Civil Motion Practice and Service

Scope

This file covers New Jersey civil motion practice — how motions are made, opposed, and heard in the Law Division Civil Part and the Special Civil Part — and service of process under the New Jersey Rules of Court, including who may serve, the permitted methods, and the response deadlines. It is New Jersey-specific, as is all of module 04; it does not cover federal motion practice or the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, discovery disputes in depth (see topic 04-06), or the mechanics of eCourts filing itself (see topic 04-04).

Legal Explanation

Where the rules live (NJ-specific). New Jersey civil motion practice is governed by the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey, published by the New Jersey Judiciary on njcourts.gov and verified there on 2026-08-20 [S1]. The rules that matter most here are Part I's general rules — R. 1:5 (service and filing of papers) and R. 1:6 (motions and briefs in the trial courts) — and Part IV's Superior Court rules — R. 4:4 (process), R. 4:6 (defenses and objections), and R. 4:46 (summary judgment) [S1]. The Judiciary's own self-help materials place the main civil docket in the "Law Division – Civil Part" (lawsuits over $20,000) and route lawsuits of $20,000 or less to the Special Civil Part, which sits in the civil division of the Superior Court [S2][S3].

Making a motion (NJ-specific). An application to the court for an order is made by motion, or in special cases by order to show cause; a motion other than one made during a trial or hearing must be by written notice of motion unless the court permits it to be made orally [S1, R. 1:6-2(a)]. The notice of motion must state the time and place when the motion will be presented to the court, the grounds on which it is made, and the nature of the relief sought; motions filed in the Law Division Civil Part must also state the discovery end date or that no such date has been assigned [S1, R. 1:6-2(a)]. The motion must be accompanied by a proposed form of order, which must note whether the motion is opposed or unopposed [S1, R. 1:6-2(a)]. If the motion relies on facts not already of record, it must be supported by an affidavit or certification made on personal knowledge, setting forth only facts admissible in evidence to which the affiant is competent to testify [S1, R. 1:6-6]. The moving party's brief must be served and submitted with the moving papers [S1, R. 1:6-5]. Common motions in civil practice include motions to dismiss the complaint, for entry of default, to vacate a default judgment, for summary judgment, and to compel discovery [S2].

Opposition and reply (NJ-specific). The notice of motion must be filed and served not later than 16 days before the specified return date — for example, if the return date is a Friday, the motion must be filed and served not later than the Wednesday 16 days prior [S1, R. 1:6-3(a)]. Opposing affidavits, certifications, and objections must be filed and served not later than 8 days before the return date unless the court relaxes the time (a Friday return date means opposition by Thursday of the prior week), and reply papers must be filed and served not later than 4 days before the return date; no other papers may be filed without leave of court [S1, R. 1:6-3(a)]. The respondent's answering brief is due at least 8 days before the return date, and any reply brief at least 4 days before it [S1, R. 1:6-5]. The Judiciary's self-help guidance states the same opposition rule in plainer terms — the response must be filed at least eight days before the return date on the motion — and adds that if the motion is for summary judgment, the response must be filed at least 10 days before the return date [S2]. A cross-motion may be filed and served by the responding party together with its opposition, noticed for the same return date, if it relates to the subject matter of the original motion [S1, R. 1:6-3(b)].

Hearing and scheduling (NJ-specific). New Jersey motions are scheduled on specified return dates set by the court, not on a single uniform statewide motion day: the rules repeatedly key deadlines to "the specified return date," and the example in R. 1:6-3 uses a Friday return date [S1, R. 1:6-3(a)]. The Judiciary maintains a searchable Civil Motion Calendar — users register with the New Jersey Courts, log in, and use the "Find a Case – Public Access" tile's "Civil Search" to find when a motion will be heard (and to find civil mediators and discovery end dates), with attorneys using their assigned bar ID credentials [S4]. Oral argument is available but conditioned: if the motion is unopposed, it is deemed uncontested and the opposing side has no right to argue orally in opposition unless responsive papers were timely filed and served stating with particularity the basis of the opposition [S1, R. 1:6-2(a)]. If a motion is withdrawn or the matter settled, counsel must inform the court forthwith [S1, R. 1:6-2(a)]. (The per-vicinage detail of which day of the week each county sets for motion arguments, and the oral-argument time limits in the later subsections of R. 1:6-2, were not verified on an official page within this topic's budget.)

