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N.J.A.C. 4A:4-3.2 Order of names on eligible lists

N.J.A.C. 4A:4-3.2, Order of names on eligible lists. The order of names on an open competitive list shall be as follows: 1. When an announcement is open to more than one local jurisdiction, the resulting list Full text with 7 recorded amendments, 10 citing decisions, cited by 1 other rule.

Selection and Appointment · Eligible Lists

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

Rank order is not simply score order. On an open competitive list, names are first separated into sub-lists by residency requirement where the announcement was open to more than one local jurisdiction. Within each sub-list, eligibles entitled to disabled veterans preference come first in order of their scores, then eligibles entitled to veterans preference in order of their scores, then non-veterans in order of theirs. Promotional lists run the other way: everyone appears in score order regardless of veteran status, and veteran status enters only to break a tie, where veterans are listed first within the rank. What that ordering then means for who may actually be appointed is worked through with examples at 4A:5-2.1 and 4A:5-2.2. Special reemployment lists rank by the class code or class level of the title the eligible was displaced from, highest first, so a higher previous title outranks longer service. Regular and uniformed reemployment lists rank by seniority in the title resigned, retired or demoted from. Keeping a current address on file with the Commission is the eligible's own responsibility.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-3.2. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) The order of names on an open competitive list shall be as follows: #

1. When an announcement is open to more than one local jurisdiction, the resulting list of eligibles shall be separated into sub-lists by the residency requirements as provided by applicable law and ordinance. #

2. Within each sub-list as provided in (a)1 above, the order of names shall be: #

i. Eligibles entitled to disabled veterans preference in order of their scores; #

ii. Eligibles entitled to veterans preference in order of their scores; and #

iii. Non-veteran eligibles in order of their scores. #

3. Eligibles who receive the same score shall have the same rank. See N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.2(c). #

4. See N.J.A.C. 4A:5-2.1 for examples on use of open competitive list. #

(b) Eligibles on a promotional list shall appear in the order of their scores. #

1. When scores are tied, veterans shall be listed first within each rank. See N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.2(c). #

2. See N.J.A.C. 4A:5-2.2 for examples on use of a promotional list. #

(c) Eligibles on special reemployment lists shall be ranked in descending order of the class code or class level of the title from which the eligible was displaced. Within each class code or class level, eligibles shall be ranked in accordance with N.J.A.C. 4A:8-2.3(c)1. EXAMPLE 1.: Emily is a State employee, and was displaced in the layoff process from her permanent title of Administrative Analyst 1, which has a class code of 29. She has a total of 10 years of seniority. George is also a State employee, and was displaced in the layoff process from his permanent title of Administrative Analyst 2, which has a class code of 26. He has a total of 15 years of seniority. The names of both Emily and George are placed on the special reemployment list for the title of Administrative Analyst 3, since it is a lower, related title. Emily's name will be listed first, because the class code of the title from which she was displaced is higher than the class code of the title from which George was displaced. EXAMPLE 2.: Robert, a municipal employee, was displaced in the layoff process from his permanent title of Supervising Maintenance Repairer, the highest class level title in his title series. He has 15 years of service with the municipality. Angela, who was permanent in the title of Assistant Supervising Maintenance Repairer when she was displaced in the layoff process, has 16 and one-half years of service with the municipality. The names of both Robert and Angela will be placed at the head of special reemployment lists for Senior Maintenance Repairer and Maintenance Repairer. On both of these lists, Robert's name will appear first and Angela's second, since Robert was displaced from a higher class level title. #

(d) Eligibles on regular or police, sheriff's officer, and fire reemployment lists shall be ranked in the order of seniority in the permanent title from which they resigned, retired, or were voluntarily demoted, with the name of the person with the greatest seniority appearing first on the list. #

(e) It shall be the responsibility of an eligible to keep a current address on file with the Civil Service Commission. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 7 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2019 d.072
    51 N.J.R. 191(b); 51 N.J.R. 1115(a)
  2. AmendedR.2017 d.142
    49 N.J.R. 492(a); 49 N.J.R. 2239(a)
  3. AmendedR.2014 d.099
    45 N.J.R. 500(a); 46 N.J.R. 1331(c)
  4. AmendedR.2000 d.12
    31 N.J.R. 2827(a); 32 N.J.R. 39(a)
  5. AmendedR.1997 d.71
    28 N.J.R. 4979(a); 29 N.J.R. 549(b)
  6. AmendedR.1993 d.270
    25 N.J.R. 1085(b); 25 N.J.R. 2509(a)
  7. date not statedAdministrative correction
    44 N.J.R. 227(a)

How this rule has been applied

10 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:4-3.2. The list below is citations to those decisions, not the decisions. The summary above is ours, written from the opinion after reading it. Nothing here is legal advice.

Decisions we have read

State v. State Supervisory Employees Association78 N.J. 54, August 2, 1978

The State and several unions fought over which of a long list of contract proposals had to be bargained, among them seniority, the handling of demoted and provisional staff, and how appointments come off a list. The Supreme Court set the boundary that still applies: a subject is open to bargaining unless a specific statute or regulation already fixes it, and once such a rule exists it overrides anything in the contract that conflicts. Where a rule sets a floor a union may bargain for better, but where it sets a ceiling, or hands the employer a choice such as picking any one of the three names certified to it, no agreement can take that away.

Read the opinion (free, via CourtListener). Summary written from the decision, checked July 26, 2026.

New Jersey Supreme Court (1)
  • State v. State Supervisory Employees Association78 N.J. 54; 393 A.2d 2331978
Appellate Division (1)
  • Kloss v. Parsippany-Troy Hills170 N.J.Super. 153; 406 A.2d 170
Federal courts (1)
  • NAACP v. N. Hudson Reg'l Fire & Rescue707 F. Supp. 2d 5202010
Civil Service Commission final determinations (7)
  • In re Bartee, Family Servs. Specialist 1 (PS5386K), Dep't of Children & Families, CSC Docket Nos. 2023-957 and 2023-9582023 N.J. CSC LEXIS 232Docket 2023-957 and 2023-958
  • In re Toussaint, Senior Bldg. Maint. (Special), The College of N.J., CSC Docket No. 2017-6342020 N.J. CSC LEXIS 148Docket 2017-634
  • In re Van Valkenburg, Human Servs. Specialist 1 (C0778T), Ocean Cnty. Bd. of Soc. Servs., CSC Docket No. 2017-34272018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 207Docket 2017-3427
  • In re Vilteus, Human Serv. Assistant (Special), Dep't of Human Servs., CSC Docket No. 2017-33152018 N.J. CSC LEXIS 208Docket 2017-3315
  • In re Homa, et al., Hunterdon Dev. Ctr., CSC Dkt. Nos. 2016-10972015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 127
  • Rule of Three. In re Ingrasselino, Deputy Cnty. Emergency Mgmt. Coordinator (C0641R), Bergen Cnty., CSC Docket No. 2015-932015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 421Docket 2015-93
  • In re Embs, Fire Fighter (M2510M), City of Cape May, CSC Dkt. No. 2015-2722015 N.J. CSC LEXIS 305

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Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Eligible Lists