The NJ State Police Expungement Unit, located in at PO Box 7068 in West Trenton, NJ are REALLY slowing to a crawl lately with their processing of NJ expungements.

First of all, they are asking the Courts for more time prior to the judge signing the Final Petition for Expungement. You see, the NJ State Police have the statutory right to object to your grant of Expungement, as does the county prosecutor.

Before your expungement’s hearing date, the county prosecutor and NJ State Police Expungement Unit must be notified via certified mail, return receipt requested, that you are seeking an Expungement of your criminal record(s). This is done by mailing them a complete copy of your filed expungement, wherein the judge has filled out the Order for Hearing document.

Then, when the Judge has finally signed your Expungement and ordered the prosecutor and NJ State Police Expungement Unit to remove your criminal records from the database, the entire expungement package is sent certified mail a SECOND time to the expungement unit and prosecutor’s office.

Once the NJ State Police Expungement Unit receives the Final Order, they are, per a phone converation I had with them yesterday, taking a minimum of 9 weeks to actually remove your criminal records from the NJ State Criminal records computer system.

Thus, if you begin your expungement process today (June 20, 2014), your expungement will likely not be complete (i.,e, your name will not come up clean in a background check) until probably November at the earliest, and more likely December.

Call me today at 908-782-5313 if you want to get started on clearing your criminal record. My office does everything possible to expedite the procedure as much as possible. If you’re even considering an expungement, I strongly recommend you obtain a copy of your NJ Criminal History as soon as possible by filling out NJ State Police’s Form A here.

You’ll have to set an appointment to be electronically fingerprinted at a MorphoTrust location, which is done thru the bioapplicant link on Form A above. The fee is $40.70.

Once you receive a copy of your NJ Criminal History in the mail, give me a call to see if you qualify to have your NJ criminal records expunged. The waiting period to expunge a disorderly persons offense (misdemeanor) is 5 years, a felony, 10 years. NOTE that these time periods begin ticking from the date you finish your sentence (i.e, probation or P.T.I.), and NOT the date of the offense itself.  You also cannot have any outstanding fines or pending charges against you.

Call me today at 908-782-5313 to discuss YOUR New Jersey expungement matter. Our fees start at just $795 for a basic expungement, and this fee includes the court costs and certified mail fees. Don’t be fooled by insanely low prices offered by some other attorneys, as their “fine print” usually says that you are responsible for costs on top of their “low” fee, and the certified mailing costs for an Expungement typically run close to $100, and the filing fee alone is $52.50. My $795 includes these costs- there are no hidden fees or extra charges!