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Office of the Ocean County Clerk

Greetings From The Clerk

As Ocean County Clerk I am responsible for the administration of a broad range of services offered by the County Clerk's Office. As you browse further you will see specific information detailing all of our services. If you have any questions or comments please check our Contact Us page.

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About The Clerk Scott M. Colabella

Ocean Conty Clerk Scott Colabella As one of Ocean County's Constitutional Officers, Scott M. Colabella is responsible for the administration of a broad range of services offered by the County Clerk's Office including the supervision of the filing and recording of all documents affecting real estate ownership/transfer throughout Ocean County, assisting residents in obtaining Passports for foreign travel and the administration of all elections within the County.

Mr. Colabella served as Ocean County Deputy Clerk for seven years before his election in 2010 as County Clerk. He began his public service in 1982 as an Assistant to Governor Thomas H. Kean. From 1982 to 1986 Mr. Colabella served as Deputy Director and later Acting Director of the Governor's Office of Constituent Relations. In 1986 he was appointed by the Governor as a Special Assistant to the Director of the State Division of Motor Vehicles. From 1989 to 1993 he served as Executive Director of the Ocean County Republican Organization. Mr. Colabella was appointed as Executive Assistant to Ocean County Clerk M. Dean Haines in 1993 and served in that position for nearly eleven years until his appointment as Deputy County Clerk on January 1, 2004.

County Clerk Colabella graduated from Rider University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. He is a member of the Constitutional Officers Association (COANJ), where he has served as Section Chief of the County Clerks and Registers, Secretary, Vice President and now President. He is a former County Committeeman. In 1981, he served as an intern in the Washington Congressional Office of Hon. Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ District 4)

In 2006 the Constitutional Officers Association of New Jersey (COANJ), named Colabella as the recipient of the Rita M. Rosenberg Memorial Award for his past and future years of dedicated service and hard work to advance the ideals, principles and philosophy of COANJ. The League of Women Voters of New Jersey in 2013 presented County Clerk Colabella a Hurricane Heroes Award for his efforts to make it possible for New Jersey citizens to exercise their right to vote in the 2012 General Election in the face of Hurricane Sandy's devastating aftermath.

Mr. Colabella is a resident of the Borough of Barnegat Light on Long Beach Island where he serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Northlight Harbor Condominium Association. He is the son of the late Alfred V. and Betty M. Colabella. He has one sister, Edith Colabella-Kolodziej and two brothers, Robert, and the late Alfred V. III, one brother-in-law and one sister-in-law, seven nephews, six nieces, seven great-nephews and six great nieces.