New Jersey lawyers must file small claims documents in eCourts starting November 2.

Attorneys must use eCourts for SC cases

A JEDS filing in a New Jersey small claims case will be rejected if it is submitted on or after November 2, 2026. The attorney will receive a deficiency notice directing a refiling through eCourts.

The New Jersey Supreme Court issued the order on September 30, 2026, under Rule 1:32-2A(a), “Authorization of Electronic Court Systems.” The Judiciary published it in an October 1 Notice to the Bar titled “Notice and Order: Attorneys Required to File Civil Small Claims Pleadings and Documents in the Judiciary eCourts System.”

The order takes effect November 2, 2026. It applies to attorneys filing pleadings and other documents in SC docket cases, which must go through eCourts.

“SC” means the Superior Court, Law Division, Special Civil Part, Small Claims docket. The docket covers claims of $5,000 or less.

Before the order takes effect, attorneys can submit small claims documents through JEDS, the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission system, or on paper. That changes on November 2. A document sent through JEDS in an SC case will be rejected by the clerk rather than accepted as an alternative filing.

The change is limited to attorneys and the SC docket. The order does not contain a provision about self-represented litigants. The June 3, 2026 Notice to the Bar told self-represented litigants to continue filing on paper or through JEDS.

A rejected JEDS filing has two different fee outcomes

The Judiciary created an accommodation period from November 2, 2026 through February 28, 2027. During that period, a deficiency notice for a rejected JEDS filing will include an administrative fee waiver order. The attorney can refile the document through eCourts without paying another fee beyond the JEDS filing fee already paid.

That protection ends February 28, 2027. Beginning March 1, 2027, a refiled document requires the eCourts filing fee. The original JEDS fee is not refunded.

The result is a direct cost difference based on the filing date. A rejected JEDS filing during the accommodation period can be refiled through eCourts without an added fee. A rejected JEDS filing on or after March 1, 2027 leaves the attorney responsible for the JEDS fee already paid and the eCourts fee required for the corrected filing.

A Judiciary Account Charge System, or JACS, account is required for eCourts filings that carry a fee. The Judiciary’s eCourts attorney page states that attorneys must activate their ID through annual registration and have a JACS account to pay filing fees online.

The page already describes eCourts as the Judiciary’s electronic case filing and management system. It says eCourts is mandatory for attorneys in special civil and foreclosure matters. The page does not discuss small claims.

The June notice covered only summonses and complaints

The November order follows a June 3, 2026 Notice to the Bar that took effect June 5. That earlier notice encouraged attorneys to file small claims summonses and complaints through eCourts instead of JEDS or paper.

It did not cover every small claims filing. The June notice addressed summonses and complaints and said other SC pleadings and documents would be available through eCourts “in the near future.”

That distinction matters for firms that changed their filing process in June. A firm that began using eCourts for small claims summonses and complaints has covered only those two document types. Other pleadings and documents may still be going through JEDS unless the firm changes those routines before November 2.

When the Archivar editorial desk read the September 30 order next to the June 3 notice, it found that the June notice reached only summonses and complaints. The two notices are easy to conflate, and a firm that began using eCourts in June may still have other small claims document types going through JEDS.

The broader transition has been underway for several years. A Bergen County Bar Association notice in May 2020 summarized a May 5, 2020 Supreme Court order requiring attorneys to file through eCourts where it was available and through JEDS where it was not. JEDS launched in early April 2020.

Filing procedures must reflect the SC deadline

The November order gives firms a specific date for changing their SC filing routines: November 2, 2026. After that date, the routine cannot direct an attorney to JEDS for an SC pleading or other document covered by the order.

The fee dates require a second entry in those procedures. February 28, 2027 is the last day of the accommodation period. March 1, 2027 is the first day when a rejected JEDS filing will require both the unreimbursed JEDS fee and the eCourts filing fee.

A firm also needs a JACS account for fee-bearing eCourts filings. The account requirement is separate from the filing-channel change, but it affects whether an attorney can complete a filing that requires payment.

The order does not change other eCourts or JEDS requirements for other dockets. Its scope is attorneys filing in the SC docket. It does not establish a new filing rule for every Superior Court matter.

Questions may be directed to the Administrative Office of the Courts, Civil Practice Division, at (609) 815-2900 ext. 54900 or civilwebsites.mbx@njcourts.gov.

Archivar is an operating system for a law firm that answers every call 24/7 in English and Spanish, runs intake, manages matters, and remembers everything the firm does. A rule like this changes how and where documents for one kind of matter are filed, with dates attached, and those matter-level details have to remain in the firm’s own records.

Filing channel changes November 2, 2026: attorneys must use eCourts for documents in SC docket cases.

The fee waiver ends February 28, 2027: from March 1, 2027, a rejected JEDS filing can leave the attorney paying both the JEDS fee and the eCourts fee.

The order applies to attorneys filing in the SC docket, which covers New Jersey small claims of $5,000 or less.