Involuntary Commitment in New Jersey: How the Screening Process Works

A family member cannot commit someone in New Jersey. What a family can do is get the person screened. A county screening service evaluates them, a psychiatrist decides whether the legal standard is met, and a judge reviews that decision within days. The standard is narrow: a mental illness that makes the person dangerous to themselves, to others, or to property in the reasonably foreseeable future, in someone who will not accept treatment voluntarily. Being very ill is not enough, and neither is refusing medication.

If someone you love is frightening you right now, the first call is below. The rest of this page explains what happens after you make it.

Where screening happens, and how to reach it

The state designates at least one screening service for each county or region, and the statute makes screening the preferred entry point so that less restrictive options are considered first. Middlesex County has two listed sites: Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Acute Psychiatric Services, 671 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, 24-hour line 732-235-5700, and an affiliated emergency service at Raritan Bay Medical Center, 530 New Brunswick Avenue, Perth Amboy, 732-324-5289. Other counties' numbers are on the state list linked from our crisis resources page.

A person can reach screening several ways.

• They go in, alone or with family.
• A screener comes to them. The law requires an outreach visit when the screener determines, from clinically relevant information given by someone with personal knowledge, that the person may need commitment and is unwilling or unable to come in.
• Police bring them. An officer must take a person directly to a screening service if the officer personally observes reasonable cause to believe the person needs commitment, or if a screener has certified that after an outreach visit.
• A court orders it for someone who has not followed the terms of a conditional discharge, or an outpatient treatment provider certifies that the person needs to be evaluated.

Separately, New Jersey's Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams serve adults 18 and older and can be dispatched only by a 988 Lifeline center. If you want a mobile crisis team, call 988. If there is a weapon, an overdose, or violence in progress, call 911.

What to have ready when you call

Lead with facts from the last few days. The statute tells evaluators to weigh recent acts, threats, and deterioration, so that is what a screener is listening for.

• The exact words of any threat, to whom, and when
• Any attempt, self-injury, or violence, with dates
• Access to firearms, stockpiled medication, or other means
• Whether the person is eating, drinking, sleeping, and taking essential medical treatment
• Diagnoses, current medications, prescriber, and pharmacy
• Alcohol or drug use
• Prior hospitalizations and what led to them
• Where the person is now, who is with them, and whether they would go voluntarily

Say what you saw. "He has not eaten in four days and told me Tuesday night he would be dead by the weekend" gives a screener something to act on. "He is not himself" does not.

The legal standard

The screening and commitment law begins at N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.1. Under it, an adult is "in need of involuntary commitment to treatment" only when four things are true together: the person has a mental illness, the illness causes them to be dangerous to self or dangerous to others or property, they are unwilling to accept appropriate treatment voluntarily after it has been offered, and they need outpatient treatment or inpatient care because other services are not appropriate or available. Section 30:4-27.2 defines each term.

• Mental illness is "a current, substantial disturbance of thought, mood, perception, or orientation which significantly impairs judgment, capacity to control behavior, or capacity to recognize reality." It is not limited to psychosis. It does not include simple alcohol intoxication, a transitory reaction to drugs, organic brain syndrome, or developmental disability unless the impairment reaches that severity.
• Dangerous to self means the person has threatened or attempted suicide or serious bodily harm, or has behaved in a way that shows they cannot meet their need for nourishment, essential medical care, or shelter, so that substantial bodily injury, serious physical harm, or death is probable within the reasonably foreseeable future. A person is not considered unable to meet those needs if willing and available people can help them do it.
• Dangerous to others or property means a substantial likelihood that the person will inflict serious bodily harm on someone else or cause serious property damage within the reasonably foreseeable future.

For both kinds of danger, the determination must take into account the person's history, recent behavior, and any recent act, threat, or serious psychiatric deterioration.

New Jersey courts have held that mental illness alone cannot support commitment, and that failing to take medication or refusing to talk to a psychiatrist does not by itself prove dangerousness. Conduct that is merely odd, disagreeable, or offensive does not count.

What happens at screening

A mental health screener assesses the person first. Screeners are employed by the screening service and must hold the license, training, or experience the state requires, and the service may detain the person for up to 24 hours to treat and assess them.

If commitment seems necessary, the screener completes a screening document covering the person's history and the alternatives that were judged inappropriate. The statute directs the screener to make reasonable efforts to gather information from family or significant others. What you have seen at home is information the screener is supposed to collect.

