The state-level rules every owner and walker in New Jersey should know. Local leash lengths, licensing and off-leash rules are set by each city — find those on the city pages below.
New Jersey has one of the strongest strict-liability dog-bite statutes — it targets the owner, but fault can be apportioned to an inattentive walker, and non-bite injuries run through negligence.
New Jersey (N.J.S.A. § 4:19-16) has one of the most victim-friendly strict-liability statutes in the country: an owner is liable for a bite in public or a lawful private place, regardless of the dog's history or the owner's knowledge. The only elements are that the defendant owned the dog, it bit, and the victim was lawfully present — and a bite need not even break the skin (DeVivo v. Anderson). The statute targets the owner, so a walker is generally not strictly liable to a third party, but a leading treatise gives the example of a jury apportioning fault to an inattentive dog walker.
Non-bite injuries (a dog knocking someone down) run through negligence — where an unleashed dog is the classic breach and a leash-ordinance violation is negligence per se. There is no statewide leash law (rules are local), but rabies vaccination and licensing are required statewide. Defenses: trespass (which requires criminal intent, De Robertis v. Randazzo) and provocation.
New Jersey applies modified comparative negligence (N.J.S.A. § 2A:15-5.1) — a victim more than 50% at fault recovers nothing; otherwise recovery is reduced. Children under 7 are presumed non-negligent. The personal-injury limit is two years.
This is general information about New Jersey law, not legal advice. Confirm current rules with the official state and municipal sources.