The Bergen County Clerk's Office
The Bergen County Clerk is John S. Hogan. The office is one of the county's three elected constitutional offices, alongside the Sheriff and the Surrogate, and the term runs five years. The Clerk is the county's keeper of records, with materials reaching back more than 300 years. Its core job is recording, filing, and maintaining public records that affect property and business ownership. The office also keeps naturalization records, processes passport applications, administers notary oaths, and handles a share of the election process with the Superintendent of Elections and the Board of Elections.
The office sits at One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack and assists the public during regular weekday hours.
Bergen County Clerk
One Bergen County Plaza
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-336-7000
Land Records 201-336-7036
Land Records Management Division
The Land Records Management Division holds more than 300 years of recordings. It covers deeds, mortgages, assignments, discharges of mortgages, lis pendens filings, construction and federal liens, tax sale certificates, and subdivision and plat maps. Public viewing is available in the records division. The Clerk warns that staff are not permitted by law to perform searches for the public, though they assist during weekday hours.
That last point shapes how you should search: come prepared with names and dates, since the staff will not run the search for you.
See the Land Records Management Division page for what the division holds.
Bergen County Land Records Public Search
The Clerk runs an online public search for land records. It contains public documents, including deeds and mortgages, recorded into Bergen County official records from January 1, 1970 to the present. The tool offers two paths, and the Clerk advises searching all spelling variations of a name to catch every result.
The public search landing page lays out the two search options.
Open the Land Records Public Search to begin. The table below shows the tool options.
| Option | Type | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced SearchNG | Button | Full search; works in Edge, Firefox, or Chrome with ClickOnce support. |
| BrowserView Web Search | Button | Basic search for users without the advanced setup. |
| Search Instructions | Link | Opens the help guide. |
| Guide to Indexing Rules | Link | Opens the indexing guide PDF. |
The data is provided as a public service with no warranty of accuracy, so verify a record before relying on it.
Recording and Copy Fees
The Clerk publishes set fees for recording documents and for copies. Land-record copies in the records division cost 7 cents per page, and certified copies carry their own charge. The table below shows common documented fees; military and veteran certified copies are free.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Public land-record copy | $0.07 per page |
| Certified copy (except military) | $10 first page, $2 each added page |
| Certification with gold seal | $10 |
| Records search, even if not found | $10 |
| Deed (includes $10 tax abstract fee) | $45 first page, $10 each added page |
| Mortgage | $35 first page, $10 each added page |
| UCC-1 financing statement | $25 |
| Construction lien | $15 first page, $5 each added page |
The recording fee page lists the full document directory.
See the document directory and recording fees page for every charge.
Payment Requirements
The Clerk has specific payment rules for recording. For realty transfer fees, the office accepts attorney trust account checks, certified checks, or bank checks. For the 1% buyer fee, also called the mansion tax, a certified or bank check payable to the Bergen County Clerk is required. Any checks totaling $10,000 or more must be certified or bank checks.
The payment page covers accepted checks and the realty transfer rules.
See the payment requirements page before you record a document.
Naturalization Records
The Clerk keeps naturalization records, filed by year of naturalization. A search costs $10 per request, paid by check or money order, with one form per search. Certified copies or information are limited to the naturalized citizen or a family member by birth with valid ID, while other requestors may get only a non-certified photocopy. The naturalization line is 201-336-7017.
The request form asks for these fields:
| Field | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Name Before Naturalization | Text | Yes | Main search identity. |
| Full Name Upon Naturalization | Text | If known | Helps confirm the record. |
| Date of Birth | Date | If known | Narrows the search. |
| Date of Naturalization | Date | No | Approximate date accepted. |
| Requestor Name and Address | Text | Yes | Who is asking. |
| Relationship | Checkbox | Yes | Citizen, family by birth, or neither. |
| ID Copy | Attachment | Conditional | Valid ID for certified copies. |
See the naturalization records search page for the form and process.
How to Request a Certified Copy
A certified copy from the Clerk carries a gold seal and is accepted for official use. The steps below outline how to get one.
- Identify the document by names, recording date, or book and page.
- Use the land records public search to confirm the recording.
- Request the copy in the records division or by the office's process.
- Pay the certified copy fee, or note that military copies are free.
- Receive the certified copy with the County Clerk's gold seal.
Forms, OPRA, and Other Services
The Clerk keeps a forms index covering business services, elections, land records, naturalization, OPRA, and photo cards. Beyond recording, the office processes passport applications, notary public oaths, and veteran ID cards, and it runs part of the election process with the Superintendent of Elections and Board of Elections.
The forms page is a good starting point for any Clerk service.
Browse the Bergen County Clerk forms index for OPRA and other requests.
Office Statistics
The Clerk's office publishes concrete annual numbers. The 2025 figures show the scale of the work and how current the office stays. They cover revenue, recordings, weddings, and the county's role in elections.
- Revenue generated for Bergen County: $21,406,651.84.
- Registry Division documents processed: 87,707.
- Weddings performed: 1,353.
- Registered voters for the November 4, 2025 election: 671,000.
- Ballots cast: 347,825, a 51.8% turnout.
The County Clerk Is Not the Court Clerk
This is the key point for record seekers. The Bergen County Clerk does not control Superior Court case files. Deeds, mortgages, and naturalization papers are County Clerk records. Criminal and civil case files are court records under the Judiciary. A deed will never appear in a court case search, and a criminal docket will never appear in the land records system.
For court case files, see the Superior Court Clerk page and Bergen County court records. For probate, see the Surrogate's Court.