New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC or simply MVC) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The equivalent of the department of motor vehicles in other states, it is responsible for titling, registering and inspecting automobiles, and issuing driver's licenses. The MVC is composed of eight members, including the Chief Administrator.

Sample of a current New Jersey license plate
Agency overview
Formed2003
Preceding agency
  • New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles
JurisdictionNew Jersey
Headquarters225 E. State Street, Trenton, New Jersey
Employees1,449 [1]
Annual budget$476,780,000[1]
Agency executive
Parent agencyState of New Jersey
Websitewww.nj.gov/mvc

Organization

The MVC is composed of eight members, four of whom are appointed by the Governor. Three cabinet members also serve on the MVC on an ex officio basis: the New Jersey Attorney General, the State Treasurer and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.[2] The eighth position is reserved for the Chief Administrator, a non-voting member, who also serves as the Chair of the MVC.

Amy Mallet, Diane Legreide, Walter S. Orcutt and Stephen S. Scaturro are the gubernatorial appointments. On February 20, 2018, Brenda Sue Fulton was nominated to the position of Chief Administrator of the MVC by Governor Phil Murphy. Fulton, a former U.S. Army Captain, is the 23rd individual to lead the organization in its more than 100 years of existence, as well as the first openly gay Cabinet member in New Jersey history.[3]

There are approximately 2,400 MVC employees at 71 locations throughout the state.

History

Following the passage of the Motor Vehicle Security & Customer Service Act of 2003, the former New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles (NJDMV or simply the DMV) was renamed as the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. The new agency underwent a number of major overhauls in the areas of security and service, including the implementation of a more secure licensing process and the digital driver license and enhanced customer service training. Like most other DMVs, the former New Jersey DMV had a notorious reputation for customer service.

Some of the major accomplishments in recent years have been a dramatic reduction of customer wait times, expansion of online services, decentralization of various services, modernization of the physical and technological infrastructure, enhancement of security measures and introduction of mandatory customer service training for employees.

Timeline of some notable MVC accomplishments
  • May 2003 - The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is formed, replacing the DMV notorious for poor customer service.
  • January 2004 - The MVC issues the state's first, security-enhanced Digital Driver License (DDL).
  • January 2004 - The MVC reinstitutes Saturday hours of service.
  • August 2004 - The MVC begins On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) vehicle testing.
  • May 2005 - The MVC opens the state's first Model Agency in the City of Camden.
  • September 2007 - The MVC begins accepting credit card payments for motor vehicle transactions.
  • March 2008 - The MVC begins offering approved online defensive driving courses.
  • January 2009 - The MVC opens the state's first Model Agency which was built from the ground up on state-owned land in Freehold Township.
  • July 2010 - The MVC introduces more convenient evening service hours at its agencies until 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays.
  • August 2010 - The MVC made changes to the New Jersey Vehicle Inspection Program eliminating the mechanical defects (safety) portion of the inspection process for passenger vehicles saving the state more than $11 million annually, joining 28 other states and the District of Columbia.[4]
  • October 2010 - The MVC begins the sale of sports-themed license plates featuring the sports of NASCAR, baseball, football, basketball and hockey.[5]
  • September 2019 - To comply with DHS enforcement,[6] the MVC began implementation of REAL ID, a federal requirement for state driver licenses mandated by the Real ID Act of 2005. The agency significantly expanded online services, hired more staff, and added a new “take-a-ticket” queuing system to prepare for the transition.[7]
  • November 2020 - The MVC rolls out a new license design with modern security features, issued centrally from a secure production facility.[8]

Administrative License Suspensions

The MVC has the authority under N.J.S.A. Title 39 to suspend or revoke a driver's license and/or registration in various circumstances related to, or unrelated to, judicial proceedings. Possible reasons where a driver could received a Notice of Scheduled Suspension arising as a direct result of administrative action include:

  • Persistent Violator Suspensions
  • Physical or Mental Disqualification
  • Abandonment of a Motor Vehicle on a Public Highway
  • Traffic Violations or Accidents Resulting in a Death or Serious Bodily Injury
  • Leaving the Scene of an Accident involving a Fatality or Serious Injury
  • Accumulating Three (3) or More Suspensions
  • Misstatement of Fact on a Motor Vehicle Application
  • Failure to Pay Motor Vehicle Surcharges
  • Moving Violations During a Period of Suspension (Unticketed Driving While Suspended Instances)
  • Violation of License Probation or Warning Period Following a Suspension[9]

License Suspension Hearings

The MVC will grant afford those with a scheduled suspension to request a suspension hearing by providing the MVC in writing prior to the date of proposed suspension. Upon requesting a hearing, the MVC will review the request, and determine if the driver has presented facts sufficient to warrant granting a hearing. If the MVC determines that no hearing will be granted, the driver's license will be suspended on the date indicated on the Notice of Scheduled Suspension. If the MVC decides to grant the hearing, a hearing date will be assigned by the MVC and sent to the driver by mail, and the scheduled suspension will be stayed until the hearing can be completed.[10]

The driver will need to attend a hearing with an administrative law judge at the 120 S Stockton St, Trenton, NJ 08611, regional location. The hearing affords the driver to present facts and mitigating circumstances to reduce of terminate the proposed suspension term. At the conclusion of the hearing, the administrative law judge will render a decision as to the new term of suspension, and this suspension will go into effect within the next 14 days.[11]

Decisions by the MVC regarding the granting of a hearing, as well as the revised terms of suspension following a hearing, are appealable to the State of New Jersey Appellate Division.

See also

References
  1. 2019 MVC Annual Report, accessed December 1, 2020
  2. Commission profile , New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Accessed August 1, 2007.
  3. "Chief Administrator". New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  4. Robert Sciarrino/The Star-Ledger/Court Pool. "N.J. will drop requirements for mechanical inspections of cars to save $11M yearly". NJ.com. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  5. "State of New Jersey - Motor Vehicle Commission". State.nj.us. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-03-06.
  6. "New Jersey". Department of Homeland Security. 2016-10-14. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  7. "New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission". www.state.nj.us. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  8. "New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission". www.state.nj.us. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  9. Administrative License Suspension, accessed July 15, 2013.
  10. Request a Suspension Hearing to Reduce Your MVC License Suspension, accessed July 15, 2013.
  11. "What Happens at a MVC Suspension Hearing?", accessed July 15, 2013.
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