MVC Issues Update As 2 Centers Shut, 17 Reach Capacity Amid COVID

NEW JERSEY – New Jersey issued new updates on driver's license and Motor Vehicle Commission services on Wednesday now that two service centers have temporarily closed and others are reaching capacity on a daily basis. Customers and lawmakers are also continuing to complain about hours-long delays amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Newark Regional/Licensing Center and North Bergen Licensing Center are currently closed because of employees testing positive for COVID-19 at each location, said William Connolly, an MVC spokesman.

The MVC is now offering a "Capacity Tracker" to customers that allows them to see which agencies have reached their workload limit for the day. On Wednesday, 17 centers had reached capacity by 12:30 p.m.:

• Bakers Basin
• Bayonne
• Cherry Hill
• Delanco
• East Orange
• Eatontown
• Edison
• Hazlet
• Lodi
• Newton
• Paterson
• Rahway
• Springfield
• Trenton
• Wallington
• Washington (Warren County)
• Wayne

No centers had reached capacity as of 9 a.m. on Thursday.

Connolly provided updates on what the MVC is doing to deal with the continued influx of customer traffic, and how that problem was compounded by the fact that 19 agencies were not able to assist customers on Wednesday afternoon.

Here is what the MVC is doing and recommending:

• At all but a few MVC Centers, the time that you can arrive and be ticketed for service has gotten later in the day. The MVC tickets customers upon opening at 8 a.m. and now takes their cell number. "They can then leave the MVC location and we will text them when it is time to return to the MVC for service," he said.
• Since the MVC is consistently ticketing customers who arrive after 8 a.m., customers do not need to arrive significantly earlier for service or camp out overnight.
• Most license renewals can now be completed online at NJMVC.gov. This is the case even if customers received a renewal notice saying they must visit an agency to renew, since many renewal notices were mailed prior to a change in the law. Read more: Gov. Murphy Signs 2 Laws To Get NJ Drivers Out Of Long MVC Lines
• For drivers 65 and over, the change in the law means they never have to set foot in an agency again to renew a license, Connolly said. The last photo they took at the MVC remains valid forever.
• The MVC also has set aside time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 2 to 4 p.m., exclusively for customers 65 years and older to process new/used car registrations at all MVC Vehicle Centers. Ticketing begins at 2 p.m., so eligible customers do not need to arrive earlier.
• Customers need to visit an MVC Center to conduct only a few transactions that cannot be completed online at NJMVC.gov or by mail.
• At the MVC's "Vehicle Centers," visits are necessary primarily for registration/title transfers for private vehicle sales, which have significantly increased during the COVID-19 crisis.
• At "Licensing Centers," it’s primarily for first-time licenses, out-of-state transfers, and those with CDLs and temporary visa restricted (TVR) licenses.
• You can find out which agencies are considered "licensing" or "vehicle" centers by clicking here.
• The MVC continues to urge customers to visit NJMVC.gov to complete transactions online, find nearby MVC facilities, and check the "Capacity Tracker" before going.

"We are making continual progress serving New Jersey's drivers. In fact, our overall transaction totals are higher this year than last," Connolly said. "We’re now averaging 270,000 transactions per week, compared to 240,000 per week last year. And wait times for inspections, road tests, and driver knowledge tests are all down to pre-COVID levels."

At the Newark Regional/Licensing Center, the MVC confirmed that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19 after hours on Thursday.

The Newark Regional/Licensing Center was closed all day on Friday. The employee who tested positive was last in the agency on Thursday, Connolly said.

The MVC plans to reopen the Newark Regional/Licensing Center on Friday, Oct. 16.

At the North Bergen Licensing Center, the MVC confirmed that an employee had tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and closed the center upon confirmation, Connolly said.

The employee who tested positive was last in the agency on Monday.

Both centers have been cleaned in accordance with health protocols and will remain closed until contact tracers have cleared a sufficient number of employees to reopen or any required quarantine is complete, he said.

The MVC plans to reopen the North Bergen Licensing Center on Tuesday, October 20.