Filing fees and fee waivers (NJ-specific). As displayed on the official self-help page verified 2026-08-20, the filing fee to file a complaint in the Law Division Civil Part is $250, to file an answer is $175, and to file a motion in a civil suit is $50 [S2]. In the Special Civil Part, filing a case against one defendant costs $50 for claims up to $5,000 and $75 for claims over $5,000, with $5 for each additional defendant, a $10 mail-service fee for each defendant, and $100 if a jury trial is demanded [S3]. Under Court Rule 1:5-6, the court clerk cannot file a case unless the required fee is included; litigants who cannot afford fees may request a waiver, and fee-waiver status may also be certified for legal services and pro bono programs under Court Rule 1:21-11 [S2].

Initial service of process (NJ-specific). The summons must be served together with a copy of the complaint [S1, R. 4:4-3]. Service may be made by the sheriff, by a person specially appointed by the court, by the plaintiff's attorney or the attorney's agent, or by any other competent adult not having a direct interest in the litigation [S1, R. 4:4-3]. The primary method of obtaining in personam jurisdiction is personal service within New Jersey: by delivering a copy of the summons and complaint to the individual personally; by leaving it at the individual's dwelling place or usual place of abode with a competent member of the household aged 14 or over who resides there; or by delivering it to a person authorized by appointment or by law to receive service on the individual's behalf [S1, R. 4:4-4]. If personal service cannot be effected after a reasonable and good-faith attempt (which must be described with specificity in the proof of service), service may instead be made by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the defendant's usual place of abode or, with postal instructions to deliver to addressee only, to the defendant's place of business or employment; if the addressee refuses or fails to claim the mail, service may be made by ordinary mail to the usual place of abode, and a simultaneous certified-plus-ordinary mailing is effective if the addressee refuses the certified mail and the ordinary mailing is not returned [S1, R. 4:4-3]. Writs and process to enforce a judgment or order are served by the sheriff unless the court otherwise orders [S1, R. 4:4-3]. In the Special Civil Part, the court itself handles initial service: the court mails the complaint and summons to the defendant, and the case cannot move forward unless the plaintiff gives the court the defendant's correct address [S3]; the Special Civil Part Officer delivers service of process (e.g., complaints, writs, and wage executions) for a $7 fee, and a $10 mail-service fee per defendant is charged at filing [S2][S3].

Service of papers after the case begins (NJ-specific). After the complaint, court papers — orders, judgments, pleadings subsequent to the original complaint, written motions (not made ex parte), briefs, appendices, and petitions — must be served on all attorneys of record and on parties appearing pro se [S1, R. 1:5-1]. Service on an attorney may be made by ordinary mail to the attorney's office, by email to an address listed on an approved electronic court system under R. 1:32-2A(a), by handing it to the attorney, or by leaving it at the office with a person in the attorney's employ; service on a party is made as provided in R. 4:4-4 or by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, with simultaneous ordinary mail to the party's last known address [S1, R. 1:5-2]. Service by mail is complete upon mailing of the ordinary mail (or, if no ordinary mailing is made, upon acceptance of the certified or registered mail); service by commercial courier is complete upon the courier's receipt of the paper from the sender, except that motions are governed by R. 1:6-3 [S1, R. 1:5-4]. A party obtaining an order or judgment must serve it on all parties not electronically served or personally served in court within 7 days after the date it was signed, unless the court orders otherwise [S1, R. 1:5-1].

Response windows (NJ-specific). A defendant must serve an answer, including any counterclaim, within 35 days after service of the summons and complaint, subject to specified exceptions for cross-claims, third-party claims, amended complaints, and governmental answers in foreclosure actions [S1, R. 4:6-1(a)]. The official self-help pages say the same thing in plainer terms: "you have 35 days to respond" to a summons in a Law Division civil case, and a special civil defendant must file a written answer within 35 days of the date shown on the summons; if no answer is filed, the plaintiff may be entitled to a default judgment [S2][S3]. A party served with a pleading stating a counterclaim or cross-claim against it must answer within 35 days, and a reply to an answer, where permitted, must be served within 20 days after service of the answer [S1, R. 4:6-1(a)]. If a motion under R. 4:6 or a summary-judgment motion under R. 4:46 (or R. 4:69-2) is filed and denied in whole or in part, or its disposition is postponed until trial, the responsive pleading must be served within 10 days after notice of the court's action [S1, R. 4:6-1(b)]. (The full text of R. 4:46-1, the summary-judgment rule's own timing provision, was not opened within this topic's budget; the 10-day summary-judgment response figure above is cited to the official self-help page, and R. 4:46's identity as the summary-judgment rule was verified from the official rule index.)

eCourts (NJ context). Filing mechanics in eCourts — mandatory e-filing for special civil and foreclosure matters, JACS fee accounts, and the 11:59 p.m. filing-stamp rule — are covered in topic 04-04 of this module. For service, the rules themselves now recognize service by email to addresses listed on an approved electronic court system [S1, R. 1:5-2], and in the Special Civil Part self-represented filers may submit their documents through the Judiciary Electronic Document Submission (JEDS) system [S3].

