Reviewed and updated October 4, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. Every office link on this page was opened and checked against the office's own website at review time.
Clifton is a city in Passaic County, New Jersey, with about 90,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its public records are split between the city and the county. The city keeps police reports, council records and its own licenses and permits; court cases, jail bookings, deeds and vital records are county or state records. This guide names the Clifton offices SearchSystems verified, links to each one's own website and gives the phone number and address where the office publishes them. SearchSystems verified 2 city office pages for Clifton, every one opened and checked.
In this guide: City or county, City Clerk, Police records, Records requests, Other cities and Questions.
City or county record: where Clifton records are kept
- Kept by the City of Clifton: police reports, council and board meeting records, ordinances and the city's own licenses and permits.
- Kept by Passaic County or the state: court cases, jail bookings, deeds and property values and birth and death certificates. These are not city records; they are in the Passaic County public records guide under court records, jail lookups, property records and vital records.
Clifton City Clerk: council records and ordinances
The City Clerk keeps the official records of the city government: council and board agendas and minutes, ordinances and resolutions, and the city's contracts and other official documents. The office below is the one SearchSystems verified for Clifton.
- Website: cliftonnj.org/154/City-Clerk (page title: City Clerk | Clifton, NJ)
- Phone: (973) 470-5825
- Address: 900 Clifton Avenue, Clifton, NJ 07013
- Hours: MONDAY - FRIDAY BETWEEN 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Clifton police reports and records
Incident reports, crash reports and the other records of the Clifton police are requested from the department's records unit, usually in writing or through an online form. Reports on open investigations and the names of victims and juveniles are usually withheld or redacted, and some states limit crash reports to the people involved and their insurers. The page below is the one SearchSystems verified for Clifton police records.
- Website: cliftonpolice.org/FAQ.html (page title: Clifton Police | "How Do I..." Page)
- Phone: 973-470-5877
- Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00 am - 4:00 pm.
- Checked: September 25, 2026, the page answered.
Jail bookings and inmate lookups are usually handled by the county, not the city police. They are in the Passaic County public records guide under jail and inmate lookups.
Public records requests to Clifton
New Jersey public records law applies to the city government of Clifton. A record that is not posted online is requested from the office that holds it: the City Clerk for council and city records, the police records unit for police reports and the department that issued a permit or license for its records. A request that names a date, an address, or a report or case number is the easiest to answer.
Other cities and towns in Passaic County
SearchSystems has a guide like this one for these other cities and towns in Passaic County. The Passaic County public records guide covers the records the county keeps for all of them.
Clifton Arrest Records
The Clifton arrest records guide covers the agency that reports Clifton's arrests to the FBI and the 870 arrests it reported for 2025. It also says where a person arrested in Clifton is held, how to find out about an arrest and how to get a copy of the report.
Clifton Records Guides
SearchSystems has nine more guides to Clifton, each written from the city's own offices and figures: Clifton warrants (who issues and serves them, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one), Clifton inmate search (the custody page of the Passaic County Sheriff's Office, the jail numbers and who books people), Clifton criminal records (the court file, the New Jersey criminal history and the local arrest records), Clifton court records (which court hears what, the case search and who keeps the files), Clifton police reports (which agency holds a report and what the Open Public Records Act requires), Clifton traffic tickets (which court takes the ticket, who writes them and the driving record), Clifton DUI (the DWI law, the arrest, the court case and the license case), Clifton divorce records (which court holds the file and how a certified copy is had) and Clifton property records (deeds, assessed values, permits and evictions).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the official Clifton website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records directory, online since 1997. It links to the official Clifton offices listed above; SearchSystems does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.
How do I get a police report in Clifton?
Request it from the Clifton police records unit at cliftonpolice.org/FAQ.html, phone 973-470-5877. Reports on open investigations and the names of victims and juveniles are usually withheld or redacted.
Where do I find Clifton city council minutes and ordinances?
From the City Clerk at cliftonnj.org/154/City-Clerk, phone (973) 470-5825. The office keeps the official agendas and minutes, ordinances and resolutions.
Where do I find court records or jail bookings for Clifton?
Clifton cases are heard by the courts that serve Passaic County, and people arrested in Clifton are usually booked into the county jail. Both are covered in the Passaic County public records guide on SearchSystems.
How do I request a public record from Clifton?
From the office that holds it: the City Clerk for council and city records, the police records unit for police reports and the department that issued a permit or license for its records. New Jersey public records law applies to city governments.