Personal jurisdiction is the authority a court has to make legally enforceable orders related to a person or entity and the property of the person or entity, and usually arises when a person has been sued in a lawsuit. For a court to have personal jurisdiction, the person or entity generally (1) must be a resident of the state in which the court is located; (2) as a nonresident, must have initiated sufficient minimum contacts with the state in which the lawsuit is filed; or (3) must have agreed to be governed by the laws of the state (in a contract or website terms) in which the lawsuit is filed.

In New Jersey, personal jurisdiction refers to the power of a New Jersey court to bring a person or entity into its legal process and to make decisions that are binding upon them. For a New Jersey court to establish personal jurisdiction, the defendant must have a connection to the state that is recognized by law as sufficient. This can be established if the defendant is a resident of New Jersey or if the nonresident defendant has sufficient minimum contacts with the state, such as conducting business, owning property, or committing a tort within New Jersey. Additionally, a court in New Jersey may claim personal jurisdiction over a party that has consented to it, often through a contractual agreement or by accepting the terms of service on a website that includes a jurisdiction clause specifying New Jersey law. The state's jurisdictional statutes and the Due Process Clause of the U.S. Constitution guide the determination of whether personal jurisdiction is appropriate in a given case.