New Jersey Statutes

N.J. Stat. § 2C:43-10 (2026)

Place of imprisonment; beginning sentences; transfers

✓ current as of May 2026
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a. Sentences for terms of 1 year or longer. Except as provided in section 2C:43-5 and in subsection b. of this section, when a person is sentenced to imprisonment for any term of 1 year or greater, the court shall commit him to the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections for the term of his sentence and until released in accordance with law.

b. County institution. In any county in which a county penitentiary or a county workhouse is located, a person sentenced to imprisonment for a return not exceeding 18 months may be committed to the penitentiary or workhouse of such county.

c. Sentences for terms of less than 1 year. When a person is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of less than 1 year, the court shall commit him either to the common jail of the county, the county workhouse or the county penitentiary for the term of his sentence and until released in accordance with law. In counties of the first class having a workhouse or penitentiary, however, no sentence exceeding 6 months shall be to the common jail of the county.

d. Aggregation of sentences when a person is sentenced to more than one term of imprisonment, and the sentences are to be consecutive, the terms shall be aggregated for the purpose of determining the place of imprisonment under subsections a., b. or c. of this section.

e. Duties of sheriff and keeper on sentence to State Prison. In all cases where the defendant, upon conviction, is sentenced by the court to imprisonment, for any term of 1 year or greater, the sheriff of the county or his lawful deputy shall, within 15 days transport him to the State Prison and there deliver him into the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections together with a copy of the sentence of the court ordering such imprisonment certified by the clerk of the court where the conviction was had, a copy of the court's statement of reasons for the sentence, and a copy of the presentence report or any presentence information used by the judge in determining sentence.

In every case at least 48 hours, exclusive of Sundays and legal holidays, shall elapse between the time of sentence and removal to the State Prison.

f. Beginning sentences in county institutions. Every person sentenced to the county workhouse or penitentiary shall be transferred to and confined therein within 10 days after the sentence.

g. Transfer of persons sentenced to county jail, penitentiary or workhouse from one to another thereof. Every person sentenced to imprisonment in a county jail, penitentiary or workhouse may upon the application of the board of chosen freeholders of such county and by order of the Superior Court, be transferred from any one of such county penal institutions to any other thereof. No such transfer or retransfer shall in any way affect the term of the original sentence of the person so transferred or retransferred.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1983–2021 · leading case: Ryan v. Burlington Cnty., 674 F. Supp. 464 (D.N.J. 1987).
Ryan v. Burlington Cnty., 674 F. Supp. 464 (D.N.J. 1987). · cites it 5× “A person sentenced to less than one year is committed “either to the common jail of the county, the county workhouse or the county penitentiary for the term of his sentence and until released in accordance with law.”
Union Cnty. Jail Inmates v. Di Buono, 713 F.2d 984 (3rd Cir. 1983). · cites it 3× “to comply with the mandates of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10(e) is unconstitutional” and “permanently enjoined the Commissioner .”
Getch v. Rosenbach, 700 F. Supp. 1365 (D.N.J. 1988). · cites it 5× “2A:164-18, the forerunner of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10), certif'n granted, 75 N.”
Dittimus-Bey v. Taylor, 244 F.R.D. 284 (D.N.J. 2007). “§ 2C:43-10(c). As Defendants’ counsel acknowledged at oral argument, an inmate’s period of detention at CCCF may be as short as a number of hours or days and the average individual’s period of incarceration there is significantly less than one year.”
Van Valen v. Lanigan (D.N.J. 2020). · cites it 2× “See N.J.S.A. § 2C:43-10. In the absence of an allegation that Plaintiff was a pretrial detainee at any relevant time in the proposed Amended Complaint, inclusion of a Due Process claim in the Amended Complaint is futile.”
State of New Jersey Vs. Andres I. Chavarria (18-10-0303 & 18-10-0304, Sussex Cnty. & Statewide) (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2020). “Compare N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10(a) (providing sentences of imprisonment of one year or greater shall be served in the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections) with N.”
State of New Jersey Vs. Brittany L. Burnett (18-12-1258, Bergen Cnty. & Statewide) (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2021). “See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10(a), (d). On remand, the sentencing court should provide "an explanation for the overall fairness of [the newly-imposed, State prison] sentence .”
— N.J. Stat. § 2C:43-10(a) — 3 cases
Ryan v. Burlington Cnty., 674 F. Supp. 464 (D.N.J. 1987). “A person sentenced to less than one year is committed “either to the common jail of the county, the county workhouse or the county penitentiary for the term of his sentence and until released in accordance with law.”
State of New Jersey Vs. Andres I. Chavarria (18-10-0303 & 18-10-0304, Sussex Cnty. & Statewide) (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2020). “Compare N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10(a) (providing sentences of imprisonment of one year or greater shall be served in the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections) with N.”
State of New Jersey Vs. Brittany L. Burnett (18-12-1258, Bergen Cnty. & Statewide) (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2021). “See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10(a), (d). On remand, the sentencing court should provide "an explanation for the overall fairness of [the newly-imposed, State prison] sentence .”
— N.J. Stat. § 2C:43-10(c) — 2 cases
Dittimus-Bey v. Taylor, 244 F.R.D. 284 (D.N.J. 2007). “§ 2C:43-10(c). As Defendants’ counsel acknowledged at oral argument, an inmate’s period of detention at CCCF may be as short as a number of hours or days and the average individual’s period of incarceration there is significantly less than one year.”
Ryan v. Burlington Cnty., 674 F. Supp. 464 (D.N.J. 1987). “A person sentenced to less than one year is committed “either to the common jail of the county, the county workhouse or the county penitentiary for the term of his sentence and until released in accordance with law.”
— N.J. Stat. § 2C:43-10(e) — 4 cases
Ryan v. Burlington Cnty., 674 F. Supp. 464 (D.N.J. 1987). “A person sentenced to less than one year is committed “either to the common jail of the county, the county workhouse or the county penitentiary for the term of his sentence and until released in accordance with law.”
Union Cnty. Jail Inmates v. Di Buono, 713 F.2d 984 (3rd Cir. 1983). “to comply with the mandates of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10(e) is unconstitutional” and “permanently enjoined the Commissioner .”
Getch v. Rosenbach, 700 F. Supp. 1365 (D.N.J. 1988). “2A:164-18, the forerunner of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-10), certif'n granted, 75 N.”
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