New Jersey

Does the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission have the capacity to handle Real ID demand?

Published

11 months ago

March 20, 2025

Press Room

Does the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission have the capacity to handle Real ID demand?

3-minute read

New Jersey residents are facing appointment backlogs to obtain a Real ID ahead of the May 7th deadline.
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission has implemented initiatives like “Real ID Thursdays” to increase appointment availability, but demand remains high.
Residents are encouraged to check the MVC website for required documents and available appointments.
A Real ID is not mandatory, but a standard driver’s license will not be accepted for domestic flights after the deadline.
Passports remain a valid alternative for domestic air travel and accessing federal facilities.

With the federal Real ID program launching in less than two months, New Jersey residents looking to upgrade their licenses may be running into some problems.

Despite launching a “Real ID Thursday” initiative to make more appointments available, the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission currently has no appointments available for residents in any county north of Monmouth County before Real ID takes effect on May 7.

That includes appointments at physical agency locations as well as MVC’s mobile unit.

The only appointments for any kind of upgrade available at agency locations as of Thursday — about 50 slots — were at the mobile unit site in Lawrenceville or at locations in the southern half of the state — for those who have licenses expiring within the next three months and are trying to upgrade.

Agency spokesperson Bill Connolly said the “demand for Real ID now is extraordinarily high ahead of the start of federal enforcement in May.”

“The MVC has repeatedly added and reallocated appointments to better meet that demand over the past several months,” he said, noting that “Real ID Thursdays” added more than 43,000 appointments and more mobile unit appointments will be available as the agency coordinates with local hosts. The opportunity to book these additional appointments started last week.

Connolly also said about 3,000 new appointments for Real ID upgrades are added each business day at 7 a.m. and that “appointments are regularly added as customers cancel or modify their appointments.”

“While the MVC is processing record numbers of in-person transactions, especially Real IDs, we will continue to evaluate our operations and look to offer additional opportunities for our customers to get a Real ID,” he said.

The next appointment at each of the 28 licensing centers for those looking to upgrade and have a license or identification card expiring in the next three months as of Wednesday evening were:

Lawrenceville: May 13, 2:20 p.m.
Bayonne: May 14, 2:20 p.m.
Camden: April 16, 11:20 a.m.
Egg Harbor Township: April 30, 11:40 a.m.
Delanco: April 22, 9:40 a.m.
Eatontown: May 6, 12:40 p.m.
Edison: May 7, 1:40 p.m.
Elizabeth: May 20, 8 a.m.
Flemington: April 28, 8:40 a.m.
Freehold: May 2, 11:20 a.m.
Lodi: May 28, 10:40 a.m.
Manahawkin: April 28, 11 a.m.
Newark: May 30, Noon
Newton: May 13, 10:20 a.m.
North Bergen: May 20, 12:40 p.m.
Oakland: May 27, 11:20 a.m.
Paterson: May 7, 12:20 p.m.
Rahway: May 7, 10:40 a.m.
Randolph: May 14, 2 p.m.
North Cape May: April 8, 2:40 p.m.
Runnemede: May 2, 1 p.m.
Salem: April 9, 8:40 a.m.
South Plainfield: May 5, 10:20 a.m.
Toms River: April 29, 12:20 p.m.
Vineland: April 9, 8:20 a.m.
Washington: April 30, 1 p.m.
Wayne : May 19, 11:20 p.m.
West Deptford: April 15, 1:40 p.m.

Real ID: What to know

According to the TSA, as of January 2024, only about 56% of the licenses and government issued identification cards in use around the country comply with Real ID. In 34 states that number is less than 60% and in 22 states is less than 40%.

In order to get a Real ID, residents should check REALID.nj.gov to make sure they bring all the required documents — two proofs of residential address, one verifiable Social Security number and identity documents that add up to six Real ID Points — to their appointment.

The state started issuing the Real ID in September 2019. The deadline was initially October 2020 but was pushed back to October 2021 due to the pandemic. The federal government opted to push it back again to May 2023, as new COVID-19 variants continued to wreak havoc on motor vehicle agencies throughout the country. In 2022, officials delayed it a third time, to May 2025.

