Establishes motor vehicle registration for street rods and custom motor vehicles.

A4612

ASSEMBLY, No. 4612

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 10, 2026

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman� DAWN FANTASIA

District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes motor vehicle registration for street
rods and custom motor vehicles.�

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning certain motor vehicle registrations supplementing Title 39 of the
Revised Statutes and amending
R.S.39:8-1 and
R.S.39:3-50.

����
Be It Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey:

���� 1.��� (New
Section)� For the purposes of this act:

���� a.���� �Custom
vehicle� means a motor vehicle:

���� (1)�� that
is at least 25 years old and of a model year after 1948, or was manufactured to
resemble a vehicle 25 years old and of a model year after 1948; and

���� (2)�� has
been altered from the manufacturer original design, or the body of the motor
vehicle has been constructed from non-original parts.

���� b.��� �Street
rod� means a motor vehicle that:

���� (1)�� was
manufactured prior to 1948, or after 1948 but was manufactured in manner to
resemble a vehicle manufactured prior to 1949; and

���� (2)�� has
been altered from the manufacturer�s original design, or the body of the motor
vehicle has been constructed from non-original parts.

���� 2.��� (New
Section)� a.� Any owner of a street rod who is a resident of this State may
register such a motor vehicle under the provisions of this act. Application for
registering a street rod shall be on forms prescribed by the chief
administrator.

���� b.��� An
applicant for a street rod registration under this section shall certify in
writing that the vehicle will not be used for general transportation, but may
be used for activities, including but not limited to, occasional
transportation, exhibitions, club activities, parades, and tours.

���� c.���� Upon
proper application, the chief administrator shall certify, authorize, and issue
a certificate of ownership to the owner of a street rod, provided that the
owner submits proof that the vehicle qualifies as a street rod pursuant to
section 1 of P.L.��� c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill).� The term �Replica-Street Rod� shall be conspicuously printed at the top
of the certificate of ownership.� The year of manufacture and model year stated
on the certificate of ownership shall be the year of manufacture and model year
that the street rod resembles.

���� d
.���
Upon
proper application, the chief administrator shall issue a street rod license
plate for any motor vehicle registered pursuant to this section.� In addition
to the registration number and other markings or identification otherwise
prescribed by law, the license plate shall display appropriate words and an
emblem identifying the vehicle as a street rod.� The chief administrator, in
consultation with representatives from the National Street Rod Association,
shall choose the design, including an emblem and a color scheme.

���� Application for issuance of
the street rod license plate shall be made to the chief administrator on forms
and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator.� In order to be deemed
complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable to the
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which shall be in addition to the fee
otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles.� The chief
administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance of the
street rod license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate in addition to the
fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a motor vehicle.

���� e.���� A street rod registered
pursuant to this act shall not be required to have specific equipment added or
affixed to the vehicle that was not required under State law following the year
of manufacture printed on the vehicle�s certificate of ownership.

���� 3.��� (New
Section)� a.� Any owner of a custom motor vehicle who is a resident of this
State may register such a motor vehicle under the provisions of this act.�
Application for registering a custom motor vehicle shall be on forms prescribed
by the chief administrator.

���� b.��� An
applicant for a custom motor vehicle registration under this section shall
certify in writing that the vehicle will not be used for general
transportation, but may be used for activities, including but not limited to,
occasional transportation, exhibitions, club activities, parades, and tours.

���� c.���� Upon
proper application, the chief administrator shall certify, authorize, and issue
a certificate of ownership to the owner of a custom motor vehicle, provided
that the owner submits proof that that vehicle qualifies as a custom motor
vehicle pursuant to section 1 of P.L.��� c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill). The term �Replica-Custom Motor Vehicle� shall be
conspicuously printed at the top of the certificate of ownership.� The year of
manufacture and model year stated on the certificate of ownership shall be the
year of manufacture and model year that the custom motor vehicle resembles.

���� d
.��� Upon
proper application, the chief administrator shall issue a custom motor vehicle
license plate for any motor vehicle registered pursuant to this section.� In
addition to the registration number and other markings or identification
otherwise prescribed by law, the license plate shall display appropriate words
and an emblem identifying the vehicle as a custom motor vehicle.� The chief
administrator, in consultation with representatives from the National Street
Rod Association, shall choose the design, including an emblem and a color
scheme.

