New Jersey DMV Road Test Requirements
by Fraser Sherman
If you're a new driver in New Jersey, you have to take a road test before getting your license. The test takes about 10 to 15 minutes. You can schedule it in advance by calling (609) 292-6500 or visiting a driver's test center. You need to have the right paperwork and a good car or you'll have to come back and test another day.
Identify Yourself
Because a driver's license serves as a valid government ID, New Jersey requires you to prove your identity before applying for a driver's permit or taking a road test. The state assigns point values to different identifying documents, and you need six points worth. An original birth certificate or a certified copy counts for four. A Social Security card counts for one point. The state provides lists of acceptable documents and other requirements online.
Examination Permit
Before you can take your test, you need what New Jersey calls an examination permit. This is available to new drivers 17 and up who've passed the written driver's test and a vision test. Once you secure the permit, you must wait six months to take the road test if you're under 21. Otherwise, the wait is three months. During this period, you practice driving under adult supervision. Bring your examination permit in with you when you come to take your road test.
The Right Car
You must bring in a registered vehicle for your test with current inspection stickers and an insurance card. The MVC says the car can't have a center console that prevents the passenger -- the examiner, in this case -- from reaching the emergency brake. The examiner has to be able to reach either the parking brake or the foot brake. If the car has safety problems the examiner may refuse to test you. Possible safety problems include:
•Missing seat belts •Bad brakes •Unsafe tires
A Few Details
You must show up at the MVC accompanied by a licensed driver. You need red license plate decals for both the front and back plates. The car doesn't have to be in your name, but it can't be a rental unless you're on the contract as an additional driver. It is acceptable to lease a car from your driving school. When you're scheduling your test, you need your examination permit if you call the MVC and your permit plus your six points of ID if you schedule it at a driver testing center.
References
Writer Bio
A graduate of Oberlin College, Fraser Sherman began writing in 1981. Since then he's researched and written newspaper and magazine stories on city government, court cases, business, real estate and finance, the uses of new technologies and film history. Sherman has worked for more than a decade as a newspaper reporter, and his magazine articles have been published in "Newsweek," "Air & Space," "Backpacker" and "Boys' Life." Sherman is also the author of three film reference books, with a fourth currently under way.
