There are a few reasons you can be forced to pay New Jersey’s Division of Motor Vehicle’s a surcharge. The most common way is if you accrue 6 or more points within a 3 year period of your last points. You will be charged $25 for each point, for three years. This means that if you are convicted for 8-points of violations, you will pay $200 a year for 3-years. There are specific other violations which have their own mandatory surcharges, these are:
- Drunk Driving, DUI / DWI convictions. A first and second offense carries a surcharge of $1,000 a year, for 3-years. This includes convictions for refusal cases. The surcharge can go up higher for 3rd offenses.
- Being an Unlicensed Driver or having an Expired License will also cost you $100 a year for 3-years.
- Driving with a Suspended License will cost you $250 a year, for 3-years.
- Tickets for not insuring your vehicle in NJ will cost $250 a year, for 3-years.
If you do not pay these surcharges, your license will be suspended, or your eligibility to restore your license will be delayed. These costs are in addition to those assessed in Court. You can pay the surcharges online, by mail, by phone, or in person at your local DMV location. Often, the surcharges and court costs alone will be more than hiring an experienced traffic defense attorney.
You will be notified through the mail when your surcharges are due. You will also be notified if you fail to pay your surcharges. These notices are called Notices of Proposed Suspension, which you can see a copy of at the link. Sometimes it is necessary to hold a hearing regarding these surcharges and especially regarding license suspensions stemming from them, and you will certainly want the assistance of a traffic attorney to assist with these.