���� Application for issuance of
the custom motor vehicle license plate shall be made to the chief administrator
on forms and in a manner prescribed by the chief administrator.� In order to be
deemed complete, an application shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, payable
to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, which shall be in addition to the
fee otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of motor vehicles.� The
chief administrator shall collect annually, subsequent to the year of issuance
of the custom motor vehicle license plate, a $10 fee for the license plate in
addition to the fees otherwise prescribed by law for the registration of a
motor vehicle.

���� e.���� A custom motor vehicle
registered pursuant to this act shall not be required to have specific
equipment added or affixed to the vehicle that was not required under State law
following the year of manufacture listed on the vehicle�s certificate of
ownership.

���� 4.��� (New Section)� For the
purposes of this act �blue dot tail light� means a red lamp installed in the
rear of a motor vehicle containing a blue or purple insert that is not more
than one inch in diameter.

���� Notwithstanding the provisions
of R.S.39:3-50, a street rod or custom vehicle registered pursuant to this act
may be equipped with blue dot tail lights as a reflector, turn signal, or stop
lamp on or facing the rear of the motor vehicle.

���� 5.��� R.S.39:8-1
is amended to read as follows:

���� 39:8-1.�
a.� Every motor vehicle registered in this State which is used over any public
road, street, or highway or any public or quasi-public property in this State,
and every vehicle subject to enhanced inspection and maintenance programs
pursuant to 40 C.F.R. s.51.356, except motorcycles, historic motor vehicles
,
street rods, and custom motor vehicles
registered as such, collector motor
vehicles designated as such pursuant to this subsection, and those vehicles
over 8,500 pounds gross weight that are under the inspection jurisdiction of
the commission pursuant to Titles 27 and 48 of the Revised Statutes, shall be
inspected by designated inspectors or at official inspection facilities to be
designated by the commission or at licensed private inspection facilities.�
Passenger automobiles registered in accordance with R.S.39:3-4 or R.S.39:3-27
and noncommercial trucks registered in accordance with section 2 of P.L.1968,
c.439 (C.39:3-8.1) or R.S.39:3-27 inspected pursuant to this section shall only
be inspected for emissions and emission-related items such as emission control
equipment and on-board diagnostics.� The commission shall adopt rules and
regulations establishing a procedure for the designation of motor vehicles as
collector motor vehicles, which designation shall include consideration by the
commission of one or more of the following factors: the age of the vehicle, the
number of such vehicles originally manufactured, the number of such vehicles
that are currently in use, the total number of miles the vehicle has been
driven, the number of miles the vehicle has been driven during the previous
year or other period of time determined by the commission, and whether the
vehicle has a collector classification for insurance purposes.

���� b.��� The
commission shall determine the official inspection facility or private
inspection facility at which a motor vehicle, depending upon its
characteristics, shall be inspected.� The commission, with the concurrence of
the Department of Environmental Protection, may exclude by regulation from this
inspection requirement any category of motor vehicle if good cause for such
exclusion exists, unless the exclusion is likely to prevent this State from
meeting the applicable performance standard established by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. The commission may determine that a vehicle is
in compliance with the inspection requirements of this section if the vehicle
has been inspected and passed under a similar inspection program of another
state, district, or territory of the United States.

(cf:
P.L.2010, c.29, s.1.)

���� 6.��� R.S.39:3-50
is amended to read as follows:

���� 39:3-50.�
All lamps and reflectors, which display a light visible from directly in front
of a vehicle as authorized by this subtitle, shall exhibit lights substantially
white, yellow or amber in color.

���� (a)�� The
color of light emitted or reflected by exterior lamps or reflectors on a
vehicle shall be as follows, except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b),
(c) and (d) of this section:

���� White
when the lamp is a headlamp, or spot lamp, or illuminates a license plate or a
destination sign; or is located on the outside limit of a side car or other
attachment on a motor cycle;

���� Substantially
white or amber when the lamp is a side-cowl or fender lamp, running-board or
other courtesy lamp, front parking lamp, back-up lamp, auxiliary driving lamp;
or a turn signal on or facing the front;

���� Substantially
red or amber when the lamp is a turn signal or a stop lamp on or facing the
rear;

���� Red
when any other lamp or any reflector is on the rear or on either side at or
near the rear, except as otherwise provided in paragraph (f) of section 39:3-61
for a combination marker lamp;

���� Amber
when any other lamp or reflector is on the front or on either side other than
at or near the rear.

���� (b)�� Lamps
and reflectors on projecting loads shall emit or reflect light with color as
provided in section 10 of this act.

