New Jersey · Handbook chapter 1 · 6 min read

How New Jersey licenses work: the basic laws, license types and fees, 6 Points of ID, the three Graduated Driver License routes, permit and probationary license restrictions, and the red GDL decals.

Why this chapter matters

New Jersey's Graduated Driver License (GDL) program is full of numbers the knowledge test likes to ask about: 16, 17, 18, 21, six months, 50 hours, 11:01 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and two red decals. Learn them once and you will pick up several easy marks.

Laws every motorist must know

• When you drive you must carry a valid license, probationary license or validated permit, plus the vehicle's insurance and registration cards.
• A driver with a validated permit must always have a properly licensed driver with them.
• Report a change of address to the MVC within one week of moving, and a legal name change within two weeks.
• If you move to New Jersey with a valid out-of-state license, apply for a New Jersey license within 60 days (30 days for a CDL) or before the old license expires, whichever comes first.
• Anyone who has never held a license must go through the GDL program.
• Applicants under 18 need a consent form signed by a parent or guardian.
• GDL drivers under 21 must show two red reflective GDL decals on the vehicle's license plates.

License types and fees

Most licenses last four years. Drivers under 21 get a vertical-format license. Licenses are now made at a central facility and mailed within about 30 days; you leave the counter with a temporary document valid for 30 days. Fees can change, so check the MVC website before you go.

Proving who you are: 6 Points of ID

For a standard license you need documents worth at least 6 points, including at least one primary and one secondary document, plus one proof of New Jersey address and your Social Security number (or ITIN, or a signed affidavit if you have neither).

For a REAL ID the formula is 2 + 1 + 6: two proofs of address, one proof of your full Social Security number and 6 points of ID.

Documents must be originals or certified copies, unlaminated and in English (or with a certified translation). If your name has changed, bring the legal proof that links the old and new names.

The Graduated Driver License program

GDL brings in driving privileges in stages and sets 18 as the minimum age for an unrestricted basic license. Breaking a GDL restriction can bring a $100 fine or a suspension. There are three routes.

Option A: the early bird road (from 16)

1. Special learner permit. You must be at least 16, have parent or guardian consent and be enrolled in an approved behind-the-wheel course through a high school or a licensed driving school. The instructor buys the permit. You pass the knowledge and vision tests.
2. The course is six hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in a dual-controlled vehicle. The permit is validated only after the course is complete.
3. Supervised driving for at least six months, with at least 50 hours of practice including 10 in darkness.
4. Probationary license once you are at least 17 and pass the road test.
5. Basic license at 18 after one year of unsupervised driving.

Option B: the young adult road (17 to 20)

You buy an examination permit at 17 or older; no course or instructor is needed. The same six months, 50 hours and 10 hours of darkness apply, then the road test, a year on a probationary license and the basic license at 18 or older.

Option C: the adult road (21 and older)

An examination permit, at least three months of supervised driving, the road test, then one year of unsupervised driving before the basic license. The 50-hour certification is required if you got the permit before turning 21.

A parent, guardian or supervising driver fills in the Certification of Supervised Driving (BA-CSD), which you show when you are licensed. Once you have your permit you have two years to finish the steps, or you need a new permit.

Permit restrictions

A dependent is your own child, not a brother or sister.

Probationary license restrictions

You drive unsupervised for at least one year. If you are under 21: no driving from 11:01 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., dependents plus one other passenger unless a parent or guardian is with you, no phones or electronic devices of any kind, seat belts for everyone and decals on the plates. Drivers 21 and over are free of the hours, passenger and decal limits but still may not use phones.

Exemptions to the night limit are allowed for work or religion, if you carry a signed certification on official letterhead with the official's name, title, address and phone number.

GDL decals

Two removable red reflective decals go on the top left corner of the front and rear license plates of any vehicle a GDL driver under 21 operates. The pair costs $4 when the permit is issued; extra pairs cost $4 at any Licensing Center.

Out-of-state and other permits

• Newcomers must buy an examination permit within 60 days of becoming residents. A valid, non-probationary license from another state usually means only the vision test; under-18 newcomers join the GDL program.
• A visitor with a valid foreign license may drive for up to one year. An International Driving Permit translates the license but never replaces it.
• A non-driver ID is available from age 14. At 14 you can also join the organ donor registry and the Next-of-Kin Registry, which police use to contact family after a serious crash.