TOMS RIVER, NJ – State officials are trying to catch up to their New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission backlogs and now, waiting online is a thing of the past as several of the agency’s locations are now appointment only. As of Monday, MVC service centers in Cherry Hill, Hazlet, Jersey City, Lakewood, Manahawkin, Medford, Somerville, Springfield, Trenton, Turnersville, and Wallington will be ceasing walk-in service and business will be conducted by appointment only. The five remaining offices will continue walk-in services.
Murphy touted his administration’s success in catching up to the huge backlog of transactions.
“The MVC is completing more transactions month over a month than they were before the pandemic began, and that’s a good thing. They are reaching out to and engaging with more customers through more targeted communications and social media, alerting residents to the fact that most of their transactions can be completed at home and don’t even require a trip to an MVC agency,” Murphy said. “Overall, the number of user sessions on the njmvc.gov website, you can see that at the bottom of the screen, is up nearly threefold from all of 2019. The number of transactions now being completed online is more than doubled from last year, from 21% all the way up to 44% of all transactions and two-thirds of all renewals are now being completed online, and that’s a good thing.”
Murphy said that people should not be camping out at MVC offices trying to get their business done early.
“I know folks are frustrated, believe me, I am,” Murphy said. “But, the wait times in person have also continued to improve. Again, please hear this. There is no need to camp out overnight. As the MVC begins shifting to an appointment-based system, which Sue will discuss, the fact is that at the majority of agencies, customers showing up after 10:00 a.m., or in many cases 11:00 a.m., are still able to have their transaction handled that day.”
Murphy’s not spiking the football but said the agency is now working in the right direction.
“We are not spiking any footballs here. Trust me, we all get it. Sue and team are working morning noon and night to plow through this but we also want to be honest about the facts, and the facts are thankfully going in the right direction,” he said.
