The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is accommodating motorists while the commission's public offices are shut down during the coronavirus pandemic — a closing scheduled until March 30 but likely to last longer.
All licenses and non-driver ID's expiring between March 1 and May 31 have been extended for two months, the commission's Chief Administrator, Sue Fulton, told 70and73.com in a Monday telephone interview.
She said the commission has issued a statewide advisory to law enforcement so motorists aren't ticketed for having expired licenses, registrations or inspection stickers.
Motorists can complete some types of paperwork online at the Motor Vehicle Commisson site. Renewals, replacements and changes of address can be done online and employees who are working will send the new documentation to motorists, she said.
Fulton said at this point there are no delays in sending out new licenses. Motorists renewing online can print out a PDF showing the license is renewed and the license itself will go out in a week to 10 days, she said.
Many New Jerseyeans also had scheduled now-cancelled appointments to secure their REAL ID. When appointments are available online, they can reschedule.
Or, Fulton said, they can make a copy of their appointment cancellation email from the MVC and show up at their local motor vehicle office without an appointment after the local agencies open again.
Sue Fulton, chief administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission since 2018.
Among state agencies, the shutdown has been a particular headache for the MVC because it is the one state department that most adult state residents have some contact with on a regular basis.
"We're the face of state government. Most people don't encounter state government unless they're renewing their license or registration," Fulton said.
New Jersey had fallen behind other states in issuing the REAL ID, which requires several forms of documentation and will be used beginning October 1 to get through TSA security at airports. Standard driver licenses no longer will be accepted by the TSA, although a valid passport can be used instead of a REAL ID. The REAL ID also is no substitute for the passport when leaving or entering the country.
Governors and members of Congress have urged the Department of Homeland Security to postpone the October 1 deadline so licensing agencies can catch up with issuing REAL ID licenses after the coronavirus shutdown. "The closer we get to the October 2020 deadline, the longer the lines will be," Fulton said.
Fulton said she has emphasized customer service for the commission's 2,200 employees and reduced wait times at local agencies since she got the top MVC job in 2018.Â
The biggest surprise for the Asbury Park resident after taking over the commission was to learn how far behind the state was in issuing the REAL ID, she said.
New document scanners had been purchased by the commission's previous administration for every MVC office. However, the scanners couldn't process current passports because the document is too thick and, in addition, software didn't account for renewals or replacements, Fulton explained. Scanners were tested at commission headquarters but they later failed in the field because computers there didn't have enough memory to run the programs, she added.
Fulton, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point who is still active with the academy and military affairs, said she added more than 300 employees to the front line — customer-facing at the MVC offices. Most online services are new in the last year. And wait and transaction times in the field offices were not tracked in the past, but now are being monitored closely.Â
Wait time in the offices has been cut, but processing REAL ID applications takes more time than other business and has slowed the system, she said. Commission workers must scan in and save a resident's documentation used to secure a REAL ID, compared to simply checking documentation for a standard license.
Fulton encouraged New Jerseyans to periodically visit the MVC's website for updates and also sign up for the MVC's social media postings on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
"Customer service has been paramount to us," she said.