���� (c)�� No
person shall drive or move any vehicle or equipment upon any street or highway
equipped with any device or lamp thereon capable of or displaying a light of
any other color than permitted by this section, except: an authorized emergency
vehicle, an authorized school bus,
[
or
]
a
vehicle authorized by a permit issued by the chief administrator
, or a
street rod or custom motor vehicle as specified under section 4 of P.L.���
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)
.

���� (d)�� A
permit authorizing a vehicle to be equipped with a lamp capable of or
displaying a flashing light, except as provided in 39:3-54 or a light of a
color other than permitted by this section, visible from directly in front of
said vehicle, may be issued by the director when necessary, in his discretion,
for the reasonable and safe movement of traffic.� The permit shall specify the
type and color of such lamp and the conditions under which a person may drive
or move the vehicle with said lamp displaying a light.� The permit shall be
valid only when the specifications and conditions contained therein are
complied with.� The chief administrator shall collect a $25 fee for the initial
issuance and for each subsequent renewal of the permit for each vehicle for which
the applicant seeks to use such a light, provided, however, that no fee shall
be charged for a permit authorizing the use of a light that is red or blue.�
The fee set forth in this section shall not apply to a motor vehicle registered
at no fee pursuant to R.S.39:3-27. The fees collected pursuant to this section
shall be considered revenue of the commission and shall not be subject to the
calculation of proportional revenue remitted to the commission pursuant to
section 105 of P.L.2003, c.13 (C.39:2A-36).

���� The
chief administrator may cancel or revoke a permit issued under authority of
this section whenever the conditions for its issuance no longer exist or on any
other reasonable grounds.

(cf:
P.L.2007, c.242, s.5)

���� 7.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the thirteenth month after enactment, provided
however, the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission may take such
anticipatory action as needed for the act�s timely implementation.

STATEMENT

���� This bill creates a new motor
vehicle registration for
street rods and custom
motor vehicles.� The bill defines a street rod as a motor vehicle that was
manufactured prior to 1948, or after 1948 but was manufactured in a manner to
resemble a vehicle manufactured prior to 1949; and has been altered from the manufacturer�s
original design, or the body of the motor vehicle has been constructed from
non-original parts.� Custom motor vehicles are defined under the bill as a
motor vehicle that:

���� 1)��� is
at least 25 years old and of a model year after 1948, or was manufactured to
resemble a vehicle 25 years old and of a model year after 1948; and

���� 2)��� has
been altered from the manufacturer original design, or the body of the motor
vehicle has been constructed from non-original parts.

���� Under
the provisions of the bill, an applicant for a custom motor vehicle is required
to certify in writing that the vehicle will not be used for general
transportation, but may be used for activities, including but not limited to,
occasional transportation, exhibitions, club activities, parades, and tours.�
The bill also provides that the chief administrator of the motor vehicle
commission is to certify, authorize, and issue a certificate of ownership to
the owner of a custom motor vehicle or street rod, provided that the owner
submits proof that the vehicle qualifies as a street rod or custom motor
vehicle.� Under the bill, the year of manufacture and model year stated on the
certificate of ownership is to be the year of manufacture and model year that the
street rod or custom motor vehicle resembles.� The bill requires that the
phrase �Replica-Custom Motor Vehicle� or �Replica-Street Rod� be conspicuously
printed at the top of the certificate of ownership.

���� The
bill further requires the chief administrator to issue special license plates
for street rods and custom motor vehicles.
�
The chief administrator, in consultation with
representatives from the National Street Rod Association, is to choose the
design, including an emblem and a color scheme of the license plates.� The bill
provides that the application for a license plate shall be accompanied by a fee
of $50, payable to the motor vehicle commission.� The owner of a street rod or
custom motor vehicle is required to pay $10 annually for the use of the special
license plate.

���� In addition, the provisions of
the bill provide that a street rod or custom motor vehicle is exempt from
regular inspections under the law.� These vehicles also would be exempt from
having specific equipment added or affixed to the vehicle that was not required
under State law following the year of manufacture listed on the vehicle�s
certificate of ownership.

���� Finally, the bill provides
that a street rod or custom vehicle may be equipped with a �blue dot tail
light� as a rear reflector, turn signal or stop lamp.� The bill defines �blue
dot tail light� as a red lamp installed in the rear of a motor vehicle containing
a blue or purple insert that is not more than one inch in diameter.