39:3-4Except as hereinafter provided, every resident of this State and every nonresident whose automobile or motorcycle shall be driven in this State shall, before using such vehicle on the public highways, register the same, and no automobile or motorcycle shall be driven unless so registered.
Such
registration shall be made in the following manner: An application in
writing, signed by the applicant or by an agent or officer, in case the
applicant is a corporation, shall be made to the chief administrator or
the chief administrators agent, on forms prepared and supplied by the
chief administrator, containing the name, street address of the
residence or the business of the owner, mailing address, if different
from the street address of the owners residence or business, and age of
the owner, together with a description of the character of the
automobile or motorcycle, including the name of the maker and the
vehicle identification number, or the manufacturers number or the number
assigned by the chief administrator if the vehicle does not have a
vehicle identification number, and any other statement that may be
required by the chief administrator. A post office box shall appear on
the application only as part of a mailing address that is submitted by
the owner, agent or officer, as the case may be, in addition to the
street address of the applicants residence or business; provided,
however, the chief administrator, upon application, shall permit a
person who was a victim of a violation of N.J.S.2C:12-10, N.J.S.2C:14-2,
or N.J.S.2C:25-17 et seq., or who the chief administrator otherwise
determines to have good cause, to use as a mailing address a post office
box, an address other than the applicants address or other contact
point. An owner whose last address appears on the records of the
division as a post office box shall change his address on his
application for renewal to the street address of his residence or
business and, if different from his street address, his mailing address
unless the chief administrator has determined, pursuant to this section,
that the owner may use a post office box, an address other than the
owners address or other contact point as a mailing address. The
application shall contain the name of the insurer of the vehicle and the
policy number. If the vehicle is a leased motor vehicle, the
application shall make note of that fact and shall include along with
the name and street address of the lessor the name, street address and
driver license number of the lessee.Thereupon
the chief administrator shall have the power to grant a registration
certificate to the owner of any motor vehicle, if over 17 years of age,
application for the registration having been properly made and the fee
therefor paid, and the vehicle being of a type that complies with the
requirements of this title. The form and contents of the registration
certificate to be issued shall be determined by the chief administrator.If
the vehicle is a leased motor vehicle, the registration certificate
shall, in addition to containing the name and street address of the
lessor, identify the vehicle as a leased motor vehicle.The chief administrator shall maintain a record of all registration certificates issued, and of the contents thereof.Every
registration shall expire and the registration certificate thereof
become void on the last day of the twelfth calendar month following the
calendar month in which the certificate was issued; provided, however,
that the chief administrator may, at his discretion, require
registrations which shall expire, and issue certificates thereof which
shall become void, on a date fixed by him, which date shall not be
sooner than three months nor later than 26 months after the date of
issuance of such certificates, and the fees for such registrations,
including any other fees or charges collected in connection with the
registration fee, shall be fixed by the chief administrator in amounts
proportionately less or greater than the fees established by law. The
chief administrator may fix the expiration date for registration
certificates at a date other than 12 months if the chief administrator
determines that the change is necessary, appropriate or convenient in
order to aid in implementing the vehicle inspection requirements of
chapter 8 of Title 39 or for other good cause. The chief administrator
may, for good cause extend a registration beyond the expiration date
that appears upon the registration certificate for periods not to exceed
12 additional months. The chief administrator may extend the expiration
date of a registration without payment of a proportionate fee when the
chief administrator determines that such extension is necessary for good
cause. If any registration is so extended, the owner shall pay upon
renewal the full registration fee for the period fixed by the chief
administrator as if no extension had been granted.Notwithstanding
any other provision of law to the contrary, every registration for new
passenger automobiles shall expire and the registration certificate
shall become void on the last day of the 48th calendar month following
the calendar month in which the certificate was initially issued. On and
after February 1, 2005, the provisions of this paragraph shall not
apply to new passenger automobiles purchased by a rental company for use
as rental passenger automobiles. As used in this paragraph, rental
company means a person engaged in the business of renting motor
vehicles; and rental passenger automobile means a passenger automobile
that is rented without a driver and used in the transportation of
persons or property other than commercial freight.If the new passenger automobile being registered is a leased passenger automobile, the registration shall expire in accordance with the term of the lease. If the term of the lease extends beyond one or more 12-month periods by one or more months, the registration period shall be based upon the full year into which one or more of the months extend; provided, however, the registration period for a leased automobile shall not exceed 48-months.
Following the 48-month period of the initial registration of a new passenger automobile, the subsequent registration shall expire, and the registration certificate shall become void, on the last day of the 12th calendar month following the calendar month in which the certificate was next issued.
All
motorcycles for which registrations have been issued prior to the
effective date of P.L.1989, c.167 and which are scheduled to expire
between November 1 and March 31 shall, upon renewal, be issued
registrations by the chief administrator which shall expire on a date
fixed by him, but in no case shall that expiration date be earlier than
April 30 nor later than October 31. The fees for the renewal of the
motorcycle registrations authorized under this paragraph shall be fixed
by the chief administrator in an amount proportionately less or greater
than the fee established by R.S.39:3-21.Application
forms for all renewals of registrations for passenger automobiles shall
be sent to the last addresses of owners of motor vehicles and
motorcycles, as they appear on the records of the division.No
person owning or having control over any unregistered vehicle shall
permit the same to be parked or to stand on a public highway.Any
police officer is authorized to remove any unregistered vehicle from the
public highway to a storage space or garage, and the expense involved
in such removal and storing of the vehicle shall be borne by the owner
of the vehicle, except that the expense shall be borne by the lessee of a
leased vehicle.Any
person violating the provisions of this section shall be subject to a
fine not exceeding $100, except that for the misstatement of any fact in
the application required to be made to the chief administrator, the
person making such statement or omitting the statement that the motor
vehicle is to be used as a leased motor vehicle when that is the case
shall be subject to the penalties provided in R.S.39:3-37.The
chief administrator may extend the expiration date of a registration
certificate without payment of a proportionate fee when the chief
administrator determines that such extension is necessary, appropriate
or convenient to the implementation of vehicle inspection requirements.
If any registration certificate is so extended, the owner shall pay upon
renewal the full registration fee for the period fixed by the chief
administrator as if no extension had been granted.The
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission shall make a reasonable effort to
notify any lessor whose name and address is on file with the commission,
or any other lessor the commission may determine it is necessary to
notify, of the requirements of this amendatory act.A
lessor doing business in this State shall notify in writing the lessee
of a motor vehicle registered pursuant to this Title of any change in
its policies or procedures affecting the registration of the motor
vehicle.Amended
1938, c.66, s.1; 1940, c.246, s.1; 1944, c.5; 1949, c.275; 1952, c.45;
1954, c.172; 1955, c.8, s.3; 1957, c.107; 1968, c.321; 1969, c.103;
1972, c.205, s.1; 1983, c.403, s.6; 1989, c.167, s.2; 1989, c.326, s.1;
1993, c.125, s.2; 1995, c.112, s.27; 1997, c.189, s.1; 2003, c.204, s.3;
2003, c.212; 2004, c.64, s.1.