If you regularly attend government meetings such as town council, zoning board, planning board or similar meetings, where you find out about these meetings will be changing.
Governor Phil Murphy has signed a law which will fundamentally change how public entities publish legal notices and advertisements. Starting March 1, 2026, all state and local government bodies will be required to post legal notices on their official websites rather than relying solely on traditional newspaper publications.
Under the new law, public entities—including state agencies, counties, municipalities, and other political subdivisions—must establish dedicated legal notice webpages that are freely accessible to the public. These pages must be prominently linked from the entity’s homepage and maintained with proper archiving systems.
The Secretary of State will create a centralized webpage featuring hyperlinks to all public entities’ legal notice pages, creating a one-stop portal for citizens seeking government notices. Public entities must keep archived notices for at least one year, with local governments having until July 2026 to establish their archiving systems.
During the transition period leading up to March 2026, the requirements remain optional. However, from January 2026, public entities must advertise twice monthly in eligible online news publications to inform citizens about their new web-based notice system.
The legislation also extends current newspaper eligibility requirements through March 2026, allowing public bodies to continue using qualifying newspapers for required notices during the transition period.
Officials expect the change to reduce costs for local governments while improving public access to legal notices through centralized, searchable online platforms.