Crandi

Nj Public Notices Requirements And Posting Rules In New Jersey

Leo Migdal
-
nj public notices requirements and posting rules in new jersey

Learn about New Jersey's public notice requirements, where they must be posted, formatting rules, and compliance measures to ensure legal transparency. Public notices play a crucial role in keeping New Jersey residents informed about government actions, legal proceedings, and other matters of public interest. These notices ensure transparency by providing citizens with access to important information that may affect their rights or communities. New Jersey has specific laws governing how public notices must be published, where they can be posted, and what details they must include. Understanding these requirements is essential for compliance and ensuring the public remains properly informed. New Jersey law mandates that certain public notices be published to ensure transparency and provide residents with access to government actions, legal proceedings, and regulatory changes.

These requirements are primarily governed by N.J.S.A. 35:1-1 et seq., which outlines the legal obligations for public notice dissemination. Notices must be published in newspapers that meet specific criteria, including regular circulation and a history of continuous publication for at least two years. This ensures that the information reaches a broad audience. The types of notices requiring publication vary widely, including government meetings, zoning changes, foreclosures, probate matters, and certain business filings. For example, municipalities must publish ordinances at least once in an approved newspaper before they take effect.

Similarly, foreclosure notices must be published to ensure property owners and interested parties are properly informed before legal action proceeds. Public entities no longer are required to publish meeting notices in newspapers under a new law Gov. Phil Murphy signed on June 30, 2025. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor) Legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy Monday evening ended the state’s decades-long practice of requiring publication of public notices in newspapers.

The measure comes after the Star-Ledger, the state’s largest daily newspaper, announced it would cease printing in February, along with other smaller papers the company owns. That left several municipalities and counties without an official newspaper to publish notices of town meetings, planning board applications, foreclosures, and bid solicitations, as mandated under the state’s Open Public Meetings Act. Now, under the new law, public entities will be required to publish or advertise legal notices on their official website beginning March 1, 2026, with digital publication of such notices optional until that date. The law requires that the websites be free and accessible, with a direct hyperlink to legal notices placed “conspicuously” on the homepage. The secretary of state also would help set up a website to include notices from public entities statewide. Public agencies will be required to display notices on the website for at least one week and store them in an online archive for at least one year afterward.

Local governments will not be required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026, according to the measure. On June 30, 2025, Governor Murphy signed into law new requirements for the publication of legal notices. Under the new law, as set forth in N.J.S. 35:3-1 et seq., legal notice publication by both public entities and private entities that were once required to be published in print newspapers must be published on official digital platforms. The new law aims to preserve transparency, reduce costs and improve public access to essential legal notices in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Historically, legal notices in New Jersey were required to be published in local or regional print newspapers, for matters such as public bids, ordinances, foreclosures, governmental meetings and land use applications.

Many have argued publication in the print newspaper is costly, outdated, has limited reach, and fails to reflect a modern approach to information consumption. Applicability to New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL), N.J.S. 40:55D: While the public notice as required by the MLUL will now be published on a public entity website and/or eligible online news publication website, the MLUL notice requirements essentially remain unchanged: The new public notice provisions will require municipalities, land use applicants and land use practitioners to revamp their internal notice procedures to ensure compliance with the statute and the MLUL. It will be important for practitioners to understand the process, including how to post public notices and to maintain records of the digital public notices so as to provide proof of notice where required.

The statute modernizes the approach to legal notice requirements, providing further transparency, efficiency and reach to the public at large but requires a new and careful approach to ensure that land use applications and... On June 30, 2025, Gov. Phil Murphy signed public notice reform legislation into law. The new law (S-4654/A-5878) requires – beginning March 1, 2026 – a public entity to publish or advertise legal notices on its official website. The new law also mandates that private entities required to publish legal notices do so on an online news publication. To avoid compliance missteps, we strongly encourage land use applicants and municipal officials to be proactive in familiarizing themselves with the new requirements.

This new law will affect both private developers and land use applicants, as well as municipal clerk’s offices. The modernization of New Jersey’s legal notice requirements respond to the fact that paper newspapers are quickly becoming scarce in the digital age and online publications are often subject to pay walls. The new law also aims to provide greater accessibility to the public and boost government efficiency. Below are several key provisions: Finally, S-4654/A-5878 extends the provisions of two prior laws that provided temporary relief from the requirement that all public notices be published in print newspapers. Applicants and public entities may continue to use print or electronic newspapers for legal notices.

Land use applications and approvals often require notice publication pursuant to New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL). Specifically, the MLUL mandates that notice must be sent by certified mail to all property owners within 200 feet of the subject property. Additionally, notice must be published in an official newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least 10 days prior to the scheduled public hearing. On June 30, 2025, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill No. 4654, which was introduced on June 16, 2025, into law, enacting significant reforms to the state’s requirements for the publication or advertisement of legal notices. Traditionally, legal notices are required to be published in printed newspapers to afford the public notice of municipal and county meetings.

Since many print newspapers in New Jersey ended daily print publication, the new law revises the manner in which legal notices are to be communicated to the public. Effective March 1, 2026, all governmental and public entities will be required to publish or advertise legal notices electronically on their own official website. Such websites will be required to clearly link to legal notices on its home page and be accessible and available to the public without charge. All governmental and public entities will be required to maintain public notices on the website for a minimum of a week, or the time required by law, before transferring the notice to archives and... A local government unit is not required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026. The State is required to create a webpage under the Secretary of State’s website which links to the legal notice page for each public entity.

