order.
Can I get a copy of the judgment?
Before the record is sealed, and on payment of the appropriate fee, the clerk provides certified copies to the plaintiff, the plaintiff's attorney, the Clerk of the Superior Court, and the approved agency that made the placement.
When is a related child placement case closed?
Once the Division of Child Protection and Permanency provides a Notice of Change — and, for an out-of-state adoption, the judgment as well. Those documents must be provided no later than 30 days after the adoption judgment is entered.