This bill revises the process for reporting lost or stolen registration plates to law enforcement agencies and the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC). It mandates that individuals whose motor vehicle or registration plates have been lost or stolen must immediately file a report with the appropriate law enforcement agency, rather than simply notifying the chief of police or other peace officer as previously required. The law enforcement agency is then obligated to provide the individual with a trackable case number linked to the report within 24 hours. Additionally, the Superintendent of State Police, in consultation with the Chief Administrator of the MVC, is tasked with creating or updating guidelines for filing these reports.

Furthermore, the bill requires individuals to notify the MVC when their registration plates are lost or stolen, submitting either a copy of the police report or the trackable case number along with a completed vehicle registration plate status form. The MVC is instructed to update this form to include spaces for indicating whether the plates are lost or stolen and for the trackable case number. Upon completion, the MVC must provide a copy of the form to the individual reporting the loss. The intent of this legislation is to streamline the replacement process for lost or stolen registration plates, enhance law enforcement's ability to track these incidents, and prevent misuse of registration plates.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39:3-85.1, 39:3-85.2, 39:3-85.3