A psychiatrist then does a separate, complete assessment. If the psychiatrist concludes the standard is met, the psychiatrist signs a screening certificate. Staff then choose the least restrictive setting that will work: inpatient care if the person is immediately or imminently dangerous or outpatient treatment would not be enough, and involuntary outpatient treatment if it would.

Not every screening ends in commitment. If the person does not meet the standard, the law directs the screener to refer them to community mental health care or another appropriate service. Some people agree to a voluntary admission instead.

The clock: 24 hours, 72 hours, 20 days

The signed screening certificate starts the clock. A short-term care facility, psychiatric facility, or special psychiatric hospital may hold a person on a screening referral, without a court order, for no more than 72 hours from the time the certificate was executed. Within that window the facility must start court proceedings: a psychiatrist on the treatment team completes a clinical certificate, and a judge reviews the certificates and may sign a temporary commitment order only on finding probable cause that the person needs involuntary commitment. No order within 72 hours means the person must be released.

There is one temporary exception, created because people were waiting in emergency rooms for a psychiatric bed. A 2023 law (P.L.2023, c.139, now N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.9a) lets a general hospital or emergency department ask a court for up to 72 additional hours, and the hospital must show it exhausted reasonable efforts to find a bed, with two psychiatrists certifying the need for commitment. A 2025 amendment (P.L.2025, c.108) let designated screening services apply too, barred the court from granting the order until the person's lawyer has been notified and has given the court a position, and allowed the person to consent to a continued hold through counsel. The provision carries an expiration date that has already been extended once, from August 31, 2025 to August 31, 2026. As of September 20, 2026, the New Jersey Courts report that L.2026, c.59, effective July 30, 2026, moved the deadline to April 30, 2027. Check the current status if you are reading this later.

The temporary order sets a hearing date, which must fall within 20 days of the initial commitment. It can be adjourned only in exceptional circumstances, for no more than 14 days.

The hearing and the person's rights

Notice of the hearing goes out at least 10 days ahead to the patient, the patient's lawyer, any guardian, and the next of kin, among others.

Under N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.14, a person facing commitment has the right to:

• be represented by counsel, or by appointed counsel if indigent;
• be present, unless their conduct makes it impossible for the hearing to continue;
• present evidence;
• cross-examine witnesses; and
• a hearing in camera, meaning closed to the public.

The person cannot appear without a lawyer, and the court assigns one if needed. Court Rule 4:74-7 requires testimony from a psychiatrist on the treatment team who personally examined the patient no more than five calendar days before the hearing. County counsel usually presents the case, and it must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. Next of kin may attend and testify if the court permits.

The judge can continue the commitment, inpatient or outpatient, or order discharge, which must happen within 48 hours of the court's verbal order or by the end of the next working day, whichever is longer. Conditions can be attached to a discharge, generally for no more than 90 days. If commitment continues, the court must review it at three, nine, and twelve months after the first hearing, and at least annually after that.

One point families often misread: a court order authorizes the hospital to hold someone, but it does not require it. The treatment team must discharge the person whenever it decides commitment is no longer needed, without waiting for the next hearing. Nor is a commitment a finding of incompetence — New Jersey law says no patient may be presumed incompetent because they were examined or treated for mental illness, voluntarily or not.

Involuntary outpatient commitment

Since a 2009 amendment, a New Jersey court can commit an adult to outpatient treatment instead of a hospital, under the same legal standard and with the same rights. It is for people who meet the standard but are not immediately or imminently dangerous, and whom an approved community provider accepts. The New Jersey Courts' 2024 resource binder says all 21 counties have such a provider.

The judge must approve a written treatment plan, which can include medication, therapy, case management, day programming, and substance use treatment. If the person does not materially comply, the provider notifies the court and refers them to a screening service for a new assessment.

What families can and cannot do

You can call the screening service, describe what you have seen, and ask about an outreach visit if the person will not go in. You can hand the screener a written timeline. Federal privacy law does not block this. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says HIPAA "in no way prevents health care providers from listening to family members." As next of kin, you are entitled to notice of the hearing, and you may ask the court to let you attend or testify. Facilities must give a written statement of patient rights to families on request.

