New Jersey Driver's Licence and Plates

[Gypsyangel 11]

For my NJ friends here, I thought I'd share my experience of trying to get a driver's licence. NJ says you have to get a licence and plates within 60 days of entering, so I'm a little behind on that so I thought I'd better get it done.

I go to the MVC after reading about it on the web site. I have my '6 Points' of ID, plus social security, plus utility bill with my name on it. So, everything seems to be in order and then she sees that my I-94 and tells me that my visa has to have 60 days left on it to process the licence and it has less than 30 days. She told me I need the NOA1 or NOA2 for AOS (not sure which) in order to process it. She insisted that I woudl get a new and updated i-94 when I received that. Or maybe I just need my green card.

At the end of the day it's impossible to meet their 60 rule cuz you can't get social security that fast. At least she said, don't worry about the 60 day rule.

Administration. Argh!

Anyone else run into this?

[thetreble 19]

You need a green card in NJ to get a license.

You can scrounge up as many points as you want, but you have to have either a US passport or a green card to get a DL. They put this system in place because they had so much DL fraud in NJ. They will not give DL to visa holders.

Edited September 23, 2008 by thetreble

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

You need a green card in NJ to get a license.

You can scrounge up as many points as you want, but you have to have either a US passport or a green card to get a DL. They put this system in place because they had so much DL fraud in NJ. They will not give DL to visa holders.

wow, I did NOT know this...lol

fun fun, can't drive for sometime then...

Can I drive with my Canadian license???

[Gypsyangel 11]

It would have been nice if somewhere they said that you needed a green card. On the MVC web site, it says that an I-94 is a 4 pointer.It doesn't say anything about a green card. But, we all know reality differs depending on who you talk to, etc.

Laura, I think you're ok on your Canadian driver's licence. They didn't say anything to me today.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

It would have been nice if somewhere they said that you needed a green card. On the MVC web site, it says that an I-94 is a 4 pointer.It doesn't say anything about a green card. But, we all know reality differs depending on who you talk to, etc.

Laura, I think you're ok on your Canadian driver's licence. They didn't say anything to me today.

Thanks honey

[MissStacey 1]

It would have been nice if somewhere they said that you needed a green card. On the MVC web site, it says that an I-94 is a 4 pointer.It doesn't say anything about a green card. But, we all know reality differs depending on who you talk to, etc.

Laura, I think you're ok on your Canadian driver's licence. They didn't say anything to me today.

Thanks honey

I drove with my Canadian license for quite a while. I didn't go get my new license until after I got my SSN- (being a K3 I had to wait for EAD to get SSN). I think when I finally looked at the DMV site here, I was only supposed to be driving for 90 days on my Canadian license. That may vary from State to State.

[Mephys 2]

It would have been nice if somewhere they said that you needed a green card. On the MVC web site, it says that an I-94 is a 4 pointer.It doesn't say anything about a green card. But, we all know reality differs depending on who you talk to, etc.

Laura, I think you're ok on your Canadian driver's licence. They didn't say anything to me today.

Thanks honey

Better to check for NJ because it's state specific. In Illinois I could drive on my Canadian license for 90 days only. Some states is 1 year.

[thetreble 19]

I drove with my Canadian license here for one year and was perfecently fine since I was a "visitor" for 6 months of that year. I don't really know. To be honest with you, they are not very strict with it. As long as you have a valid license from Canada and are planning to get your NJ license asap, then that's all they care about. There is too much going on in this state to worry about little stuff like that. Their biggest concern are those who either have no insurance, are driving without a license or a stolen one.

If you are driving a Canadian car I will say that you are taking a risk (as I did) because my insurance company did not cover me in the US and I didn't feel like transferring my title or getting a compliance letter. I wasn't exactly the most efficient in all these things.

If you are driving a NJ car, remember that technically you can only be insured in NJ with a NJ license so it is best to be driving WITH your spouse in the car. I drove my husbands car alone all the time, even when I was just visiting, but I don't know if I was really supposed to be doing that or not

[thetreble 19]

Another thing to note. I have been pulled over 4 times since getting my license in December. In 7 years in Ontario I didn't have so much as a parking ticket. Please be aware of the police. We are one of the most heavily policed states in the nation and even if you are only going 10 miles over the speed limit, they will pull you over. They also often issue more than one ticket at the time you are pulled over. NJ police can be aggressive in nature, especially police personnel from towns that are more affluent. To me, this is because they have nothing else better to do as some towns in NJ have literally no crime. They are out to get you and they will! haha

[Gypsyangel 11]

I have tried to find out how long a Canadian licence is valid here and all I've been able to see is the 60 day thing, though that's impossible to do. The woman at DMV didn't seem too concerned about me driving on my Canadian licence. She was more concerned that I had NJ insurance. If you drive without insurance here you can lose your licence for a year or something like that.

I also received a letter from our insurance company warning us about the 60 days (I'm on hubby's insurance). It didn't say they wouldn't insure me, but it was a stern letter . We'll see.

About the cops, Treble, you're right. I've seen more police since I've moved here than ever before. That's another reason why taxes are so high ... every little town has its own police force, complete with a chief and everything. Even with lots of police on the road, people drive so crazy. Instead of the Garden State I call it the Tailgating state. Ha.

[thetreble 19]

By calling it the tailgating state you are being WAY to nice! I can come up with some others if you like

I didn't know you could get NJ insurance without having a NJ license. My husbands insurance company would def. not insure me while I was not a permanent resident yet. So that is good that you got yours for at least 60 days. It is going to be a risk you may have to take. It's a dangerous one but the only way around it is not to drive and that is just impossible around a lot of these parts. For a place that is so urban, we have very poor transportation unless you are going to NYC.

You also have to be careful in motor vehicle accidents. My husband has been hit before by people with no insurance. This is pretty common. It can just make it really difficult and they are often willing to leave the scene of an accident to avoid the police.

You are right about high taxes. My town has 22,000 people in it and as many or more cops than the Region of Waterloo, where I come from in Canada. The region of Waterloo has 500,000+ people.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

How about the don't ever signal when you change lanes, turn or basically do anything in your car state???

Sigh.

The people drive insane here!!

The cops are everywhere, they are bored as HECK!

Maywood is literally a mile by a mile and they have a little town paper, the police blotter is flipping HILARIOUS! "A suspicious man was seen sitting in his car on the street, when police were called to investigate they discovered he was waiting for a friend".

It goes on and on and is such a great laugh! LOL

Edited September 24, 2008 by ~Laura and Nick~

[psiprez 3]

I was told today at the NJ MVC that only a GREEN CARD will get you a driver's licence. Not a NOA 1.

[Emancipation 2]

tee hee.. that reminds me - a friend call the tip line today in our city for reporting bad drivers, and the voice mail box was full.. classic... there are so many bad drivers here.. ugh.. we could use some cops

[thetreble 19]

I was told today at the NJ MVC that only a GREEN CARD will get you a driver's licence. Not a NOA 1.

yuppers. And what you are going to find that every one will tell you something different. It's called bad customer service. No one knows what they are talking about around here. At most of the DMVs the employees wear their street clothes and look like an absolute mess. These are state employees.