Essex County Correctional Facility Inmate Bail & Bonds

A judge makes the call, and the law puts it on a short clock. Everything starts with the charging paper police choose (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-16):

• Complaint-summons. The person walks out with a court date in hand. Statewide in early 2025, a little over half of everyone charged got one.
• Complaint-warrant. The person is booked at Doremus Avenue while the court gets a release decision ready.

On a warrant, the arrest gets checked by a judge or court officer within half a day. Pretrial Services runs the Public Safety Assessment and sends the judge a plan. The judge must rule on release no more than 48 hours after booking (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-17). From 2022 to 2024, most first rulings in the state came the very same day or the next.

For the more serious charges, these first hearings happen in one central courtroom before a judge the Chief Justice assigns (R. 3:4-2). Here it goes by Central Judicial Processing, or CJP. To learn the hearing time, phone the Superior Court at 973-776-9300 and ask for ext. 56950. The Prosecutor's Office has its own CJP unit for these bail arguments, and its screening staff keep working on Saturdays and holidays.

Judges must pick the gentlest choice that will work and climb only when they have to (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-17):

1. ROR. Short for own recognizance. The person gives a written promise and leaves. An unsecured bond is close kin: money comes due only if a court date is skipped.
2. Conditions. Home, with rules attached. The lightest level may be nothing more than phone or text reminders. Tougher levels add regular reporting, an ankle monitor or staying at home.
3. Money bail. Allowed for one purpose only: getting the person to court. The law bars judges from using a dollar figure to hold someone for safety reasons.
4. Money with conditions. A blend of the two.
5. Detention. Held until trial, which needs a hearing the prosecutor requests.

The state's January to June 2025 numbers show where first rulings landed. The biggest group, 28.5%, went home on monitoring level 3. Level 1 came next at 22.1%, then 19.9% kept in jail, 13.6% on level 2, 8.9% on ROR and 3.8% on level 3+.

Money bail barely shows up anymore. Through all of 2021, the whole state's judges required it of just 23 defendants, and almost every one had broken earlier release terms. Looking at 2017 to 2021 together, fewer than 1 in 500 warrant cases ended with bail (233 out of 196,083). And from 2020 through 2024, people stuck on bail of $2,500 or less were never more than 1.2% of everyone in New Jersey's jails.

When a figure is set, expect these rules:

• Posting a tenth of the amount in cash is often allowed, unless the judge says a surety is needed (Directive #06-16, summing up R. 3:26-4(g)).
• For certain listed charges, you need the whole sum in cash or a licensed surety's bond.
• No 10% deposit is ever allowed on a domestic violence charge.
• Town court judges use the state's bail schedules on bench warrants, which often follow a missed date (R. 7:4-2).

For the exact number on a case, phone the Superior Court Bail Unit at 973-776-9300, ext. 56892. Have the legal name spelled out and the birth date handy.

The county's notice leaves no doubt: bail is accepted only at the Correctional Facility, 354 Doremus Avenue, Newark, NJ 07105, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., five days a week. Work through this list:

1. Find the person on the Inmate Lookup and copy the booking number.
2. Phone 973-274-7500. Get the amount, which case it is for, and whether a 10% deposit is allowed.
3. Ask what forms of payment the bail window takes and how a check must be made out. The notice gives only the place and hours, so settle this by phone.
4. Ask if any other court has a hold on the person. Each bail answers for one case only.
5. If the prosecutor has asked for a bail source form, fill it in first. The jail won't take a cent until that form reaches the prosecutor (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-13).
6. Get there with photo ID well ahead of the 3 p.m. cutoff, and save each receipt.

Once it is paid, you can ask about the release time on the jail's release line, 973-274-7826.

On a Superior Court case, the county sends bail to the Doremus Avenue jail. A statewide court notice says courthouses can also take bail during business hours, so if anyone points you to the courthouse, phone the Bail Unit first at 973-776-9300, ext. 56892. That unit is in the Veterans Courthouse, 50 West Market Street, Newark, NJ 07102.

A town court warrant belongs to the town court that signed it. Three local examples:

• Maplewood-South Orange shared court, 1618 Springfield Avenue, Maplewood, NJ 07040, 973-762-2839. Someone with a warrant may walk in on a court day. Bail is always offered, and a person who can't post it is sent to the county jail. The warrant stays live, and an arrest can happen, until the judge recalls it.
• Cedar Grove Municipal Court, 525 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009, 973-239-1410, ext. 207. Signing its form to apply bail to fines is a guilty plea and gives up a trial and a lawyer, so read it slowly.
• Newark Municipal Court, 31 Green Street, Room 105, Newark, NJ 07102. Its customer service line, 973-733-6520, can say where to pay.

