New Jersey directs courts to retain original party labels in custody-order registrations

New Jersey court staff must retain the party designations used in an out-of-state custody, parenting-time or visitation order when docketing a registration under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The Administrative Office of the Courts announced the instruction in Directive 13-26, dated October 27, 2026, and stated that it was effective immediately.

Under the directive, the person designated plaintiff in the out-of-state order remains the plaintiff in the New Jersey case even if the other party asks to register the order. The defendant likewise keeps the designation used in the original order. The directive says the policy is intended to make captions and party identification consistent and reduce confusion.

The directive supplements Directive 12-23 and describes a standardized docketing procedure for orders registered under New Jersey’s UCCJEA provisions. It also announces updates to two external forms: an order to show cause and a certification and request for registration or enforcement. It identifies two internal processing forms as updated as well. The directive states that the external forms are available through the Judiciary website.

The announcement addresses administrative docketing and the forms used in these proceedings. It does not itself decide whether a particular out-of-state order is eligible for registration or enforcement, or resolve a dispute over custody or parenting time. The underlying statute, the earlier directive and the applicable forms remain relevant to a particular filing.

The naming instruction can matter when the party seeking registration was the defendant in the issuing state: the request does not by itself switch the plaintiff and defendant labels in the New Jersey docket. The directive’s instruction concerns labels as they appear in the out-of-state order, rather than which party initiated the New Jersey registration.