Dear Editor:
As part of our ongoing effort to listen to the needs of our customers, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) will be implementing “Skip the Trip,” the latest in a long line of positive changes the Christie Administration is making to improve customer service and convenience.
Beginning July 1, customers born on or before Dec. 1, 1964 who need to renew their driver license or ID will be allowed to “Skip the Trip” and renew by mail. No trip to the MVC, no waiting in line. Customers can simply drop their payment and renewal notice in the mail and within two weeks a new driver license or ID will be mailed directly to their home.
Mail renewals will also help to further reduce wait times, which is important as the MVC phases in new federal identity requirements to customers beginning May 7.
The new federal requirements, regulated by the US Department of Homeland Security, will require a compliant driver license or ID to be presented when used for any federal purposes such as boarding a domestic flight or entering a federal facility. The good news is that enforcement will not begin for customers born on or before Dec. 1, 1964 until Dec. of 2017, which is why we have offered the convenience of renewing by mail now.
All other customers who apply for a driver license or ID at an MVC Agency from May 7 on, including those who decline to “Skip the Trip,” will be required to meet the new federal identity requirements we have named TRU-ID: The Real U. TRU-ID replaces the 6 Point ID Verification standard currently in use and streamlines it to three simple steps without worrying about calculating points.
Once a customer meets TRU-ID requirements, the MVC will issue a driver license or ID that is valid for eight years, allowing him/her to “Skip the Trip” four years later. The document will also be federally compliant, which is necessary by December 2014 for customers born after Dec. 1, 1964. For a full list of TRU-ID requirements, visit our website at www.njmvc.gov/tru.
“Skip the Trip” is only the start of a number of exciting, new conveniences the MVC is working on for its customers. Stay tuned for yet more coming your way soon.
Raymond P. Martinez,
Chairman and Chief Administrator
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission