New Jersey
In New Jersey the federal claim under Section 1983 and the claim under the New Jersey Civil Rights Act both have two years, and neither needs a notice. A state tort claim against a police department, a county jail or the officers themselves needs a Tort Claims Act notice within 90 days, a six-month wait before suit, and suit within two years. This page goes through each clock, the Civil Rights Act, qualified immunity under state law, and the use of force and body-camera rules that decide what evidence exists.
New Jersey is simpler than New York in one way and harder in another. Simpler, because the state has its own civil rights statute that tracks Section 1983 and needs no notice. Harder, because the personal injury period that both claims borrow is two years, not three, and the Tort Claims Act notice is due in the same 90 days as New York's. Our New Jersey cases are brought by attorneys admitted there, in the state courts and in the District of New Jersey, which sits in the Third Circuit.
The federal claim: two years
New Jersey's general personal injury statute provides that "every action at law for an injury to the person caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of any person shall be commenced within two years" (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2). That is the period a Section 1983 claim borrows in New Jersey under the rule of Owens v. Okure, 488 U.S. 235 (1989), which sends a federal civil rights claim to the state's general or residual personal injury period. No notice of any kind is required for the federal claim (Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131 (1988)).
The accrual rules are federal and are the same as in New York: a false arrest claim accrues at arraignment or release (Wallace v. Kato, 549 U.S. 384 (2007)), a malicious prosecution or fabricated-evidence claim when the criminal case ends without a conviction (McDonough v. Smith, 588 U.S. 109 (2019)), a force claim at the incident. Two years is short enough that a criminal case which takes a year and a half to resolve leaves very little time on the false arrest claim, which is why the civil case is planned while the criminal case is still open. If a criminal charge is pending, talk to your defense lawyer before describing the arrest to anyone; the criminal case and civil case page explains how the two are handled together.
The Tort Claims Act: 90 days, six months, two years
A state tort claim against a public entity or a public employee (assault, battery, false imprisonment, negligence) is governed by the New Jersey Tort Claims Act. The claim must be presented in writing within 90 days of accrual; suit may not be filed until six months after the notice; and the claim is barred after two years (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8). A late notice may be permitted on a motion made within one year of accrual, on a showing of extraordinary circumstances and no substantial prejudice to the public entity (N.J.S.A. 59:8-9).
The Tort Claims Act numbers
90 days from accrual to present the notice of claim to the public entity. Six months after the notice before suit may be filed. Two years from accrual to sue. A motion for leave to file a late notice must be made within one year of accrual, and the court grants it only on extraordinary circumstances (N.J.S.A. 59:8-8, 59:8-9). The six-month wait sits inside the two years, so a notice served late in the 90 days still leaves time; a notice served at month eleven under a late-notice motion does not leave much.
The notice goes to the public entity that employed the officers: the municipality for a municipal police department, the county for a sheriff's office or county jail, the State for the State Police. Where it is not clear which entity employed the officers, we present the notice to each candidate within the 90 days.
The New Jersey Civil Rights Act
New Jersey has what New York does not: a state statute that mirrors Section 1983. Any person who has been deprived of substantive due process or equal protection rights secured by the federal Constitution or laws, or of substantive rights secured by the New Jersey Constitution or laws, by a person acting under color of law, may sue for damages and injunctive relief, and the court may award the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs (N.J.S.A. 10:6-2(c), (f)). The claim is brought alongside the federal one, usually in the same complaint, and borrows the same two-year period.
The Tort Claims Act notice does not apply to it. The New Jersey Supreme Court held in Owens v. Feigin, 194 N.J. 607 (2008), that the Act's notice requirement does not reach claims under the Civil Rights Act. So a person who missed the 90 days has lost the state tort claims but keeps both civil rights claims, federal and state, for two years.
Why we serve the Tort Claims Act notice anyway
The state tort claims are worth keeping because they do not carry a qualified immunity defense and because they reach the public entity as employer without the Monell showing the federal claim demands. The notice is a short written document. Serve it within the 90 days for every claim, decide later which claims to plead.
Qualified immunity under New Jersey law
The state claim does not escape qualified immunity. In Morillo v. Torres, 222 N.J. 104 (2015), a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court held that qualified immunity applies to claims under the Civil Rights Act as it does under Section 1983: an officer is shielded unless the conduct violated a clearly established right of which a reasonable officer would have known (Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982)). The qualified immunity page explains the doctrine and the Supreme Court's 2026 decisions tightening it.
