NJ Civil Service Navigator

N.J.A.C. 4A:4-1.1 Career service appointments

N.J.A.C. 4A:4-1.1, Career service appointments. Regular appointments to titles allocated to the competitive division of the career service shall be subject to an examination process and successful complet Full text with 1 recorded amendment, 30 citing decisions, cited by 1 other rule.

Selection and Appointment · Types of Appointments

Current through New Jersey Register, Vol. 58 No. 14, July 20, 2026. Reviewed as of July 26, 2026.

This is an annotated mirror, not the official publication. Verify against the Civil Service Commission before relying on it.

In plain language

Three routes into the career service, and they differ by how much testing stands in the way. A regular appointment to a competitive division title requires going through the examination process and then completing a working test period. For a noncompetitive division title, the Chairperson or designee may authorise an appointing authority to appoint a qualified person with no examination at all, and preference goes to disabled veterans first and then veterans. That preference is not a scoring bonus; Chapter 5 sets out how it actually operates. Which division your title sits in is therefore the first thing that determines how you get hired into it, and that allocation is made under the classification rules rather than by the appointing authority.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-1.1. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) Regular appointments to titles allocated to the competitive division of the career service shall be subject to an examination process and successful completion of a working test period. #

(b) The Chairperson or designee may authorize an appointing authority to make a regular appointment of a qualified person to a title in the noncompetitive division of the career service without an examination. Preference shall be given to disabled veterans and then veterans. See N.J.A.C. 4A:5 on veterans' preference. #

(c) The Chairperson or designee may authorize the promotion, through promotional examination procedures, from the noncompetitive division, of permanent employees who meet the open competitive requirements, to: #

1. A related entry level title in the competitive division; #

2. In appropriate situations, to a related above-entry level title in the competitive division; or #

3. An unrelated entry level or above-entry level title in the competitive division, in appropriate situations, such as a classification determination. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 1 recorded change.

  1. AmendedR.2017 d.142
    49 N.J.R. 492(a); 49 N.J.R. 2239(a)

How this rule has been applied

30 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:4-1.1. The list below is citations to those decisions, not the decisions. We have not written summaries for this section. A citation with no summary is deliberate: we do not paraphrase a decision we have not read. Nothing here is legal advice.

New Jersey Supreme Court (1)
  • 79 N.J. 78; 397 A.2d 10881979
Appellate Division (1)
  • In the Matter of Lemko151 N.J.Super. 242; 376 A.2d 971
Superior Court (1)
  • Morris Cty. v. Civil Service Dept.177 N.J.Super. 25; 424 A.2d 8521980
Federal courts (1)
  • NAACP v. N. Hudson Reg'l Fire & Rescue707 F. Supp. 2d 5202010
Civil Service Commission final determinations (26)
  • In re Ahmad, et al., Montclair State Univ., CSC Docket Nos. 2019-994, et al. (Consolidated)2019 N.J. CSC LEXIS 79Docket 2019-994
  • In re Fattori, Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2018-26382018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 487Docket 2018-2638
  • In re K.B., Dep't of Envtl. Prot., CSC Docket No. 2016-35882017 N.J. CSC LEXIS 549Docket 2016-3588
  • In re Sacchinelli, Bergen Cnty., CSC Dkt. No. 2015-21462017 N.J. CSC LEXIS 221
  • In re DeVoe, Dep't of the Treasury, CSC Dkt. No. 2017-8982017 N.J. CSC LEXIS 45
  • In re Crew Leader, Highway Operations, Dep't of Transp., CSC Docket No. 2016-17062015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 98Docket 2016-1706
  • In re Miladinov, Dep't of Law and Public Safety, CSC Dkt. No. 2015-16182015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 397
  • In re Santos, Dep't of the Treasury, CSC Dkt. No. 2014-32282014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 828
  • In re Goldsboro, et al., Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Dkt. Nos. 2014-29402014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 873
  • In re Agee, et al., Greystone Park Psychiatric Hosp., CSC Dkt. No. 2014-31102014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 872
  • In re Barber, Tech. Assistant 2, Purchasing, Dep't of Transp., CSC Docket No. 2014-22082014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 688Docket 2014-2208
  • In re Booktor, Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2014-18072014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 246Docket 2014-1807
  • In re Igor Milewski, Dep't of Law and Public Safety, CSC Dkt. No. 2014-22432014 N.J. CSC LEXIS 363
  • In re Mullan, Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2013-16022013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1199Docket 2013-1602
  • In re Smalls, Dep't of the Treasury, CSC Docket No. 2014-13122013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1160Docket 2014-1312
  • In re Curry, Dep't of the Treasury, CSC Docket No. 2013-29392013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 1136Docket 2013-2939
  • In re Kathleen Castaldo, Mercer Cnty., CSC Dkt. No. 2014-8692013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 686
  • In re Social Worker, Burlington Cnty. Bd. of Social Serv., CSC Dkt. No. 2014-5902013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 918
  • In re Denise Farfalla, Dep't. of Law and Public Safety, CSC Dkt. No. 2014-6562013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 909
  • In re Gosley, et al., Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket Nos. 2014-2042013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 937Docket 2014-204
  • In re Messiha, Dep't of Law & Pub. Safety, CSC Docket No. 2014-2032013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 936Docket 2014-203
  • In re Dwayne Patrick, City of East Orange, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-30452013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 457
  • In re Lisa Asare, Dep't. of Health, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-21192013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 660
  • In re Ronald Calderon, Administrative Analyst 1, Procurement, Dep't of Health, CSC Dkt. No. 2013-24622013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 283
  • Bachelor's Degree in Social Science. In re Fredisha Collins, Program Coordinator, Mental Health (PS9842K), Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, CSC Docket No. 2013-5682013 N.J. CSC LEXIS 358Docket 2013-568
  • Robert Oches v. Middletown Township96 N.J.A.R.2d (CSV) 647

Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Types of Appointments