August 6, 2025
Source: Saiber Real Estate & Land Use Alert
New legislation in New Jersey modernizes how legal notices are published. Effective March 1, 2026, the law replaces the traditional requirement of newspaper publication with digital notice via government websites and qualified online news outlets. The law applies to both private parties and government entities.
Private parties, defined as corporations, individuals, and other non-government entities, must use eligible online news publications. To be eligible, an online news publication needs to meet the following criteria, among other things:
- Have operated continuously for at least three years
- Maintain certain minimum unique monthly visitors, based on jurisdiction
- Provide public, paywall-free access and searchable notice content
- Display notices for at least one week and archive them for at least one year
- Show traffic data and eligibility criteria on their homepage
Publication fees must not exceed those in R.S.35:2-1. Legal notices must be published within 24 hours unless otherwise required by law or court order.
The law also attempts to balance online notices with typical issues inherent with digital media. To that end, legal notices will remain valid despite technical errors, cyberattacks, or service outages beyond the publisher’s control. The same applies to standard web access limitations and administrative mistakes.
For government entities, legal notices must be posted on the entity’s official website, which must be publicly accessible, free of charge, and include a direct link to the legal notices page.
Notices must remain online for at least one week and archived for a minimum of one year. A centralized portal, maintained by the Secretary of State, will link to each public entity’s notices page. Entities must provide and update their links accordingly.
Local governments may also publish notices in qualified online news publications, provided those sites are linked from their own website.
This change reflects a broader push for greater accessibility and efficiency in public communication.
If you have any questions about the above alert, please contact Justin Calta of Saiber LLC’s real estate law practice group.
