How Long Is Attorney Review in New Jersey?

Attorney review in New Jersey lasts three business days. It begins when the fully signed contract is delivered to both the buyer and the seller, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays are not counted, and if neither side’s attorney disapproves the contract before the period ends, the contract stands as written. In practice, the parties’ attorneys often agree to extend the period while they are still working through changes.

This page covers the mechanics as they work in New Jersey residential transactions, where the contract is typically prepared by a real estate licensee on a standard form and reviewed by counsel after signing rather than drafted by lawyers before it.

Why does New Jersey have an attorney review period?

Attorney review exists because of a dispute between two professions that the New Jersey Supreme Court resolved by building the review period into the contract itself.

In the early 1980s the New Jersey State Bar Association sued the New Jersey Association of Realtor Boards, taking the position that a broker or salesperson who prepared a contract for the sale of real property was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. The parties settled, and in 1983 the Supreme Court reviewed and approved the consent judgment in New Jersey State Bar Association v. New Jersey Association of Realtor Boards, 93 N.J. 470. The compromise was that licensed brokers and salespersons may prepare residential contracts on an approved form, provided the form gives each party three business days to consult counsel and disapprove. The requirement was codified in the real estate licensing regulations at N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2(g).

That history explains why the period is short, why it sits at the front of the transaction, and why the clause appears in agent-prepared contracts rather than in ones drafted by lawyers.

When does attorney review start in NJ?

The three-day period starts when the signed contract is delivered to the parties, not when it is signed. A contract signed by the buyer on Monday and by the seller on Wednesday does not start its clock until the fully executed copy reaches both sides. Delivery is commonly electronic in current practice, and the timestamp of that delivery is what the count runs from.

This matters because the period is short and the start date is where disagreements tend to arise. Keeping the delivery record is worth doing, and anyone who wants counsel involved is better off having an attorney identified before signing, because the clock does not wait for the search.

What can an attorney change during attorney review?

Almost anything in the contract, in principle, because the mechanism is disapproval followed by negotiation rather than a limited set of permitted edits. The terms that tend to move are the closing date, the inspection contingency and repair provisions, which fixtures and personal property stay with the house, the deposit terms and where the deposit is held, the financing and appraisal contingencies, and protective language the standard form does not include.

The attorney disapproves the contract in writing within the period and proposes revisions. The other side’s attorney responds. The two negotiate until they reach agreement or one side decides not to proceed. Disapproval does not end the deal by itself. It is the formal step that opens the negotiation.

How is a notice of disapproval delivered?

By fax, email, personal delivery, or overnight mail with proof of delivery. For decades the standard clause called for certified mail, telegram, or personal service, and in Conley v. Guerrero, 228 N.J. 339 (2017), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that a disapproval which reached the other side within the period by a method commonly used in the industry was valid, and set out the methods above going forward. The three-business-day period itself did not change.

What happens after attorney review in NJ?

Once the period ends without disapproval, or the parties conclude their negotiations, the contract governs the rest of the transaction. Inspections, title review, mortgage commitment, and closing all proceed under whatever the contract says about them.

That is why this stage carries more weight than its length suggests. A condition found at inspection is handled under the inspection clause the parties accepted. A title issue is handled under the title provisions they accepted. Terms that were not adjusted during review are the terms that apply at the closing table. Buchan & Cardamone represents buyers and sellers through each of these stages in its real estate practice.

What can go wrong during attorney review?

Two things, mainly.

The first is timing. A buyer or seller signs the standard contract, does not retain an attorney until after the third business day, and finds that the window to reshape the agreement has closed. The transaction then proceeds on a form contract that was never adjusted for the parties’ situation.

The second is the count. Because the period runs in business days from delivery, counting calendar days, or counting from the signing date instead, produces the wrong end date. A contract delivered late on a Thursday, for example, does not reach its third business day until the following Tuesday, and a party who assumes the weekend counted may act on the wrong deadline in either direction. When the count is not obvious, confirming the end date in writing with the other side is better than assuming it.

Buchan & Cardamone represents buyers and sellers in New Jersey real estate transactions, including during attorney review. To reach the firm’s real estate practice, use the form below.