Two things differ in New Jersey. First, procedure. In Harris v. City of Newark, 250 N.J. 294 (2022), the court held that there is no automatic interlocutory appeal from a denial of qualified immunity under the Civil Rights Act; a defendant who loses the motion must seek leave to appeal rather than appeal as of right. In practice that means a state-court case denied immunity moves toward trial faster than a federal one. Second, the legislature. Assembly Bill A5120, introduced May 18, 2026, would provide that qualified immunity and other immunities do not apply to Civil Rights Act claims. It has not been enacted, and this page will change if it is.
Use of force policy, reporting and body cameras
New Jersey regulates police force from the top, through the Attorney General, and the rules create the record a civil case is built on.
The Attorney General's statewide Use of Force Policy (Directive 2020-13, issued December 21, 2020, updated by Directive 2021-14 and most recently in September 2025) requires that force be a last resort, imposes a duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force and a duty to render aid afterward, and bans chokeholds. The policy is not itself a cause of action, but it is the standard the officers were trained to and the document against which their conduct is measured in discovery. Officers must report every use of force to the statewide Use of Force Portal within 24 hours; every agency has reported since late 2020, and the dashboard and datasets are public. A use of force that does not appear in the Portal is itself a fact.
Body-worn camera recordings are retained not less than 180 days, and for three years where a complaint is registered by the subject of the recording, where an officer or supervisor requests retention for evidentiary value, or where a member of the public requests it (N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5). Correctional police officers are excluded from the statute. The 180 days is a floor, not a promise, and the three-year retention exists only if someone asks.
The request that costs nothing
A written request that the department retain the body-camera footage of the incident triggers the three-year retention under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5. We send it in the first week, before the Tort Claims Act notice, and we send it whether or not a lawsuit follows. The evidence page has the rest of the first-week list.
Every New Jersey clock
| Claim | Pre-suit step | Suit due | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section 1983, against the officers and (through Monell) the public entity | None | 2 years from accrual | N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; Owens v. Okure; Felder v. Casey |
| New Jersey Civil Rights Act | None | 2 years from accrual | N.J.S.A. 10:6-2; 2A:14-2; Owens v. Feigin, 194 N.J. 607 (2008) |
| State tort claim against a public entity or employee | Tort Claims Act notice within 90 days; suit not before 6 months | 2 years from accrual | N.J.S.A. 59:8-8 |
| Late Tort Claims Act notice | Motion within 1 year of accrual, extraordinary circumstances | as above | N.J.S.A. 59:8-9 |
| Body-camera retention | Written request for retention | 180 days by default; 3 years on request | N.J.S.A. 40A:14-118.5 |
The federal court for New Jersey is the District of New Jersey, and its appeals go to the Third Circuit (28 U.S.C. § 41). A defendant may remove a state-court Section 1983 case to federal court within 30 days of receiving the pleading (28 U.S.C. § 1446(b)(1)), so a case filed in Superior Court with a federal claim in it often ends up in Newark, Trenton or Camden anyway. The filing page explains the choice.
Every deadline
New York, New Jersey, Florida and the federal agencies, by agency and by claim, in one table.
Deadlines →Florida
Four years for the federal claim, the pre-suit notice, the statutory caps and the 2026 veto.
Florida →Qualified immunity
The doctrine in plain English, the 2026 decisions, and where it does and does not apply under state law.
Qualified immunity →Common questions
How long do I have in New Jersey?
Two years for the Section 1983 claim and two years for the New Jersey Civil Rights Act claim, from accrual. For a state tort claim against a public entity or its employee, a Tort Claims Act notice within 90 days of accrual, then a six-month wait, then suit within two years. The 90 days is the clock that runs out first.
I missed the 90 days. Is the state claim gone?
Not necessarily. A court may permit a late notice on a motion made within one year of accrual, on a showing of extraordinary circumstances and no substantial prejudice to the public entity. That is discretionary and not a right. The Section 1983 and Civil Rights Act claims do not need the notice at all and have two years.
Does the Tort Claims Act notice apply to the Civil Rights Act claim?
No. The New Jersey Supreme Court held in Owens v. Feigin that the Tort Claims Act notice requirement does not apply to claims under the Civil Rights Act. We serve the notice anyway in nearly every case, because the state tort claims add defendants and remedies of their own.
Is there qualified immunity under New Jersey law?
Yes. Morillo v. Torres held that qualified immunity applies to Civil Rights Act claims as it does under Section 1983. A bill introduced in May 2026, A5120, would remove it for Civil Rights Act claims, but it has not been enacted. One difference from federal court: a defendant denied qualified immunity under the Civil Rights Act has no automatic right to an immediate appeal and must seek leave.
Tell us what happened.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which claims the facts support, which deadline runs first for the agency involved, what evidence to preserve this week, and whether a pending criminal case changes the timing. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510If a criminal charge is still open, talk to your defense lawyer before you describe the arrest to anyone, including us. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language. Contingency fee, confirmed in writing before we begin.