A New Jersey DNR form is a written do not resuscitate (DNR) order. It says that no resuscitative attempts should be made if a person's heart or breathing stops. Under N.J.S.A. 26:2H-68(a), the attending physician may issue the order, consistent with the terms of an advance directive.[1.2] FormsPal's template has signature lines for the patient or surrogate and the physician, and you can create it online or download the PDF.
Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current New Jersey law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.
Build Your Document
Answer a few simple questions to make your document in minutes
Save and Print
Save progress and finish on any device, download and print anytime
Sign and Use
Your valid, lawyer-approved document is ready
A New Jersey DNR order must be in writing. Under N.J.S.A. 26:2H-68, the order must be entered in writing in the patient's medical records before implementation of the order.[1.1] The attending physician may issue it, consistent with the terms of an advance directive and the provisions of the act.[1.2]
A do not resuscitate order shall be entered in writing in the patient's medical records prior to implementation of the order.
The act also keeps older authority in place. Nothing in the act impairs any existing legal authority to issue a do not resuscitate order when the patient has not executed an advance directive.[2]
N.J.S.A. 26:2H-55 defines a do not resuscitate order as a physician's written order not to attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation if the patient suffers a cardiac or respiratory arrest.[3.1]
Create your DNR form online with the builder above, or download the printable NJ DNR form as a PDF and fill it in by hand. To type into the PDF instead of writing on a printout, use our online PDF editor or its fill-out tool. The template has four parts, and each step below follows one of them in the form's order.
The screenshots under each step show the FormsPal New Jersey DNR order template filled with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and amounts are examples only.
The form says that the signed document should be prominently displayed and readily available to emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. A DNR form only helps if the people around the patient know it exists and can find it. The steps below are common practice, not New Jersey legal requirements.
A DNR order covers one decision. It says whether resuscitation is attempted if the heart or breathing stops. A living will is a separate document where people record wider wishes about health care near the end of life. Some people keep both, and each is signed on its own.
To record those wider wishes, see our New Jersey living will form. Living in more than one state? Browse our printable DNR forms for every state.
The answers below come from the New Jersey act cited on this page. Each one restates what the statute says and carries the matching source marker, so you can check the wording against the official text yourself.
Three rules come from the New Jersey act.
The order itself. A do not resuscitate order must be entered in writing in the patient's medical records before implementation of the order.[1.1]
Consistent with the terms of an advance directive and the provisions of the act, the attending physician may issue a do not resuscitate order.[1.2]
The act does not impair any existing legal authority to issue a DNR order when the patient has not executed an advance directive.[2] A physician can explain how that applies to a particular patient.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
Unless noted otherwise, the sources below are from the New Jersey Statutes Annotated.
