Out of State Drivers arrested in New Jersey for DWI: How Would a Conviction be treated by my "Home State"

"The Interstate Compact"

If you are convicted in New Jersey, you will lose only your driving privileges in the state of New Jersey. HOWEVER, NJ will report your conviction to your home state, and your home state will, in all likelihood, suspend your license for whatever period someone in your state would get if he/she were convicted in your state for DWI/DUI.

The Drivers License Compact require member states to report tickets received by motorist to the state where they received a license to drive so as to receive points and get an insurance hike. Also when a state suspends the license of a driver who is from out-of-state, the state where the motorist received a license to drive will also suspend their license. New Jersey is a member of the Compact, and will report any infractions to your "home state".

The only states that are NOT members are: Tennessee, Georgia, Massachusetts,Wisconsin and Michigan.

However,Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin will report tickets to your home state even though they are not members of the compact.

If you are a Pennsylvania or Delaware licensed driver and you are convicted in New Jersey for a DWI, even though you are subject to 6-12 months loss of New Jersey driving privileges on a first offense, your state will suspend your license for ONE YEAR. This suspension is in addition to the loss of NJ driving privileges. Your home state usually picks up this suspension 30-120 days from the time of the NJ conviction.. The one year suspension starts at the time that you acknowledge the suspension from your home state. So, for example, if you were to get notice from PA of the PA suspension, and you ignore it, your license could be suspended indefinitely.

As a result, as a PA or DE driver, you have virtually no incentive to plead guilty to the NJ DWI.

If you are an out-of-state driver, please call Bagolie Friedman to discuss ways to limit your exposure from any potential conviction in NJ, as well as how to fight the DWI you are charged with.

If you have been charged with "refusal", there may be a good way to save your home driving privileges.

How other States treat Out of State matters:

Colorado, Ohio, and Wisconsin do not assess points for out-of-state convictions. Colorado does not make an entry for out-of-state convictions such as speeding but convictions for offenses like DUI still count! Colorado will issue you a license if you qualify. See The Secret To Getting A Colorado Driver License If You've Lost Your License in Another State

New York, same rules apply as for Colorado except New York DOES apply points for moving violations in Ontario and Quebec.

Michigan and Georgia will assess points for out-of-state tickets.

Kentucky does not assess points for out-of-state speeding tickets but will for others.

Vermont and North Carolina do not report tickets to your home state unless violation results in license suspension.

North Carolina will not assess points for out-of-state tickets unless the violation, if committed in North Carolina would result in a suspension.

Kansas, Wyoming, Minnesota, Arizona, Iowa, and South Dakota will not put speeding tickets on record unless it is 10 or more mph over the limit. If the violation was committed by an out-of-state motorist, the violation may still be reported to the home state which can result in points being assessed.

South Dakota will not assess points for speeding tickets. This may change since the repeal of the 55 mph National Speed Limit.

About the Non-Resident Violator Compact

The Non-Resident Violator Compact requires member states to suspend the drivers license of those who get traffic tickets for moving violations in other states and fail to pay them. The compact is not supposed to include non-moving violations such as expired inspection stickers, equipment violations such as window tinting or parking violations.

A member state may choose to voluntarily suspend a license of a person who does not pay an out-of-state ticket for an equipment violation such as loud exhaust.

Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for any mistakes in this document but the document is here for your information. Please check with local authorities to get clarification.