All the other town courts, with phones, are in our court guide. If a police station says it can take bail, ask which payments it accepts before you drive over.

The county lists where and when bail is taken but leaves out payment types. Ask the jail at 973-274-7500 before you go, and jot down who answered and when.

• The jail states that it never asks for or takes cash apps or other third-party payment sites for inmate services.
• Deposits to an inmate account, whether at the lobby kiosk, by mail or online, pay for commissary. They do not count toward bail.
• NJMCdirect is the state's site for traffic tickets and town court fines. Bail is a separate thing.
• Cash should never go in the mail.

Be on guard for a common scam. The county warns that callers have asked families for $2,000 or more to pay for an ankle monitor. The public never pays for monitors. If you get a call like that, check it with the release line at 973-274-7826.

They do, though few families need one now that money bail is so rare. A bond company puts up a surety bond and keeps its fee for good. Before you sign, know this:

• A surety is needed only if the judge's bail order says so (Directive #06-16).
• To sell bail bonds, a person needs a New Jersey insurance producer license with bail bond authority, a rule in place since late 2003 (DOBI Bulletin No. 03-29).
• A bail source form, if one is ordered, wants the bonding firm's name and license number as well as everyone who put in money.
• Get the fee, any collateral and how you get the collateral back on paper. Collateral is property the company holds, like a car title.

The jail does not suggest any company. Ask the court or the jail whether a bond will be accepted on your case first.

One bail covers one case. Any other hold stays put until it is sorted out on its own. The usual ones:

• Another warrant. A town court or a different county may want the person too.
• Probation. A violation can bring its own hold. Essex Probation Services works out of 60 Evergreen Place, East Orange, NJ 07018 (7th floor). Dial the court's main number, 973-776-9300, then ext. 53021.
• Parole or a state term. These belong to the state.
• A federal case. The U.S. Marshals control federal prisoners.
• An ICE detainer. Covered in the immigration answer on this page.

Before paying anything, have the jail at 973-274-7500 read off every hold.

Under the state constitution, everyone may be released before trial (N.J. Const. art. I, para. 11). The exception comes when no money and no set of rules could do three jobs: bring the person back, keep people safe and stop tampering with the case. The prosecutor must file a motion first.

• Motions are allowed for murder and life-term crimes, many violent and gun crimes, some sex and child crimes, and domestic violence (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-19).
• They are also allowed against someone with two prior qualifying convictions, or in any case with a serious risk of flight, danger or meddling.
• The hearing normally takes place during the first appearance itself. If the defense wants more time, it can get five days at most. Prosecutors can get three.
• On murder or a life-term charge, the law starts from detention. The defense must show why release is safe.
• A lawyer stands with the person, who may cross-examine witnesses.
• Statewide in early 2025, judges said yes to 61.6% of the detention motions they decided.

In this county, those motions come from the Prosecutor's Office, 50 West Market Street, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-621-4700, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Start with the defense lawyer, since the request must come from the lawyer. The usual path:

1. The lawyer files a motion to cut the bail, ease the conditions or revisit a detention order.
2. Gather proof of a job, a steady address, family here and a ride to court. These help show a low risk.
3. Suggest rules that answer the judge's concerns, such as phone check-ins or living at one address.
4. A detention order can go to a higher court on a fast track. The person remains held until that court rules (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-18).

Deadlines work in the person's favor too. A jailed defendant has to be indicted by a grand jury within 90 days, and trial has to begin no more than 180 days after indictment, with two years as the outside limit. Delays caused by the defense don't count (N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22). To ask about dates, call the Criminal Division at 973-776-9300, ext. 55932.

An indictable crime is New Jersey's word for what most states call a felony. Anyone charged with one is entitled to a lawyer, and the Office of the Public Defender steps in when a judge finds the person can't pay.

• The court gives out a money form, called the 5A, at the start of the case. The judge, not the defender's office, decides who qualifies.
• Approved cases go to the Essex trial office at 31 Clinton Street, Newark, NJ 07101, 973-648-6200.
• The state's public defender application page walks through the steps.

In a town court, a municipal public defender is named when the charge could bring jail, a license loss or more than $800 in penalties, and the person qualifies on income. The town may charge up to $200 to apply, which the judge can cut or drop.

Nearly all of the criminal work happens in a few downtown buildings. Every Superior Court office below shares one main number, 973-776-9300.

• Veterans Courthouse, 50 West Market Street, Newark, NJ 07102: Criminal Division (ext. 55932), Bail Unit (ext. 56892), CJP (ext. 56950), and Criminal Case Management in Room 912.
• Historic Courthouse, 470 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102.
• Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Justice Building, 495 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Newark, NJ 07102.
• Family Courthouse, Wilentz Justice Complex, 212 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102, for teen cases (Juvenile Unit, ext. 56775).
• Probation Services, 60 Evergreen Place, East Orange, NJ 07018.
• Newark Municipal Court, 31 Green Street, Room 105, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-733-6520.
• U.S. District Court, federal courthouse, 50 Walnut Street, Room 4015, Newark, NJ 07101, 973-645-3730.

