Last amended September 1, 2011 · Current through June 18, 2026 · Last verified July 7, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4:101-1 requires the clerk, on payment of the statutory fee, to enter an abstract of every money judgment or order in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket -- identifying the parties, the judgment's terms or the affected property, and its entry date -- and treats a child-support judgment entered in the state's automated index as equivalent to that docket entry.
(a)Entry on Civil Judgment and Order Docket. Upon payment by the proponent of the order or judgment of the fee prescribed by N.J.S.A. 22A:2-7, the Clerk of the Superior Court or, where provided by law or these rules, the deputy clerk of the Superior Court in the county of venue shall enter in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket an abstract of each judgment or order for the payment of money entered in the Superior Court; and upon written notice by any party thereto pursuant to law, an abstract prepared by such party of any judgment or order affecting title to or a lien upon real or personal property, and an abstract of any judgment or order for costs and counsel fees entered by the Appellate Division of the Superior Court. The abstract shall contain the following information:
(1)The title of the court and the names of all the parties to the judgment or order, designating particularly against whom it is rendered, and the firm name of all partnerships, if such appears in the pleadings;
(2)The style of the action and the amount of the debt, damages and costs recovered; or, in the case of a judgment or order affecting title to or a lien upon real or personal property, a designation of the property so affected; and
(3)The date of the actual entry of such judgment or order by notation thereof upon the Civil Docket.
(b)Child Support Judgments and Orders. When a child support judgment or order issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.23a is entered in the Superior Court Child Support Judgment Index of the New Jersey automated child support system, it shall have the same force and effect as entry of an abstract in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket pursuant to paragraph (a) of this rule.
Amendment History
New Jersey publishes each rule’s amendment record in a “History” note beneath the rule. It is reproduced verbatim below; the “R.R.” citations refer to the former Revised Rules numbering the current rules replaced.
Source-R.R. 4:120-2 (first unnumbered paragraph). Paragraph (a) amended September 5, 1969 to be effective September 8, 1969; amended July 7, 1971 to be effective September 13, 1971; amended July 24, 1978 to be effective September 11, 1978; amended July 22, 1983 to be effective September 12, 1983; existing rule redesignated as paragraph (a) with new caption added and new paragraph (b) added July 14, 1992 to be effective September 1, 1992; relaxed and supplemented January 3, 1994 to be effective January 5, 1994, to permit the Clerk of the Superior Court to reject judgments submitted for entry in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket when the proper judgment recording fee is not tendered pursuant to N.J.S. 22A:2-7; paragraph (a); amended June 28, 1996 to be effective September 1, 1996; paragraph (b); amended July 21, 2011 to be effective September 1, 2011.
Plain-English Summary
A judgment or order for money doesn't become part of the public record on its own — once the proponent pays the fee N.J.S.A. 22A:2-7 sets, the clerk enters an abstract of it in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket. That abstract identifies the court and every party (naming specifically who the judgment runs against, including any partnership's firm name), describes the action and the debt, damages, or costs recovered (or, for a judgment touching title to or a lien on property, identifies that property), and notes the date the judgment or order was entered on the Civil Docket. A party can also submit its own abstract of a judgment or order affecting title to or a lien on real or personal property, and the clerk enters abstracts of Appellate Division costs-and-fees awards the same way.
Child support is handled a little differently: once a child-support judgment or order is entered in the Superior Court Child Support Judgment Index of the state's automated system, it carries the same legal force as an abstract entered in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers entry of a judgment abstract in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket?
Payment of the fee prescribed by N.J.S.A. 22A:2-7 by the party proposing the order or judgment.
Does a child support judgment need a separate abstract entry?
No, entry in the Superior Court Child Support Judgment Index carries the same force and effect as an abstract entered in the Civil Judgment and Order Docket.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
official New Jersey Rules of Court (N.J. Ct. R. 4:101-1). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of New Jersey (N.J. Const. art. VI, § 2, ¶ 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 7, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:Civil Judgment and Order Docketjudgment abstract