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New Jersey guide

Finding a job with a record in New Jersey

Most New Jersey employers with 15 or more employees cannot ask about a criminal record on a job application or before the first interview (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑14). After that they may ask, and they can still turn an applicant down because of a record unless it has been expunged or pardoned. Help with the job search is available through the state's One-Stop Career Centers, and free help with clearing a record through the courts' online expungement system and Legal Services of New Jersey.

Reviewed against public records, October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Job hunting with a criminal record under NJ ban-the-box rules, expungement and One-Stop Career Centers: NJ Sober Living guide illustration

When can a New Jersey employer ask about your record?

Under New Jersey's Opportunity to Compete Act, an employer with 15 or more employees cannot ask about your criminal record, on paper, online or out loud, until after the first interview (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑14).

The law counts an employer that has had 15 or more employees for 20 calendar weeks, including the State, counties, towns and employment agencies; federal agencies are not covered (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑13). The early stage ends when the employer has held a first interview, which means live contact in person, by phone or by video; an exchange of emails or a written questionnaire does not count (N.J.A.C. 12:68‑1.2).

The ban covers expunged records too, and it covers questions to anyone, not only to you, so an employer may not check your record with others before the first interview either (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑14; N.J.A.C. 12:68‑1.3). If you bring up your record yourself during that stage, the employer may then ask about it. After the first interview the employer may ask you or anyone else about your record, which is when a background check can happen (N.J.A.C. 12:68‑1.3). Job ads may not say that people who have been arrested or convicted will not be considered (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑15). The law took effect on March 1, 2015 (NJDOL, 2015).

The Act has limits. It controls when an employer may ask, not whether a record can count: after the first interview, an employer may still turn you down because of a record that hasn't been expunged or pardoned (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑14). Employers with fewer than 15 employees and federal agencies are outside it (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑13), some jobs are exempt (below), and an applicant can't sue under it; the only remedy is a fine enforced by the Department of Labor (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑18, ‑19).

  1. Job adMay not say people with records won't be considered
  2. ApplicationNo record questions, on paper or online
  3. First interviewStill none, unless you bring it up
  4. After the first interviewThe employer may ask and run a background check
  5. DecisionA record can count against you, unless it was expunged or pardoned
When an employer may ask about a record in New Jersey. Stages 1 to 3: no record questions for employers with 15 or more employees; stages 4 and 5: questions and a background check are allowed. Some jobs are exceptions (below). Source: N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑14, ‑15; N.J.A.C. 12:68‑1.3.

Which jobs can ask about a record from the start?

Some jobs are exempt from the timing rule and can ask about a record on the application itself (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑16).

Ads for public safety jobs and for jobs a law screens may also say that people with a record will not be considered (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑15). If you apply for any of the jobs below, expect the question early.

Can you clear a criminal record in New Jersey?

Many New Jersey records can be expunged, which removes or seals the records of an arrest, the court case, the conviction and the sentence; you can file for free through the courts' eCourts Expungement System with your case number.

For a job search, that matters twice: an employer may not ask about an expunged record at the application stage, and the Act does not let an employer refuse to hire because of it (N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑14).

The courts list these routes (New Jersey Courts, 2026). The court can order an immediate, expedited expungement when a case is dismissed or you are found not guilty on all counts (N.J.S.A. 2C:52‑6). Recovery Court expungement is ordered at graduation; you only apply yourself if you graduated before April 18, 2016 (2C:35‑14(m)). Clean Slate needs ten years since your last conviction and ten years since you paid fines and fees and finished probation or parole (2C:52‑5.3). Regular expungement usually needs five years after the sentence for indictable and disorderly persons offenses, sometimes four, and two years for ordinance offenses, with all fines and fees paid and no more than one indictable conviction and three disorderly persons offenses (2C:52‑2 to ‑4). Certain marijuana or hashish offenses have their own route (2C:52‑5.1, 2C:52‑6.1), as do juvenile adjudications (2C:52‑4.1) and people whose convictions were linked to domestic violence or abuse they suffered (2C:52‑5.5).

  1. Was the case dismissed, or were you found not guilty on all counts?

    Yes Expedited expungement, which the court can order right away N.J.S.A. 2C:52‑6

  2. Did you graduate from Recovery Court?

    Yes Recovery Court expungement, ordered at graduation; apply yourself only if you graduated before April 18, 2016 N.J.S.A. 2C:35‑14(m)

  3. Is it a marijuana or hashish offense?

    Yes Marijuana expungement for certain offenses N.J.S.A. 2C:52‑5.1, 2C:52‑6.1

  4. Ten years or more since your last conviction, with fines paid and probation or parole finished ten years ago?

    Yes Clean Slate expungement N.J.S.A. 2C:52‑5.3

  5. Usually five years since the sentence (two for ordinance offenses), fines paid, within the limits on how many?

    Yes Regular expungement N.J.S.A. 2C:52‑2 to ‑4

None fit yet? Juvenile records and survivors of domestic violence or abuse have their own routes. Check the LSNJ expungement navigator or call the LSNJLAW Hotline, 1-888-576-5529.

Which expungement route may fit, as the New Jersey courts list them. Read from the top; the first "yes" is the route to look at first. Eligibility depends on the whole record: this is not legal advice. Source: New Jersey Courts, Expunging Your Court Record.