ELI-10: Explain It Like I'm 10

[HYPOTHETICAL — NOT A REAL CASE] Picture a school chess-club tournament. The club has a rulebook, and the referee (the club's faculty advisor) is the only one who can make official rulings.

Suppose your team thinks the other team cheated by using a phone during a match. You want the referee to declare the match invalid. You cannot just complain in the hallway — the rulebook says you must hand in a written challenge slip. The slip has to say what you are asking for, why you think you deserve it, and when and where the referee will hear the challenge. You must hand in your slip no later than 16 days before the referee's ruling meeting, and you have to bring along any evidence, like the phone photo, at the same time.

Then the other team gets a turn: they have until 8 days before the meeting to hand in their side in writing. After that, your team gets 4 more days to hand in one short reply. If the other team never hands anything in, the referee makes the ruling without hearing them — they do not get to show up and argue. And if the two teams are arguing about something, the way you "serve" papers is simple: you can hand them over in person, leave them with someone at the team's clubroom, or mail them — and a mailed paper counts as delivered the moment you drop it in the mailbox.

One more rule: if another club actually sues your club (say, over a broken trophy), your club has 35 days from when it gets the court summons to file its defense. If it does nothing, the other side wins by default.

Translating back to the real rule: the written challenge slip is the notice of motion under R. 1:6-2, which must state the time, place, grounds, and relief sought and be accompanied by a proposed order [S1]. The 16-day, 8-day, and 4-day deadlines are R. 1:6-3's windows for filing the motion, opposing it, and replying [S1]. The "no papers, no argument" rule is R. 1:6-2(a)'s provision that an unopposed motion is deemed uncontested with no right to oral argument in opposition [S1]. The delivery rules are R. 1:5-2 (manner of serving papers) and R. 1:5-4 (service complete on mailing) [S1]. And the 35-day defense deadline is R. 4:6-1(a), with default judgment the consequence of doing nothing [S1][S2][S3].

Real Case Reference (if applicable)

No published judicial decision is cited in this topic, because the subject is governed directly by the Rules Governing the Courts of the State of New Jersey — the motion rules (R. 1:5, R. 1:6), the process rules (R. 4:4), and the answer-timing rules (R. 4:6, R. 4:46) — whose operative text was verified on the official njcourts.gov Rules of Court page on 2026-08-20 [S1], together with the Judiciary's official self-help guidance for the Law Division Civil Part and the Special Civil Part [S2][S3]. Per this project's rules, where a reader needs case-level authority on a specific service or motion question, the flagged items in unverified_items.md identify precisely what was not confirmed within budget.

Key Takeaways

• A motion is made by a written notice of motion stating the time and place of presentation, the grounds, and the relief sought, accompanied by a proposed form of order and, where facts are not of record, supporting affidavits or certifications on personal knowledge [S1, R. 1:6-2(a), R. 1:6-6].
• Timing is return-date-based: motions must be filed and served at least 16 days before the return date, opposition at least 8 days before it, and replies at least 4 days before it; official self-help guidance requires summary-judgment responses at least 10 days before the return date [S1, R. 1:6-3(a); S2].
• An unopposed motion is deemed uncontested, and there is no right to argue orally in opposition without timely, particularized responsive papers [S1, R. 1:6-2(a)].
• Initial service of the summons and complaint may be made by the sheriff, a court-appointed person, the plaintiff's attorney or the attorney's agent, or any other competent adult without a direct interest in the litigation; personal service follows R. 4:4-4, with a certified-mail substitute after a documented good-faith attempt [S1, R. 4:4-3, R. 4:4-4].
• The answer is due 35 days after service of the summons and complaint (with a 20-day window to reply to an answer), and a responsive pleading is due within 10 days after a motion under R. 4:6 or R. 4:46 is denied; failing to answer risks default judgment [S1, R. 4:6-1; S2][S3].
• In the Special Civil Part the court arranges service on the defendant — the complaint and summons are mailed by the court — so a correct defendant address is essential [S3].

Sources

• [S1] New Jersey Courts, "Rules of Court," https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/rules-of-court (rule text for R. 1:5, R. 1:6, R. 4:4, R. 4:6, R. 4:46 verified via the site's Rules of Court search 2026-08-20).
• [S2] New Jersey Courts, "Lawsuits over $20,000 (Civil)," https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/civil-court (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S3] New Jersey Courts, "Lawsuits $20,000 or less (Special Civil)," https://www.njcourts.gov/self-help/special-civil-court (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S4] New Jersey Courts, "Civil Motion Calendar," https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/calendars-schedules-agendas/civil-motion-calendar (verified 2026-08-20).

Not Legal Advice