New Jersey stands alone as the only state in the U.S. where customers are not allowed to pump their own gas—every gas station is full-service, with attendants ready to fill up your tank. While Oregon also has a similar law, it is far less stringent, allowing some areas to offer self-service gas stations and most restrictions were repealed in 2023.
Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth Polling Institute, traces this unique law back to mid-20th-century politics. “It goes back to the middle of the 20th century,” Murray said. “There were forces involved who wanted to protect their interests in terms of the smaller gas owners against mega gas stations that were starting to be built at the time that would require self-service to be profitable.”
Historically, full-service gas stations were prevalent across the United States during the first half of the 1900s. However, by the 1970s, most states transitioned to self-service stations, driven by evolving consumer habits and cost-effectiveness. New Jersey, though, enacted a state ban on self-service in 1949 through the Retail Gasoline Dispensing Safety Act, preventing it from adopting the trend. Oregon followed with its own law in 1951. The original New Jersey bill cited concerns for safety and increased costs to consumers as primary reasons for maintaining full-service stations.
Despite these long-standing laws, the issue is not without controversy. Whenever there is a spike in gas prices, bills opposing the full-service requirement emerge in the legislative landscape. Governor Phil Murphy and many other politicians consider it a ‘political third rail,’ meaning it’s a topic so controversial that it could potentially end a political career. While these bills have yet to pass, they continue to ignite debates among lawmakers and advocacy groups pushing for change.
The subject remains one of the few legislative issues that doesn’t strictly adhere to party lines. While every bill opposing the full-service law has failed thus far, it has not deterred self-serve advocacy groups and certain politicians from continuing their efforts to overturn this unique New Jersey tradition.