Where to start

  1. Find your case number. For Superior Court cases the courts have an online name search; for municipal cases, ask the town's court for the summons number.
  2. File for free on the eCourts Expungement System, following the courts' user guide.
  3. After a judge signs the order, track it on the New Jersey State Police Expungement Status Portal.
  4. Not sure you qualify? Use Legal Services of New Jersey's expungement navigator, or call the LSNJLAW Hotline at 1-888-576-5529, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It is free for residents who meet its income limits (LSNJ, 2026).

Where can you get job help in New Jersey?

Start at a One-Stop Career Center, run by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development; if you are on probation or in Recovery Court, ask your probation officer about the courts' JOBS program.

The Department of Labor's JOBS initiative funds reentry job services in the north, center and south of the state: career coaching, training, internships and help with practical barriers such as childcare and transportation (NJDOL, 2026). The courts' own JOBS program runs through probation in all 21 counties: staff match candidates to openings, hold job fairs and interviews, give job readiness training, and employees hired through it are eligible for federal bonding (New Jersey Courts, 2026).

Related guides: working while in sober living, and for Bergen County readers, recovery resources in Bergen County.

Take it with you: a one‑page job search sheet

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Job search with a record in New Jersey

When employers can ask

  • Employers with 15 or more employees cannot ask on the application or before the first interview.
  • An interview is live: in person, by phone or by video.
  • If you bring it up first, they may ask.
  • After the first interview they may ask, and may say no unless the record was expunged or pardoned.

Jobs that can ask first

  • Law enforcement, corrections, courts, homeland security, emergency management; jobs a law screens; second-chance hiring programs.

Clearing a record

  • File free on the courts' eCourts Expungement System with your case number.
  • Clean Slate: ten years after the last conviction and after finishing fines, probation or parole.
  • Regular: usually five years after the sentence.
  • Recovery Court: ordered at graduation; apply yourself only if you graduated before April 18, 2016.

Where to get help

  • One-Stop Career Centers across New Jersey. Bergen: 60 State Street, Floor 2, Hackensack, (201) 343-8830, Mon to Fri 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • On probation or in Recovery Court: ask your probation officer about JOBS.
  • NJDOL JOBS reentry services: providers by region on nj.gov (Career Services, justice-involved clients).
  • LSNJLAW Hotline 1-888-576-5529, Mon to Fri 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

General information, not legal advice. Sources: N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑11 to -19; njcourts.gov; nj.gov; lsnj.org. Checked October 2026.
From the guide “Finding a job with a record in New Jersey”, livesobernj.com/finding-a-job-with-a-record-nj/
NJ Sober Living (201) 231-1066

Questions about job hunting with a record in New Jersey

No. It covers employers with 15 or more employees for 20 calendar weeks, including the State, counties, towns and employment agencies. Federal agencies are not covered, and smaller employers fall outside the Act (N.J.S.A. 34:6B-13).

The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces the Act. An employer can be fined up to $1,000 for a first violation, $5,000 for a second and $10,000 for each one after that. Those penalties are the only remedy: the Act does not give applicants a right to sue (N.J.S.A. 34:6B-18, 34:6B-19).

An employer covered by the Act may not use an online application that requires you to disclose a criminal record before the first interview (N.J.S.A. 34:6B-14). An employer that hires in more than one state may keep the question on a shared form only if it tells applicants for New Jersey jobs not to answer it (N.J.A.C. 12:68-1.3(h)).

The Act lets an employer decline to hire because of a criminal record after the first interview, unless the record or the relevant part of it has been expunged or erased by an executive pardon (N.J.S.A. 34:6B-14). Any refusal also has to be consistent with other laws.

The court can order a Recovery Court expungement when you graduate from the program. You only need to apply for it yourself if you graduated before April 18, 2016 (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-14(m); New Jersey Courts).

For a regular expungement, in most cases five years after the sentence for indictable and disorderly persons offenses, sometimes four, and two years for ordinance offenses, with all fines and fees paid. Clean Slate expungement needs ten years since the last conviction and since fines and supervision were finished (New Jersey Courts).

Legal Services of New Jersey runs the LSNJLAW Hotline, 1-888-576-5529, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., free for residents who meet its income limits, and an online expungement navigator. The courts also list regional legal services offices, reachable at 732-572-9100, and county bar referral services.

Sources

  1. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Selected NJ State Labor Laws and Regulations: N.J.S.A. 34:6B‑11 to -19 (Opportunity to Compete Act) and N.J.A.C. 12:68. Accessed October 30, 2026.
  2. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (2015). Opportunity to Compete Act Takes Effect March 1. News release, February 27, 2015. Accessed October 30, 2026.
  3. New Jersey Courts. Expunging Your Court Record. Accessed October 30, 2026.
  4. New Jersey Courts. Judiciary's Opportunities for Building Success (JOBS). Accessed October 30, 2026.
  5. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Career Services: Justice Involved Clients. Accessed October 30, 2026.
  6. New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. One-Stop Career Centers. Accessed October 30, 2026.
  7. Legal Services of New Jersey. Free LSNJLAW Hotline. Accessed October 30, 2026.

General information, not legal advice. Laws and programs change; check the official pages above before you rely on a detail.