You cannot sign a certificate. The court rule bars any relative by blood or marriage from executing one. You cannot direct the patient's lawyer, whose loyalty is to the patient alone, even if the family pays. And if an adult patient with capacity objects, the hospital generally cannot share information with you unless it perceives a serious and imminent threat that you are in a position to lessen. Staff can still listen.

If the person is under 18

Minors are covered by a separate rule, Court Rule 4:74-7A. The standard refers to "childhood mental illness," and the minor must need intensive psychiatric treatment that cannot be provided at home, in the community, or on an outpatient basis. The same 72-hour limit applies, but the hearing must be held within 14 days of the inpatient admission, the court appoints a guardian ad litem for the child. A parent may admit a minor for evaluation for up to seven days without court approval if a staff physician independently approves. Involuntary outpatient commitment is for adults only.

For a child or teenager in New Jersey, PerformCare is the entry point to the state Children's System of Care and answers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 1-877-652-7624. Call 911 first if there is immediate danger.

What comes after discharge

Every person discharged from commitment, by a court or by the treatment team, must have a discharge plan and a chance to take part in writing it. For people leaving short-term care or psychiatric facilities, a designated community agency participates in the plan and provides follow-up care.

Take that plan seriously, and ask for appointment dates rather than referrals. A 2017 meta-analysis in JAMA Psychiatry found that suicide rates were highest in the first three months after discharge from a psychiatric facility. Our guide to mental health discharge planning in New Jersey covers what a usable plan contains, and the levels of care page describes step-down options such as partial hospitalization and residential treatment, which is a different thing from the inpatient psychiatric care this page describes.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Statutes and court rules change. Families with legal questions should ask a New Jersey attorney.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I have a family member committed in New Jersey?

Not directly. You can ask a county screening service to evaluate the person. Only a psychiatrist's screening certificate, followed by a court order, can result in commitment, and relatives are barred from signing a certificate.

How long can someone be held before a judge is involved?

A screening service may detain a person up to 24 hours for assessment. After a screening certificate is signed, a facility may hold the person no more than 72 hours without a temporary court order. Through April 30, 2027, a court can allow up to 72 additional hours when no bed can be found.

When is the commitment hearing?

Within 20 days of the initial commitment for adults, and within 14 days of inpatient admission for minors.

Does the person get a lawyer?

Yes. The person has the right to counsel, the court assigns a lawyer if they do not have one, and they are not permitted to appear at the hearing without one.

Is refusing medication enough for commitment?

No. New Jersey courts have held that failing to take medication does not by itself prove dangerousness.

Who do I call in Middlesex County?

Call 911 for immediate danger and 988 for crisis support. The county's designated screening service is Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care Acute Psychiatric Services, 732-235-5700.

Sources

• N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.2. Definitions: mental illness, dangerous to self, dangerous to others or property, in need of involuntary commitment to treatment, mental health screener, screening outreach visit, reasonably foreseeable future
• N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.5 and 30:4-27.6. Screening service procedures, 24-hour detention, outreach visits, law enforcement custody
• N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.9 and 30:4-27.9a. The 72-hour limit and the temporary continued-hold provision
• P.L.2023, c.139 and P.L.2025, c.108. Continued-hold law and its 2025 amendment
• New Jersey Courts. Supplement to Directive #06-25, August 17, 2026. L.2026, c.59 extends the continued-hold deadline to April 30, 2027
• N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.11, 30:4-27.12, 30:4-27.13, 30:4-27.14, and 30:4-27.18. Patient rights, hearing within 20 days, notice, rights at the hearing, discharge plan
• New Jersey Courts. Involuntary Civil Commitments Resource Binder. Revised June 2024. Court Rules 4:74-7 and 4:74-7A, case law on dangerousness, involuntary outpatient commitment, review schedule, commitment of minors
• N.J. Court Rule 4:74-7, Civil Commitment – Adults (unofficial copy of the rule text)
• NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. Designated Screening Services in New Jersey. Middlesex County listings
• NJ Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. 988 and crisis services. Mobile Crisis Outreach Response Teams
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA FAQ 2095. What family members can share with, and learn from, providers
• PerformCare New Jersey. Children's System of Care access line
• Chung DT, Ryan CJ, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Singh SP, Stanton C, Large MM. “Suicide Rates After Discharge From Psychiatric Facilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.” JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(7):694-702. PMID 28564699.
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline