State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission

I was dreading walking into the DMV. Long waits can raise your blood pressure. Luckily I only waited 35 minutes which is not bad considering the average wait is an hour. Well I went in at 2pm and the the guy at the front desk told me to go to line 2. I stood right behind 2 people and thought this isn’t that bad.
To my surprise this guy steps in front of the line and says, «One of tellers told me to come back and go straight to the front of the line, do you guys mind. Everybody just stared at him. He tried to crack some jokes afterwards but he got silence in return. Then the guy goes to the desk and starts arguing with the attendant. I mean come on. Well you know what happens next? He got booted.
Well it was my turn now. I walked up to the same lady who ejected the guy. She told me, «We try so hard to get you in and out, no need to take it personal» I replied you are totally right. She signed my paperwork and done. Very efficient. In general all the lines were moving pretty quickly maybe because nobody was picking a fight.
Word of advice, just take a deep breath when you come in.

The DMV is, without a doubt, the most poorly run organization in the state. No one cares or has any concern. It was good during Governor McGreevey’s term, but now it’s horrible.

They seem to have reorganized the process flow at this mvc so it’s a lot more efficient than 2 years ago.

Renewed my license and the wait wasnt that long and the man who took my picture was really nice I guess I went on a good day because I have been there before so I know the wait can be long.

I recently moved back to NJ and dreaded visiting the DMV, which was terrible the last time I went 15 years ago. Bad news: it’s still terrible now.
For all of you with Stockholm syndrome, other states let you make appointments and waltz on in to get served. Other states don’t have lines going literally outside the building.
My first time at this DMV, I got there at 10:30 AM on a Saturday, waited through the outside line and two inside lines, and they shut the office down when I was about to get my license at 1 PM.
My second time at the DMV, I took the day off and got through the lines at a random weekday hour with relatively little headache. Here’s the thing: it’s not impressive to be able to provide the bare minimum service when there are very few customers. And not everyone can just take days off to go to the DMV.
Finally I need to get my car registered (a process that involved actual snail mail somehow), so I took off today to beat the rush. But apparently Good Friday is a Good Enough reason to shut the DMV down for this backwards-​ass state government. So I’m looking forward to showing up at 7 AM tomorrow to ensure that I actually manage to get my car registered.

Have some perspective.
Better than DMVs past.
Efficient, kind of?

Line wasn’t too bad for a Saturday. Friendly staff. Overall took about 45 to transfer out of state license.

Went on a Wednesday morning to change my NYC drivers license into an NJ one, arrived at 8:45 am, was out by 9:10!

That’s right! A 4 star review for the JC DMV. Keep calm people, and read on–
On a Thursday morning, I reluctantly dragged myself to the DMV, fully anticipating the line long, and workers sloth-​like, I even brought my phone charger just in case. At 98% battery life, I was done and out the door. WHAT?! YUP
For once, competent government job holders greeted me kindly and did their job perfectly. I walked in, followed the line to the receptionist, who directed everyone to what forms to fill out, and what line to get in based on their needs. Side note: I found the ball-​pen with their cone head (rolled up paper taped to each pen) quite amusing, but later realized there is reason for this madness — easier to spot pens so they didn’t get lost all the time (brilliant and economical).
Tip: Read up on the required documents before going, bring extra documentation if you are not sure. It is always better to bring more than less. Bring the original if you can. You would hate to be told to go home due to inadequate documentation support, despite how pleasant this DMV is.

The photos speak for themselves. This place is a breeze! I showed up at 7:15 (they open at 8am) and there was NO ONE in line. So I went to get breakfast. I can back at 7:50 and there were about 20 people in line (in New York, you show up at 5am and the line is around the block already…)
The first stop is the front desk to get the right paperwork. But if you already have your paperwork (if they mailed it to you as a renewal reminder or if you came by a previous day to pick it up) you walk by 90% of the people and get in line behind maybe 3 people in either the license line on the left or the vehicle line on the right. To get through that line takes about 2 minutes.
I was there for both a new license and new plates/​registration/​title and I was out by 8:45.
Best DMVDMV experience I’ve ever had (comparing to Brooklyn and MA). Friendly, smiling staff, too.

I visited to get my learner permit as Bayonne Office was closed due to flood but this location only provide state ID’s and nothing more. I had to visit Bayonne office again to get it completed.
My Experience was good. People seem to be very cooperative and helpful but it was crowded and took lot of time. Second counter lady was very helpful and gave me why certain document s she is not considering and also responded to all of my questions and explained on next steps.
I took one star as it too crowded and I had to stay outside for almost 30 mins.

Spent only 2 minutes here at a Friday 3:30p getting a vehicle registration renewal, wow, it was key that only registration renewals had its own line #9, all others were in 1 other line thus I was just fortunate. Very convenient location by a 4 minute walk from Journal Square’s corner. Friendly staff all around, appreciated given my experience at other MVC locations. Clean, spacious, and easy-​to-​navigate.

Parking is awful, take the bus, the train, a cab, a bicycle, anything but driving. The lot charges a ridiculous amount and street parking is non-​existent.
The lines are actually not bad, because I think no one can get here. Go early, avoid a Friday, avoid the end of the month or beginning of the month, and you should be fine.
They don’t do inspections.

The DMV wasn’t so bad. Did I really just say that?
Seems as if most others don’t feel the same way, but I had a decent experience here. I was in and out in 30 minutes with a new license in hand and everyone was friendly and greeted me with a smile. I also came in on a weekday at around 10 am, so that probably contributed to the short wait. I’m sure if I came in on a weekend it would be a mad house, but that’s as expected with any DMV!
My only gripe is that it’s not the cleanest place on the inside, but being that I only need to come in once every four years for a license renewal I can handle it. Oh, and that I look absolutely awful in my new photo**
**How come you can’t smile with your teeth anymore in license pictures? The closed mouth smile is not a good look for some New Jersey!

So where I come from in California, you’re able to make appointments and be in and out in 20 minutes. I didnt have that option here. Boo.
SO — I read the god-​awful reviews here to prepare and braced myself. I had my six-​points of identification (plus more) and got there at 730am on a Saturday. There were already a dozen people in line — sheesh! The doors opened more or less around 8am. You go to the desk and they give you forms (I wish you could have gotten them online to complete in advance — because i was changing an out-​of-​state license, there was no option to pre-​print the forms that I saw). They instructed you to fully complete the forms before getting into the 2^nd line, but people didnt do that, so even if you were ahead of people while waiting, you may have ended up behind more people later on because you wrote slow.
The first person I encoutered with my forms had the personality of a paper plate. Like… soggy. I tried to make small talk and thank him for all this help. Nothing. Not a smile. No «youre welcome». Whatever. Its the DMV. you know what youre getting yourself into. I was given a random number (#95 — but i was like the 14^th person to get helped?!). The number was called about 15 – 20 mins later, where I got to be assisted by this awesome Cuban guy with piercing blue eyes. He was humming along with the music and making jokes with his colleagues… WAY better. He was the slowest (go figure) — but we were joking and laughing so I didnt mind the extra few minutes.
I then got the pleasure of waiting again — the third person to help me was a lovely lady (a bit rough whom was having a self-​proclaimed «really bad morning») but she still joked it up and had that true NJ edge to her. I liked it, even though its not my style. NJ is weird. She was the one that I was able to get my license from — photo was taken, payment was made, and in 5 minutes, I had the actual card in my hand!
I do appreciate that you get your license immediately — in California, you get a piece of paper and then have to wait 2 weeks for your actual license to come in the mail.
Tips:
*be nice to everyone
*come early, especially on a saturday
*its not like DMV’s that I come from with one line and numbers and 1 window… you have a maze to go through and half a dozen people to interact with… Observe the flow before you so you can seamlessly maneuver it.
*Research online what you need. If you need ID verification, bring back up options including bank statements and credit cards with your address on it).
*Smile in your photo. I thought you couldnt so my fiancé thinks it looks like a mug shot.

Here is my experience during this Saturday (⁸⁄₁₅) in Jersey City DMV (438 Summit Ave). Before I start to describe my experience, I would like to thank for providing services during Saturday. The security guards and the two ladies in the reception are very nice. However, the reception young men (sitting furthest to the entrance) was very rude and inconsiderate during the service with me.
I brought my 6-​points proof of documents with me to transfer my driver license to NJ. The young men said he also need my bank statement within 60 days. This information is not listed online (
)! If it is necessary, please make sure it is online and is clear.
He gave me a brochure which says «you must also present proof of address, which may be but is not limited to, one of these». I showed him two recent mails (one is a university mail with my current address, one is BOA mail with my current address, all within 60 days), but he insisted my bank statement mail which I don’t think it necessary according the brochure.
When I asked him if nearby has BOA or any printing places, he seemed to be not familiar with that area (I am sure many people have asked this question before, it is hard to believe that he did not know). So in hot summer days, I ran around using 4G’s help to find a printing place. After 30min I am back with my BOA statement, he said «I told you to come back earlier, you may not be serviced since here closes at 1pm.»
He then did some entry, and said: «I can’t find your information online and you have to be back after 3 days when your info is online available.» I was really surprised since I have been in this country for 5 years with my PhD earned! I asked him if this often happens to immigrants, he said yes. My question is, if he knows it often happens, why can’t him check my information first and ask me to go back next time when my info is online and bring my BOA statement at that time? Instead of doing that, he just watched me in and out.
After I got back home around 20 min later, I did my SAVE Case Check online. It shows «complete»! My information is there!
Today’s experience is unpleasant. The stuff served me shows that, first, he was not familiar with the service and the nearby facilities; second, he did not care about the customers. In addition, NJ DMV website may need to provide more valid information if bank statement or only certain proof of address is accepted to transfer Driver License from other state.
The service I received today does not deserve the tax and this service fee I pay!

Roseann at Line 2, spectacularly efficient for my registration. Lines were very long, though, and the efficiency was low compared with the NY DMVs.
Line ends up long on the weekend, open 8 – 1 on Saturday.

I can’t say that it was a bad experience, rather, the people are actually EXTREMELY nice! The only issue was it took 2 hours to get a my driver license changed from NY to NJ. Guess that’s not bad since they print the license there and you don’t need to wait for it in the mail.
I went to the North Bergen DMV first and saw a line outside that was 2 hours long (without taking into account how much longer I need to be inside). Left and went here. Started the process at about 1:30pm on a Friday and left at 3:30pm.
Kids crying. People upset and yelling. Etc etc etc. This is all expected. What isn’t expected is that the place is clean and the people are actually friendly! I was happily surprised.

OK my first visit must have been a fluke. This place is NOT a governmental office utopia afterall. As a matter of fact, it’s a mild version of hell on earth.
I lost my drivers license. My bad. Unfortunately, my punishment issued by the state of New Jersey was that I had to go to the DMV in order to get a new copy of my license. In my head, this should take about 2 minutes.
I had a vision: walk up to the counter, pay my $ 11, get new copy of NJ License. In reality, I made 3 separate trips to this hell on earth because of the incredibly long lines. I gave up on the line twice after realizing it was snaking inside and outside. On my 3^rd trip, I arrived at 8:10AM on a Saturday (10 minutes after opening) and stepped onto a longggggg line of people. I didn’t get out of there with my license until 9:50AM. So yes. 1 hour 40 minutes to get a duplicate copy of my license. They didn’t even make me take a new photo! Government inefficiency is real folks.

Surprisingly I had a good experience this morning for my visit :) Perhaps it’s weekdays but I got here right around 8 in the morning just when they unlocked the front doors. There were maybe 6 – 7 people in front of me.
I was here for both driver license and vehicle title/​registration so figure I would be here at least few hours. But was really glad I got everything done within 45 minutes!
After filling out the proper forms and had the initial not so friendly staff checked through I was in the line for another 5 minute wait. After that it was all business, they weren’t friendly but certainly were very efficient at filling out paper works. Bunch of scribbles and scrabbles and stamps on my forms later I was out with brand new license plus plates :)
Certainly much better than my previous experience at DMV back in NY State. So definitely go early and avoid the wait. Its only 5 min walk away from JSQ Path station so perfect for commuters that take path to work in the city later. Hopefully I won’t have to come again for a long time but if I do at least I know without the long wait at the DMV isn’t so bad :)