Notice of claim

What is a notice of claim?

A notice of claim is a formal written document required before pursuing a lawsuit against a public entity in New Jersey, under the specific requirements the Tort Claims Act establishes.

This document generally must be served within a strict 90 day period from the date of the incident itself, which is considerably shorter than the ordinary two year statute of limitations most people assume applies to any injury claim.

Missing this specific deadline can bar an otherwise valid claim entirely, regardless of how clearly negligent the public entity's underlying conduct actually was.

This is precisely why identifying whether a defendant qualifies as a public entity, and acting immediately if there is any genuine uncertainty, matters so significantly from the very outset.

What must this specific notice generally contain?

The document must include several specific pieces of information the statute requires.

• The claimant's name and address
• The specific date, place and circumstances of the incident
• A general description of the injury or damages claimed
• The name of any public entity employee involved, if known
• The amount of the claim, where that amount can genuinely be determined at that early stage

Why is the specific 90 day deadline so genuinely unforgiving?

Because it runs from the date of the incident itself, not from when you first consult an attorney or fully understand the extent of your injury, leaving considerably less time than most people initially assume.

Limited relief may exist in genuinely narrow circumstances involving extraordinary circumstances explaining a delay, but this exception should never be relied upon in place of prompt, timely filing.

Given the severe and often irreversible consequence of missing this deadline, treating any uncertain situation as urgent, rather than assuming there is ample time to sort it out, is always the safer course.

What happens after this notice is properly filed?

The public entity generally has a specific period to investigate and respond to the claim before a lawsuit can actually be filed, allowing the entity an opportunity to potentially resolve the matter without full litigation.

Filing this notice does not itself resolve the claim, it simply satisfies the specific procedural prerequisite required before a lawsuit against this particular type of defendant can actually proceed.

The ordinary statute of limitations for actually filing the lawsuit itself still applies separately, meaning this notice is one distinct procedural step among several rather than the final one.

Common questions

What happens if I miss the 90 day notice deadline?

The claim can be barred entirely, regardless of its underlying merit, though limited relief may exist in genuinely narrow, extraordinary circumstances that should be discussed with an attorney immediately.

Does filing this notice mean my lawsuit is now officially filed?

No. This notice is a required procedural prerequisite. The lawsuit itself is a separate, later filing that still must occur within the applicable statute of limitations.

What if I am uncertain whether the defendant in my case is actually a public entity?

File this notice promptly regardless of any uncertainty, and consult an attorney immediately, since the severe consequence of missing this deadline strongly favors erring toward caution.