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N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.2 Issuance of certification

N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.2, Issuance of certification. Upon determining that there is a need for a certification as provided in N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.1, the Chairperson or designee shall issue, or authorize the issuan Full text with 3 recorded amendments, 15 citing decisions, cited by 1 other rule.

Selection and Appointment · Certification From 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

Three names for the first job, one more name for each additional job. That is what a complete certification means from a promotional or open competitive list, and an appointing authority is entitled to a complete one before making a permanent appointment. Reemployment lists work differently: from special, regular, police, sheriff's officer and fire reemployment lists, one interested eligible per permanent appointment. Eligibles with the same score share a rank, so a tie can put more than three names in front of the employer. Commission staff issue the certification with the names and addresses of the highest ranked eligibles and notify those eligibles at the last known address, which is why an out-of-date address on file matters. When fewer than three interested eligibles are certified the options narrow, and they narrow further where a provisional currently serving in the title appears on the certification: at that point the choice is a permanent appointment or vacating the position.

Written by the NJ Civil Service Navigator editorial team from the text of N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.2. It is a description of the rule, not the rule itself, and not legal advice.

(a) Upon determining that there is a need for a certification as provided in N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.1, the Chairperson or designee shall issue, or authorize the issuance of, a certification to the appointing authority containing the names and addresses of the eligibles with the highest rankings on the appropriate list. #

1. When the Civil Service Commission has accepted a single application for one or more title areas pursuant to N.J.A.C. 4A:4-2.3(c), the certification shall be drawn from the pool of eligibles, based on their title area and county preference and their residency. #

(b) When a certification is issued, the Chairperson or designee shall notify, or authorize the notification of, the eligibles whose names appear on the list, at the last known address. See N.J.A.C. 4A:4-3.2(e) for address change notification. #

(c) An appointing authority shall be entitled to a complete certification for consideration in making a permanent appointment, which means: #

1. From special, regular and police, sheriff's officer, and fire reemployment lists, the name of one interested eligible for each permanent appointment; or #

2. From promotional and open competitive lists, the names of three interested eligibles for the first permanent appointment, and the name of one additional interested eligible for each additional permanent appointment. Eligibles who receive the same score shall have the same rank. If three or more eligibles can be certified as a result of this ranking without resorting to all three highest scores on the list, then only those eligibles will be certified. #

i. When fewer than three interested eligibles are certified and no provisional currently serving in the title is listed on the certification, the appointing authority may either: make a permanent appointment; make a provisional appointment from the list; make a provisional appointment of another qualified person if no eligible on the list is interested; or vacate the position/title. #

ii. When fewer than three interested eligibles are certified and a provisional who is currently serving in the title is listed on the certification, the appointing authority may either: make a permanent appointment; or vacate the position/title. #

iii. When a certification is comprised of multiple lists and an eligible's name appears more than once, the eligible will only be counted once for purposes of making a complete certification. #

(d) See N.J.A.C. 4A:10-2.2 for penalties for failure to appoint from a complete certification. #

Amendment history

Rule numbers, effective dates and New Jersey Register citations as published. 3 recorded changes.

  1. AmendedR.2017 d.142
    49 N.J.R. 492(a); 49 N.J.R. 2239(a)
  2. AmendedR.2006 d.104
    37 N.J.R. 4351(a); 38 N.J.R. 1425(a)
  3. AmendedR.1997 d.482
    29 N.J.R. 3385(a); 29 N.J.R. 4864(b)

How this rule has been applied

15 decisions have cited N.J.A.C. 4A:4-4.2. 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)
  • In re Foglio207 N.J. 38; 22 A.3d 9582011
Civil Service Commission final determinations (14)

Commission decisions citing 4A:4-4.2

40 decisions of the Civil Service Commission since January 16, 2019 cite this section (denied 16, granted 9, ordered 7, as the minutes record the outcome). The newest:

All 40 decisions

This rule points to

Rules that point here

Elsewhere in Certification From Eligible Lists