NJ MVC Update: All Agencies Open, Progress Continues Amid COVID

NEW JERSEY — The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission says it's making progress now that the agency continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Starting Tuesday, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission will allow applicants without a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to submit a sworn affidavit to meet the requirements for a standard NJ driver license or non-driver ID card.

As of Tuesday, every MVC location in New Jersey will be open for business as the agency has made tremendous progress in getting employees vaccinated, according to MVC spokesperson William Connolly.

“Our progress with vaccinations and the reduced threat of the coronavirus in New Jersey have dramatically reduced the need to quarantine COVID-exposed employees and close agencies when we don’t have enough staff to safely operate,” Connolly said.

“While 9 of our 39 agencies have passed the fully-vaccinated date, the transition to the Moderna vaccine means that a second shot is still pending for the rest. All agencies have completed the first round of Moderna shots.”

Connolly said less frequent closings mean the MVC can better serve customers who must visit agencies in person, such as new drivers.

For much of the last year, MVC agencies have been closed to the public as employees tested positive for the coronavirus. While they were closed, the agencies moved most services and transactions online, and more than 75 percent of MVC transactions can be conducted online at NJMVC.gov.

This includes over 85 percent of license and registration renewals. Very few services and transactions require an in-person appointment.

Now that things are beginning to open up, those agencies are seeing increased traffic. In two weeks, the MVC has processed nearly 300,000 transactions a week, Connolly said. Before the pandemic, MVC was processing 225,000 transactions a week.

“Our agencies are experiencing high demand because the number of people eligible for driver licenses has increased and because customers continue to make appointments for transactions that can be completed online, which takes appointments away from those who must visit in-person and leads to unnecessary in-person visits, clogging the system for everyone,” Connolly said.

With the changes to the driver's license application requirements, the instructions and format for the affidavit and updated requirements for a standard driver license or non-driver ID card will be posted to their respective links on the MVC website.

“Those applying for a standard driver license still need to use ‘6 Points of ID’ to prove their identity and offer proof of NJ residency,” said Sue Fulton, MVC chief administrator. “But beginning June 1, applicants who do not have a Social Security number or ITIN can provide an affidavit to meet that requirement.”

The MVC successfully launched status-neutral licensing at the beginning of May. Those interested in being licensed without regard to immigration status are strongly encouraged to visit the MVC’s First Driver License/ID webpage to learn more about getting a driver license in New Jersey.

The resources at the webpage – the NJ Driver Manual, FAQs, “6 Points of ID” flyers, and explanatory videos – are currently available in English and Spanish, with more languages to come. Customers also can use the integrated Google Translate software on NJMVC.gov to translate the website into many different languages.

Proposed legislation in the statehouse could cut down on the number of in-person interactions.

An Assembly bill that would allow diplomatic visa holders to renew driver’s licenses online or by mail cleared the Assembly Transportation Committee on May 12. It awaits consideration from the full Assembly.

Current law requires visa holders to renew basic driver’s licenses, motorcycle licenses and non-driver ID cards in person.

Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, R-Essex/Morris/Passaic, the sponsor of the bill, believes they should have the option to renew by mail or online, as long as they are eligible to use a stored photograph with the MVC.

She and Transportation Committee Chairman Daniel R. Benson, D-Mercer, worked on the bill together at the request of representatives from the United Nations, DeCroce said.

International organization workers and their immediate families stay in the U.S. under G-4 visas. These nonimmigrant visas are valid for as long as the primary visa holder is employed by their international organization.

Visa holders and their families initially applying for licenses or IDs must provide the same 6-point proof of identification as all other residents, although they do not surrender their foreign driver’s licenses.

They have 60 days from the time they move to New Jersey to obtain a license or ID. Those basic licenses and IDs are valid for four years, and most can be renewed online or by mail.

The bill also allows MVC to use stored photos for ID card renewals for persons authorized to be in the country “for a period of time shorter than the standard periods of identification cards.”

It is one of three pieces of legislation concerning the MVC that is currently moving through the statehouse. The others were:

• Legislation to allow drivers to display electronic proof of vehicle registration when prompted. The measure also would allow the MVC to provide an electronic copy of vehicle registration upon renewal. The electronic copy from MVC or a picture of the registration on an electronic device would qualify as proof of registration. It was approved 76-0 by the full Assembly on May 20; and
• Legislation requiring the MVC to provide all reasonable accommodations to a person with a disability when they take a written exam or knowledge test needed to receive a driver’s license or permit. It passed the Transportation Committee on May 14.

To handle increased in-person interactions, the MVC is also increasing capacity, including adding new cameras for the issuance of probationary licenses at several of their road test sites. This way, drivers who pass their road test can get their new license without a separate trip to a Licensing Center.

The actions come after State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, blasted the Murphy Administration for its most recent closing, in Eatontown, after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus.

“The fact that we are still somehow closing MVC locations for two weeks for quarantining and ‘deep cleaning’ after one employee tests positive is absolutely outrageous,” O’Scanlon said. “Nowhere is still observing such heavy-handed, unscientific policies . . . not Home Depot, not supermarkets, not car dealerships, not doctors’ offices, not restaurants . . . no one. And none of these entities is suffering any ill health impact.”