Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
New Jersey · Philadelphia Metro · South Jersey · #135 Most Populous County in the US
Camden County, New Jersey
South Jersey's urban and suburban heart across the Delaware River from Philadelphia - from Camden City's riverfront rebirth and the Campbell Soup legacy to Cherry Hill's regional retail dominance and the affluent communities of Voorhees and Haddonfield. Property tax, courts, public records, and senior services for Camden County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Camden County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Camden County Office of Emergency Management – confirm current phone via camdencounty.com; coordinates disaster response and Emergency Operations Plans across the county’s 37 municipalities.
City OEM: City of Camden Office of Emergency Management – 101 Newton Avenue, Camden, NJ 08103 | (856) 757-7132.
Sheriff: Camden County Sheriff’s Office – countywide law enforcement support and civil process; roughly 194 staff (131 Sheriff’s Officers, 5 Investigators). Confirm current phone via camdencountysheriffnj.com.
Police: Camden County Police Department – countywide agency, known for its “Unity Policing” community model and ARRIVE Together mental-health co-response program.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-676, NJ-30, and the Ben Franklin/Walt Whitman Bridges connect Camden, the county seat, directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
Notes: Camden was historically boosted by ferry connections to Philadelphia and the 1834 arrival of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, a key Philadelphia-New York link.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Camden County Board of Taxation – confirm current phone via camdencounty.com.
Notes: Camden is genuinely the last home of American poet Walt Whitman – the Walt Whitman House, a National Historic Landmark built circa 1848 at 330 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd (Mickle St.), is where Whitman lived from 1884 until his 1892 death, the only home he ever owned. IMPORTANT: the house is currently closed for major renovations (including a new visitor center) from December 2025 with a target reopening in Spring 2027 – worth flagging for readers planning a visit. Camden became a major manufacturing hub at the turn of the 20th century, historically home to Campbell Soup Company, New York Ship, and RCA Victor. The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial, preserving the USS New Jersey – the most decorated battleship in U.S. Navy history – is docked at 62 Battleship Place, Camden.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Camden County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via camdencounty.com.
Federal: Philadelphia VA Medical Center (nearby, across the river).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Camden County Library System – headquartered in Voorhees, NJ; established 1921; branches in Bellmawr, Camden (Ferry Ave. and Rutgers), Gloucester Twp., Haddon Twp., Merchantville, South County Regional (Atco), and Voorhees Regional; genuinely became the first county library system in New Jersey to eliminate late fines on most materials (effective July 1, 2019).
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial, the Walt Whitman House (National Historic Landmark, currently under renovation), Adventure Aquarium, and Rutgers-Camden’s Walter K. Gordon Theater are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine Walt Whitman National Historic Landmark connection and the Battleship New Jersey – the U.S. Navy’s most decorated battleship – are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Camden County Board of Taxation – confirm current contact via camdencounty.com.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Camden County Animal Shelter – 125 County House Road, Blackwood, NJ 08012 | (856) 401-1300 | ccasnj.org.
Animal Orphanage (AO) – 419 Cooper Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 | (856) 627-9111; community shelter serving 22 Camden County municipalities (more than half the county) plus 4 Salem County towns.
Animal Alliance of Camden County – a 2011 collaborative of five local animal welfare organizations plus Camden County Shared Services, coordinating adoption events and spay/neuter partnerships countywide.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Camden County – confirm current contact via camdencounty.com.
NOTES: Camden County is the fourth county in the New Jersey v2 A+ sourced redo’s first batch (Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Essex). The genuine Walt Whitman National Historic Landmark connection (currently closed for renovation until ~2027) and the Battleship New Jersey are distinctive local facts. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Camden County
Camden County is New Jersey’s seventh most populous county and the 135th most populous in the United States, covering 222 square miles of South Jersey directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. It is one of the most economically diverse large counties in the Northeast, spanning from Camden City’s dense urban core to the wealthy historic borough of Haddonfield and the sprawling suburban landscape of Cherry Hill and Gloucester Township.
Camden (population ~74,000, the county seat) is one of America’s most challenged cities – decades of deindustrialization following the departure of Campbell Soup, RCA Victor, and New York Shipbuilding have left persistent poverty, high crime, and a diminished tax base. The city’s waterfront has been the focus of significant redevelopment: the Adventure Aquarium, BB&T Pavilion (now Freedom Mortgage Pavilion) amphitheater, and the USS New Jersey battleship museum attract regional visitors to the Delaware River promenade. Rutgers University–Camden and Cooper University Hospital anchor the city’s institutional economy. The city’s 2013 disbanding of its police department and reconstitution as a county police force became a nationally referenced case study in police reform.
Cherry Hill (population ~72,000) is Camden County’s largest municipality and South Jersey’s retail and commercial hub – the Cherry Hill Mall (one of the first enclosed shopping malls in the United States, opened 1961) and the surrounding Route 38 and Route 70 commercial corridors define the township’s commercial identity. Cherry Hill’s school district and suburban character have made it one of the most sought-after South Jersey addresses.
Voorhees is one of the county’s most affluent communities, developed largely in the 1980s–2000s with planned residential communities, corporate campuses, and excellent school districts.
Haddonfield is a historic Colonial-era borough with one of the finest preserved 18th and 19th-century downtowns in New Jersey – the site where the first nearly complete dinosaur skeleton in North America was discovered in 1858 (*Hadrosaurus foulkii*). Haddonfield’s downtown Kings Highway is a regional shopping destination of independent retailers.
