Moving to New Jersey Checklist: License, Car Registration, Taxes and Your First 60 Days

Driver's license: within 60 days

The NJ Motor Vehicle Commission: "If you have recently moved to New Jersey, you must transfer your out-of-state license and vehicle title/registration within 60 days of your move or before your current license and vehicle registration expires, whichever occurs first."

• Book an appointment at a motor vehicle license center.
• Bring your current, valid license in good standing and documents that pass the 6 Points of ID requirement.
• Buy a transfer permit; the MVC lists $10 for a motorcycle, auto or CDL.
• You receive a four-year New Jersey license and surrender your out-of-state license.

Car title and registration: within 60 days

Under New Jersey law you must transfer your vehicle title and registration, with or without a lien, within 60 days. The MVC's list:

• Make a New Title or Registration appointment.
• Bring proof of identification (usually a valid driver's license), the original title and your insurance information.
• Complete the Universal Title Application (Form OS/SS-UTA) and the Vehicle Registration Application (Form BA-49).
• If the car is financed or leased, send the MVC an Application for the Release of a Title from Lienholder (Form OS/SS-54) first; the MVC tells you when to come back.
• Title transfer fees: $60 for a standard vehicle, $85 with one lien, $110 with two, plus the registration fee.

Your last New York tax return

New York requires Form IT-203 if you "moved into or out of New York State during the tax year." You are taxed on all income received while a resident and on New York source income after you leave. If you keep working in New York, New Jersey's credit for taxes paid to other jurisdictions keeps the same income from being taxed twice; see New Jersey vs New York taxes.

Property tax relief has dates

New Jersey's ANCHOR benefit is based on owning and living in your main home on October 1 of the program year, and Stay NJ and the Senior Freeze have their own ownership and residency tests. A closing date can decide whether you qualify in your first year; the details are in our guide to the programs.

Before you buy

Pick the town around the school district and the commute you can live with: compare them on the school district pages and in the commuting guide, then check prices in the market reports.

Contracts prepared by real estate agents for one to four family homes carry an attorney review clause: either side's attorney may review and disapprove the contract within 3 days, not counting Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays (N.J.A.C. 11:5-6.2(g)). If no attorney disapproves, it becomes binding when the period ends.

The state's transfer charges fall on the seller. New Jersey imposes the Realty Transfer Fee on the seller when the deed is recorded, and since July 10, 2025 the old buyer-paid 1% "mansion tax" on sales over $1 million is a Graduated Percent Fee paid by the seller. Our closing-cost calculator shows both at any price.

Slava has sold homes in northern Bergen County since becoming a licensed New Jersey broker in 2007. If you are weighing towns, tell him what you need and he will walk you through the trade-offs in person.