Effective January 1, 2026, governmental entities may, in addition to the publication on its official Internet website, advertise a legal notice in an “eligible online news publication.” Any corporation, individual, or other entity that is not a public entity and is required by law or a court order or court rule to publish or advertise a legal notice will be required... Corporations, individuals, or other entities shall select an “online news publication” based on the geographic target as established or implied under the law, court order or court rules requiring publication. Public notices inform citizens of the everyday activities of government. From government spending to developing new policies, it is important for people to be informed of actions taken by public officials that affect citizens’ everyday lives. Public Notices are essential to a democracy and an informed citizenry.

Without Public Notices, citizens cannot properly and adequately make informed decisions. While the Internet is a great resource for information, public notices have been and remain most effective in newspapers. Newspapers are the watchdogs of their local communities and can most effectively monitor the actions of their respective local governments. This not only allows local residents to be informed but it also forces local public officials to be held accountable. Additionally, Notices in newspapers are permanent records that cannot be altered or deleted. They are also more accessible as anyone can have access to a newspaper as opposed to the internet.

Published public notices provide actual notice to the public about government actions like tax and fee increases, land use and environmental decisions, delinquent taxpayer notices that can lead to a government seizure and sale... To be effective, public notices must have these attributes: • Publication is in a forum independent of the government. • The published notice is a preserved and secure tangible record that is archived. On June 30, 2025, Governor Murphy signed Senate Bill No. 4654 into law, marking a sweeping reform of the State’s legal notice laws, significantly changing how public notices are published and accessed.

Effective March 1, 2026, New Jersey will require that most legal notices be posted online, which is a shift away from traditional print newspapers in favor of government websites and online news platforms. According to the new law, all public entities, including municipalities, counties, and state agencies, must publish legal notices on their official websites. These websites must be accessible to the public free of charge, and a prominent hyperlink to the legal notices page must be placed on each website’s homepage. In addition, the Secretary of State is tasked with creating a centralized webpage that links to every public entity in the State’s legal notices to further ensure public access. Public entities must also maintain an online archive of their legal notices for at least one year. Importantly, private parties, such as developers, corporations, and other non-public entities, stand to benefit from new framework.

Private parties have legal requirement to post public notices in most land use matters, and in legal proceedings when ordered by Courts or as required by statute. Under the new requirements, non-public entities may publish public notices on a qualifying online news publication . Online publication will likely eliminate the long lead times for print publications that hindered developers and other private parties. The new law does not designate a specific list of qualified news publications, however, any online news publication must meet eligibility criteria, including audience size, geographic reach, free public access, searchable access, and archive... The legislation, however, does not eliminate the use of traditional media. Until March 1, 2026, legal notices may be published in eligible print newspapers or in accordance with the new online standards.

Additionally, public entities must advertise at least twice monthly in an eligible online news publication to inform the public where full legal notices may be viewed online and to provide a link to the... This legislation represents a pivotal change for New Jersey’s notice regime, offering faster publication, greater flexibility, and modernized access for the digital age. However, it also imposes new compliance responsibilities on government bodies and private parties. Public entities should begin reviewing their websites to ensure full compliance by the March 1, 2026, deadline. Likewise, developers and other businesses with legal notice obligations should ensure they identify and utilize online news publications that meet the statutory criteria. Learn how new legislation may modernize compliance

NJ’s public notice rules set for major changes Learn how new legislation may modernize compliance Public notice requirements in New Jersey are changing. And, if you are an applicant, developer or municipality – or work for or with any of them – it is important to be aware of where the rules stand today and what might... What led to the change? Although there have long been complaints about the somewhat archaic nature of newspaper publication requirements, print publication has always been how municipalities and members of the public appearing before public bodies were required to...

People Also Search

Learn About New Jersey's Public Notice Requirements, Where They Must

Learn about New Jersey's public notice requirements, where they must be posted, formatting rules, and compliance measures to ensure legal transparency. Public notices play a crucial role in keeping New Jersey residents informed about government actions, legal proceedings, and other matters of public interest. These notices ensure transparency by providing citizens with access to important informat...

These Requirements Are Primarily Governed By N.J.S.A. 35:1-1 Et Seq.,

These requirements are primarily governed by N.J.S.A. 35:1-1 et seq., which outlines the legal obligations for public notice dissemination. Notices must be published in newspapers that meet specific criteria, including regular circulation and a history of continuous publication for at least two years. This ensures that the information reaches a broad audience. The types of notices requiring public...

Similarly, Foreclosure Notices Must Be Published To Ensure Property Owners

Similarly, foreclosure notices must be published to ensure property owners and interested parties are properly informed before legal action proceeds. Public entities no longer are required to publish meeting notices in newspapers under a new law Gov. Phil Murphy signed on June 30, 2025. (Photo by New Jersey Monitor) Legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy Monday evening ended the state’s decades-lo...

The Measure Comes After The Star-Ledger, The State’s Largest Daily

The measure comes after the Star-Ledger, the state’s largest daily newspaper, announced it would cease printing in February, along with other smaller papers the company owns. That left several municipalities and counties without an official newspaper to publish notices of town meetings, planning board applications, foreclosures, and bid solicitations, as mandated under the state’s Open Public Meet...

Local Governments Will Not Be Required To Maintain An Archive

Local governments will not be required to maintain an archive until July 1, 2026, according to the measure. On June 30, 2025, Governor Murphy signed into law new requirements for the publication of legal notices. Under the new law, as set forth in N.J.S. 35:3-1 et seq., legal notice publication by both public entities and private entities that were once required to be published in print newspapers...