After the deadline, standard driver’s licenses or non-driver identification cards can no longer be used to fly within the U.S. A passport is also a valid form of identification for domestic travel.

No one is required to get Real ID. A standard driver’s license or non-driver identification card can still be used to drive in New Jersey, but it will no longer be a valid form of federal identification. Passports can be used as identification when flying domestically.

The REAL ID Act, which was enacted following the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation, established minimum security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards for the purpose of boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft, accessing certain federal facilities and entering nuclear power plants.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

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New Jersey

N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

Published

3 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said in a statement on Facebook that she has been briefed about the incident and her office is monitoring the situation.

Pazmino said her organization is calling on members of the community to come together.

“Brown and Black immigrant communities and nonimmigrant communities are welcome, and should be uniting against this force,” she said.

She is also calling on local officials to assist relatives of those taken into custody.

“We need to support families affected by these kidnappings, with mutual aid, donations and anything else you think will help each other,” Pazmino said.

A woman identified as Andrea, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, tearfully spoke in Spanish about the anguish she feels and her fears about the future without her husband Christian, one of the men taken into custody. A friend, who translated her word into English, said Christian was a good and honest man.

“If he used to see a neighbor carrying something heavy, he would run to help them. If a friend needed a favor, he didn’t ask, he just did it,” she said.

Andrea (left) whose husband, Christian, was taken into custody during a raid on a Trenton auto repair shop, holds her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, while translator Ashley Batz reads her statement in English. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

She said “his daughter was his whole world. He would wake up to her and give her kisses every morning. He would play with her after a long day at work. He loved us and protected us. He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”

The Rev. Erich Kussman, St. Bartholomew’s pastor, said the entire Lutheran Church stands with the family.

“Anything you need, you can come to us. I want you to know that. I will stand with you, and we will do what we can to protect you, because that’s the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Standing with ICE is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, hands down,” he added. “Fifty-one times the scriptures tell us to welcome the immigrant and foreigner as one of our own. If you’re not living true to that gospel, the words of Christ himself, you are not a Christian, no matter what you claim to be.”

With immigration enforcement activity on the rise in New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand protections for immigrant communities. One measure called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act” would allow individuals to file a lawsuit against ICE agents who violate their constitutional rights.

Asma Elhuni speaking at a podium — Asma Elhuni, an organizer with Resistencia En Acción NJ speaks at a press conference at St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Trenton, joined by pastor Erich Kussman. The group was responding to the detention of three workers at Agudo’s Repair Shop on Feb. 20, 2026. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Another proposed bill would require any business that operates a private prison or detention facility in the state to pay a tax equal to 50% of the taxpayer’s gross receipts derived from the operation of the facility during the previous year. The bill also stipulates all revenues generated would go to an “immigration protection fund.”

Recently proposed legislation would prohibit ICE agents from ever holding a public job in the Garden State, and New Jersey U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim are proposing legislation to prevent new funding for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to purchase a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.

Requests for comment from ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service were not immediately returned.

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New Jersey

Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ

Published

15 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ

A brief respite from cold weather is ahead of New Jersey this weekend, before temperatures continue to rise late next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Saturday, Feb. 28 will be sunny across the Garden State, and temperatures will be comfortable, reaching the high 40s and low 50s.

Then, a brief artic cold front is expected to move into the region late on Saturday night, bringing temps to low 30’s and some scattered snow showers on Sunday, especially in North Jersey.

During the week, a couple low pressure systems are in the NWS forecast. Little snow if any is expected from these systems, especially in the late week, when a significant warm-up is expected.

Asbury Park and Monmouth County weekend weather forecast

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Sunday: Partly sunny and a chance of snow before 1 p.m. The high should be near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

Wildwoods and Atlantic County weather forecast

Saturday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 56.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Sunday: Partly sunny and a slight chance of rain before 1 p.m. The high should be near 44. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.