New Jersey road test checklist: practice certification, car requirements and test locations

Before booking a road test, complete the supervised practice required for your permit. The 2026 New Jersey Driver Manual, Chapter 2, specifies six months for GDL permit holders under 21 and three months for those 21 or older. Applicants who received a special learner’s or examination permit on or after February 1, 2025 while under 21 must also complete 50 supervised hours, including 10 during darkness. The age-16 special learner’s route includes six hours of instruction in a dual-controlled vehicle through an approved school program or licensed driving school before permit validation.

Bring the signed practice certification

If the 50-hour requirement applies, have your parent, guardian or supervising driver complete BA-CSD. Print it and sign it by hand. Bring it to your road-test appointment: the manual’s road-test section requires the completed form there, and MVC requires certification for probationary-license issuance. For applicants covered by this requirement, turning 21 before licensure does not remove the certification requirement.

Permit, driver and vehicle checklist

• The six-point identification documents used for your permit.
• Your valid, validated permit, legible and not laminated.
• An accompanying driver with a valid New Jersey license, at least 21 years old, who has held a New Jersey driver license for at least three years. Use this qualified driver to supervise your trip to the test.
• Valid vehicle registration and insurance identification; the manual allows electronic insurance identification. The vehicle must meet inspection requirements or have the applicable official inspection-exemption documentation.
• Two red reflective GDL decals, correctly displayed on the front and rear plates, for applicants under 21.

Use the MVC road-test vehicle requirements before choosing a car. The examiner needs unobstructed access to the foot brake or a center-mounted parking brake accessible from the passenger seat. Check lights, signals and wipers. Vehicles in unsafe condition, with prohibited tinted windows or with self-parking equipment can be rejected. Installed backup cameras and parking sensors are permitted.

For a rental car, the agreement must list you as an additional driver and you must meet the rental company’s contract-age requirement. Driving-school vehicles are allowed; MVC does not provide a test car. Do not practice on the test course or parallel-parking test area, and do not move the car in the queue without a licensed driver inside.

Go to the road-test site

Book through the MVC appointment service, then check the confirmation against the road-test directory:

Road-test site	Address
Newark	228 Frelinghuysen Ave, Newark, NJ 07114
Kilmer	33 Kilmer Rd, Edison, NJ 08817
Bakers Basin	3200 Brunswick Pike, Rte 1, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

Kilmer’s 33 Kilmer Rd test site differs from Edison’s 45 Kilmer Rd licensing center. Use the location on your road-test confirmation.

What happens at and after the test

Expect skills such as reversing, stopping, turning, parallel parking and yielding. Only the MVC examiner accompanies you during the test. If you fail, wait at least 14 days before retesting.

After passing, follow the examiner’s instructions to obtain your probationary license. The first-license guide says this can be done at the test location if that service is available, or at a Licensing Center without an appointment, with the stamped permit and required documents. Passing alone does not authorize independent driving; obtain the license first. The basic-license upgrade follows one year of probationary driving and the applicable age requirement.

For the earlier stages, see permit and knowledge-test appointments.