Across the county's 22 towns there are 19 municipal courts, some shared. Our court guide gives each one and its number.

The court holds cash bail until the case wraps up. If the person made every date, the money is released, and it goes to the name on the receipt. Hang on to that receipt and bring photo ID. For a Superior Court bail, the Bail Unit at 973-776-9300, ext. 56892, can explain the timing.

• Skipping a date puts the deposit in danger and can lead to a bench warrant. Phone the lawyer the same day if a date is missed.
• In a town court, bail may be turned into payment of fines and costs. Cedar Grove's court does this with a signed form that is also a guilty plea. Ask the town court that holds the money how it handles refunds.
• Fees paid to a bonding company are gone for good.

Settle money and belongings before the person leaves Doremus Avenue. Phone the release information line at 973-274-7826. Ask how leftover commissary funds are paid out, when items can be collected at 354 Doremus Avenue, Newark, NJ 07105, and whether you need a signed note from the person.

Carry a photo ID that lists where you live now. For general tips on deposits and refunds of leftover funds, read our jail account page.

A federal magistrate judge does. Federal charges from Newark and its suburbs land in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Courthouse, 50 Walnut Street, Room 4015, Newark, NJ 07101, 973-645-3730. The clerk is open weekdays, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Most people see a federal magistrate on arrest day or the next. The detention hearing comes at that same appearance, though either side may ask for time: at most five working days for the defense, three for prosecutors (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• U.S. Pretrial Services, Room 1018 in that courthouse, 973-645-2230, prepares a report on release.
• The U.S. Marshals hold people awaiting federal trial, often in rented county jail beds, including here. The Marshals' office is at 50 Walnut Street, Room 2009, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-645-2404.
• The Federal Public Defender's office is at 1002 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102, 973-645-6347.
• After sentencing to prison, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. Bail and a detainer are two separate matters. The federal steps look like this:

1. First, the jail receives ICE's Form I-247A, known as a detainer.
2. The form asks the jail to hold the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Officers come to collect the person. ICE's Newark Field Office handles all of New Jersey from 970 Broad St., Newark, NJ 07102 (11th floor), 973-776-3274. People it holds may be placed at the Elizabeth Contract Detention Facility, 625 Evans Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07201, 908-282-5700, or elsewhere.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator with the A-number. If you lack it, try the name with the country of birth.

New Jersey adds its own limits through the Immigrant Trust Directive (AG Directive No. 2018-6 v2.0). Under it, county jail staff can keep a person past their release time on a detainer in only three cases. The first is a violent or serious charge, now or in the past. The second is any indictable conviction, even a non-violent one, from the past five years. The third is a federal judge's signed order of removal on file at the jail. Even then, the person must be let go by 11:59 p.m. on the day they were due out. Staff must also hand over written notice of any ICE request, worded so the person can follow it. The county stopped housing ICE detainees in August 2021.

Terms of a year or less are served at the county jail. Longer terms on indictable crimes go to the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

• Men are processed first at the state's men's reception unit, CRAF, P.O. Box 7450, Trenton, NJ 08628, 609-984-6000.
• Women are processed at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, P.O. Box 4004, Clinton, NJ 08809, 908-735-7111.
• Staff there review health, needs and risk, set a custody level and choose a prison.
• The DOC's Offender Information page links to its search for people in state custody.
• For each state prison's rules, see our New Jersey prisons directory.

Teens under 18 stay out of the adult jail. They are taken to the county youth detention center, 80 Duryea Street, Newark, NJ 07103, 973-849-0942. Youths from Union and Passaic counties are kept there as well.

• The Family Part of Superior Court hears these cases at 212 Washington Street, Newark, NJ 07102. Reach the Juvenile Unit through 973-776-9300, ext. 56775.
• A teen who was 15 or older may face adult court for a few very serious crimes. The prosecutor has 60 days to ask. A judge holds a hearing and decides (N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-26.1).
• In youth cases, the public defender's office says parents carry the cost of the defense.

Union County's own releases say its adults have been housed at the Doremus Avenue jail since June 30, 2021. Union kept a site in Elizabeth to book people and hold them for a short time before the bus ride over. A person picked up by Union police may land here, but Union's courts keep the case.

• Search the Inmate Lookup or phone 973-274-7500.
• Union's public information line is 877-424-1234. Union also offers shuttle buses so families can visit.
• Gloucester County also names this jail for some of its male prisoners.

Our Union County housing page explains where Union sends people.