Requires MVC to accept certain documents as proof of name change for driver's license.

S3918

SENATE, No. 3918

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 12, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� ANTHONY M. BUCCO

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senator Diegnan

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires MVC to accept certain documents as proof of
name change for driver�s license.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning certain proofs of name change for
driver�s licenses and amending P.L.1987, c.20.�

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

���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.1987,
c.20 (C.39:3-9a) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� Each driver's license
issued pursuant to R.S.39:3-10 shall have the legal name of the licensee
endorsed thereon in
[
his
]

the

licensee�s

own handwriting.�

���� For purposes of this section,
legal name shall mean the name recorded on a
:

����
(1)
�� birth certificate

[
unless
otherwise changed by
]

;

����
(2)
�� marriage
[
,
]

certificate;

����
(3)�� social security card;

����
(4)
�� divorce
decree;

or

����
(5)
�� order of court.�

���� The
[
director may
]

chief
administrator shall
require that only the legal name be recorded on the
driver's license.� A person who has been issued a driver's license pursuant to
R.S.39:3-10 whose
legal
name is changed due to marriage, divorce
,

or by order of court shall notify the
[
director
]

chief
administrator
of the change in
legal
name within
[
two weeks
]

six months

after the change is made
or upon the next renewal of the driver license,
whichever date is sooner
.

���� A person who fails to notify
the
[
Director
of the Division of Motor Vehicles
]

chief administrator
of a change in
legal
name as required in this
section shall be subject to a fine.� A person who is fined under this section
for a violation of this section shall not be subject to a surcharge under the
[
New Jersey
Merit Rating Plan
]

Motor Vehicle Violations Surcharge System
as provided in section 6 of
P.L.1983, c.65 (C.17:29A-35).

���� For the purposes of this
section, a digitized signature image shall constitute a licensee's signature in

[
his
]

the
licensee�s
own handwriting. A digitized signature image is an electronic
representation of a person's written signature.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.28, s.1)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the New
Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) to accept a licensee�s birth certificate,
marriage certificate, social security card, divorce decree, or court order as
sufficient proof of the licensee�s legal name for display on the driver�s
license.� The bill also extends the time period that a licensee has to change
the licensee�s name with MVC from two weeks after a legal name change to six
months after a legal name change or upon the next driver�s license renewal,
whichever date is sooner.

���� It is the sponsor�s intent to
remove the barriers to changing a licensee�s legal name on a driver�s license
that have been created by the MVC.� The MVC does not currently permit a
licensee to change the middle name of a licensee�s legal name, as a result of
marriage, without a court order, despite the fact that the Social Security
Administration and many other States allow this change.