Gloucester Township (population ~66,000) is one of New Jersey’s largest townships by population – a sprawling suburban community anchored by the Gloucester Premium Outlets and significant residential growth.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Each of Camden County’s 37 municipalities has its own tax assessor with a local equalization ratio. Assessment notices arrive in late January. The April 1 appeal deadline is absolute.
The appeal process: File with the Camden County Board of Taxation at 520 Market Street, Suite 9300, Camden, NJ 08102, phone 856-225-5238. If the Board does not rule in your favor, appeal to the New Jersey Tax Court within 45 days of the judgment. Properties over $1 million may bypass the County Board and appeal directly to Tax Court.
NJ inheritance tax: New Jersey has no estate tax (repealed 2018) but retains an inheritance tax – Class A (spouses, children, grandchildren): exempt. Class C (siblings): 11%–16%. Class D (all others): 15%–16%.
OWNWELL CTA: Camden County April 1 appeal deadline – absolute. Cherry Hill, Voorhees, and Haddonfield consistent appreciation. No NJ estate tax since 2018; inheritance tax applies to non-direct heirs. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Camden County April 1 appeal deadline - absolute. Cherry Hill, Voorhees, and Haddonfield consistent appreciation. No NJ estate tax since 2018; inheritance tax applies to non-direct heirs. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Surrogate’s Court (Probate): The Camden County Surrogate at 520 Market Street, Suite 1205, Camden, NJ 08102, phone 856-225-7282, handles wills, estate administration, and guardianships.
Superior Court: The Camden County Superior Court at 101 S. Fifth Street, Camden, handles civil, criminal, and family matters.
County Clerk: The Camden County Clerk at 520 Market Street, Room 102, Camden, maintains land records and election records. Land records searchable online.
Senior Services
The Camden County Division of Senior and Disabled Services at 512 Lakeland Road, Suite 301, Blackwood, NJ 08012, phone 856-374-6300, serves the county’s senior population with in-home services, caregiver support, nutrition programs, transportation, and benefits counseling. The county operates senior centers across its municipalities.
Recommended
Assisted living, memory care, and independent living across Camden County - from Camden City and Cherry Hill to Voorhees, Haddonfield, and Gloucester Township.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
520 Market St., Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-7210
COUNTY CLERK — ELECTIONS
520 Market St., Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-7214
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Camden County Surrogate’s Court, Blackwood (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Camden County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Camden County is in southwestern New Jersey, part of the Philadelphia metro area, seated in Camden with Surrogate’s Court operations in Blackwood.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
New Jersey probate is governed by Title 3B of the New Jersey Statutes. The elected Surrogate’s Court in each county handles uncontested probate matters; contested matters are referred to the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part.
Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3) – available only when the decedent died WITHOUT a will (intestate) and the total value of real and personal assets does not exceed $50,000. The surviving spouse, civil union partner, or domestic partner may file this affidavit with the Surrogate’s Court and receive the assets without formal administration. The first $10,000 of the estate is free from the decedent’s debts. There is no affidavit shortcut if a will exists – a will must always be probated regardless of estate size.
Affidavit of Next of Kin (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-4) – available only when the decedent died intestate, there is no surviving spouse/partner, and the estate does not exceed $20,000. One of the next of kin may file this affidavit with the written consent of all other heirs of equal or greater priority.
Regular (Formal) Probate – required whenever there’s a will, or when an intestate estate exceeds the small-estate thresholds above.
Step 2: filing for regular probate
File an Application for Probate with the Surrogate’s Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled (as soon as 10 days after death).
The Surrogate admits the will and issues Letters Testamentary, or – for intestate estates – appoints an administrator and issues Letters of Administration. A surety bond may be required for an administrator.
The Surrogate issues “short certificates,” which the executor/administrator uses as proof of authority – a certificate is typically needed for each asset that must be transferred or sold.
The personal representative notifies creditors and beneficiaries; New Jersey’s creditor claim period is 9 months from death.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays debts and taxes (including any New Jersey Inheritance Tax return, if applicable), and distributes the remaining assets according to the will or New Jersey’s intestacy statute.
The estate is closed with a final accounting filed with the court.
What it costs
Surrogate’s Court filing fees generally range from about $100 to $250 depending on the county and the complexity/value of the estate.
New Jersey does NOT require an attorney for probate, but one is commonly recommended for anything beyond the simplest estates.
UNIQUE TO NEW JERSEY: New Jersey has an INHERITANCE TAX that applies to transfers to “Class C” and “Class D” beneficiaries – nieces, nephews, friends, and other non-immediate relatives – even for relatively small inheritances; there is no minimum exemption threshold. Transfers to a spouse, civil union/domestic partner, parents, children, grandchildren, and stepchildren (“Class A” beneficiaries) are exempt.
New Jersey repealed its separate state ESTATE tax for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2018 – only the inheritance tax remains at the state level.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
520 Market St., Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-5473
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK — ELECTIONS
520 Market St., Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-7214
ELECTIONS
520 Market St., Camden, NJ 08102
(856) 225-7214
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NJ DHHS — Camden
(856) 374-6300
Cooper University Health Care
cooperhealth.org (Camden — Level I Trauma; major academic medical center; South Jersey anchor)
Jefferson Health — New Jersey
jeffersonhealth.org (multiple Camden County locations; quality regional system)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Camden County Health Connection – confirm current contact via camdencounty.com.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Recommended for New Jersey
Ownwell
Property tax appeal service. Contingency fee - no savings, no charge.
