STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman SHAMA A. HAIDER
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman AL ABDELAZIZ
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblywoman MELINDA KANE
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Morales and Assemblyman Sampson
SYNOPSIS
Eliminates court filing fees for individuals who are sued for consumer debt.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning certain court filing fees and supplementing Title 22A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 12, 13, or 19 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2B:1-7, C.2B:1-8, or C.2B:1-13); section 14 of P.L.1991, c.177 (C.22A:2-37.1); or any other provision of law to the contrary, no individual who is a defendant in an action to collect a consumer debt or associated fees or costs shall be charged any court fee to file an appearance, answer to a complaint, counterclaim, cross-claim or third-party complaint in the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court, Law Division, including a small claim, or in the Civil Part of the Superior Court, Law Division.
b. As used in this act, “consumer debt” means debt incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose. “Consumer debt” shall also include consumer credit, as that term is defined in section 1 of P.L.1974, c.146 (C.56:11-1), and medical debt, as that term is defined in section 2 of P.L.2024, c.48 (C.56:11-57).
2. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill would eliminate court filing fees for individuals who are sued to collect consumer debt. The bill provides that no such individual could be charged a court fee to file an appearance, an answer to a complaint, a counterclaim, a cross-claim, or a third-party complaint in the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court, Law Division, including a small claim, or in the Civil Part of the Superior Court, Law Division.
The bill defines “consumer debt” as debt incurred by an individual primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose, and includes consumer credit and medical debt as those terms are defined under current law.
According to reports, in the majority of lawsuits to collect a consumer debt, the defendant does not respond or try to defend against the lawsuit. As a result, courts often enter default judgments against these defendants, leading to additional fees and interest as well as garnishment of wages and bank accounts. Consumer debt claims are often for relatively small sums, in amounts less than $10,000.
This bill is based on Benchmark 5 in the 2024 “Consumer Debt Litigation Index” by the National Center for Access to Justice.