Three pages of instructions rather than a form - the only route the Commission publishes for a New Jersey resident who is temporarily located out-of-state and needs a vehicle titled and registered by post. Its first paragraph is also its most important: if you bought the vehicle while out of state and have since returned to New Jersey, these instructions do not apply to you.
Written against GU-30 (R7/25), issued under the Commission's Government Unit procedure for residents outside the State. This is a set of instructions, and the forms it sends you to are separate documents. Read the checklist on page three first - it is the shortest accurate summary of the procedure.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank GU-30 from the nj.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
There is nothing to fill in. The GU-30 is a three-page instruction sheet from the Commission's Government Unit and carries no fillable fields at all - not one entry box in the whole document. What it does is send you to two other forms and tell you what to enclose with them, so showing it completed would be showing you a blank page with our handwriting invented on top of it.
| On the form | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Evidence of ownership | Original documents only - memorandums of title, photocopies and non-negotiable documents are not acceptable. For a new vehicle that means the original Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin from the selling dealer; for a used one, the other state's title with a proper ownership assignment. |
| Where the former state issues no title | The registration issued to you, or the former owner's registration properly assigned, plus a signed statement certifying you have physically checked the vehicle identification number and that it is accurate. The instructions even tell you where to look - through the windshield, lower left corner of the dash, for anything manufactured after 1968. |
| Mileage statement | The seller must supply an accurate odometer reading at the time of sale and state whether the odometer has passed its mechanical limitations and is on an additional cycle; where the actual reading is inaccurate the seller must say so and give an estimate of what the actual reading is. |
| Applications and forms | A completed, signed, original Application for Certificate of Ownership, and a completed original Registration Application - with a warning that items will not be processed unless the New Jersey driver licence number is supplied in the space provided on the registration application. |
| Supporting documents | A photocopy of the current New Jersey vehicle insurance card and a photocopy of the current New Jersey driver licence. |
| Fees | Cheque or money order payable to NJMVC. Title fee $60, or $85 where the vehicle is financed. Registration based on model year and shipping weight. Sales tax on the purchase price effective on the date of purchase, with the rate table printed: 6.625% from 1 January 2018, 6.875% during 2017, 7% before that. A trade-in shown on the dealer's invoice is subtracted before the tax is calculated, and tax already paid to another state is credited on production of the receipt, with the difference payable if it was less than New Jersey's. |
| The luxury surcharge | A new vehicle subject to New Jersey's Luxury and Fuel Inefficient Surcharge carries an additional 0.4% of the gross sales or lease price. |
| Where it goes, and where it comes back | Posted to the Government Unit at Management Operation Services in Trenton. Titles issued with a lienholder are mailed directly to that institution; where there is no lienholder the paperwork is returned to the out-of-state dealer, or to an out-of-state address you provide. It will not be mailed to a New Jersey address. |
| The checklist | Page three is a tick list of everything above, headed as a guide to ensure you have all required documents and fees to acquire your New Jersey Certificate of Title. |
Every line here was read off GU-30 (R7/25) itself — the PDF is here — and off the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.
Back to all New Jersey seller paperwork, or what selling a car in New Jersey involves.