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Have you gotten a traffic ticket in New Jersey?
If you don’t want to fight the ticket and just want to pay, you should use the NJMCdirect portal.
What is NJMCdirect?
It’s easy to make mistakes when navigating through a labyrinth of red tape. Make one wrong turn and that’s another fine, fee, surcharge, etc. The longer you wait, the more you’re going to have to pay. And if you wait too long, you won’t be able to benefit from the speed, security, and convenience of the NJMCdirect payment system.
NJMCdirect is the online portal that you can use to pay a ticket or complaint from the New Jersey Municipal Courts system. Hence the “NJMC” (New Jersey Municipal Courts). This portal offers a variety of services that make it simple and easy to pay your traffic tickets, parking tickets, and other fines due to a municipal court.
Municipal courts, also called city or county courts, in New Jersey handle most of the state’s citations that are issued each year. Sure, you could go down to the court and pay in person, but why burn half your day when you could spend 15 minutes online in a fast, secure, and convenient way?
That’s where the NJMCdirect system comes in.
Fast
It tends to take only 5-10 minutes to fill out all of the information, double-check it, and submit it into the system. If you have all of your documents arranged and ready to go before logging on, the process can be made to go even faster.
Here’s a brief list of information that you’ll want to have on hand when trying to pay a traffic ticket through NJMCdirect:
- Court ID/name
- Prefix
- Ticket number
- License plate number
You can find all of this information on your ticket. Each section is neatly labeled to make it easier to find. All of this information is on the same line contained in one small section of the ticket. Having your ticket with you while filling out the information saves you time that you would otherwise have to spend hunting that information down elsewhere.
Secure
NJMCdirect is a government portal and, like most government portals, uses modern encryption software to ensure that your information stays secure. Using a secure payment portal to pay your traffic tickets has the following benefits:
- You won’t have to worry about somebody stealing your information.
Paying your ticket online through NJMCdirect can be just as safe as paying in person. Actually, there’s less of a chance that you’ll accidentally leave your documents on a bench or lose your wallet paying online than if you were to go to court to pay in person.
- You can rest easy knowing that your finances are safe.
Secure payment systems prevent thieves and hackers from intercepting your banking information. With proper security software in place, it becomes almost impossible for hackers to sneak a peek at your payment information while making the transaction.
- You can spend less time worrying and more time enjoying other things.
Using a secure payment system means you don’t have to spend as much time worrying about whether the payment is going to go through, if somebody’s going to see your information, etc.
Convenient
The most commonly cited benefit of online payment portals like NJMCdirect is the convenience factor. Paying online can save you a great deal of time. If you’re a parent, full-time employee, or otherwise just plain have a life, you stand to benefit from online payment systems.
No matter who you are, if you lead a busy life, online payment portals are a great option when trying to save time for other things. You can make these payments from work, from home, or even from your phone anywhere at any time of the day.
That makes this great for people who might not have the time to sit down at their computer for a few minutes, let alone take hours to go down to the courthouse. To make things even better, the process for paying your ticket at NJMCdirect is even more streamlined and straightforward than the standard courthouse process.
The Process for Paying Your Ticket at NJMCdirect
Paying your ticket at NJMCdirect gives you more power over the transaction than if you were to go to the courthouse to pay your ticket. At the courthouse, you’d have to hand your information to the court officer and hope that they handle it correctly. They’ll go through it, enter it into their system, and then ask you to pay what they think the total comes out to.
At NJMCdirect, all of that power is in your hands. You will start out by finding your traffic ticket and going to NJMCdirect.com on either your phone or your computer. Next, click “Traffic Ticket.” The system will ask you to fill in four boxes: Court ID/Name, Prefix, Ticket Number, and License Plate Number. The Prefix box is not required, but can make it easier for the system to locate your ticket.
Once you’ve entered that information, click “Search” and let the system locate your ticket. Once found, proceed to enter your payment information and submit the payment to the court. And that’s it!
What Is The Difference Between a Traffic Ticket and a Municipal Complaint?
The most notable difference between traffic tickets and municipal complaints is that traffic tickets cannot be resolved through the mediation process whereas most municipal complaints can be. Of course, there are plenty other differences between these two kinds of legal documents.
A municipal complaint is a form of summons or legal action taken on behalf of a complainant. This can be anything ranging from neighborly disputes to car accident claims. Any kind of civil case could come in the form of a municipal complaint except for traffic and parking tickets.
Will There Be An Additional Charge for Using NJMCdirect?
The downside to this quick and convenient service is that you’ll have to pay an additional 3% service fee. To find out how much extra it will cost you to use this service, multiply your ticket’s fine by 1.03. So, if you have a $100 ticket, it will cost you $103 to pay through NJMCdirect.
How Can I Find My Ticket Through NJMCdirect?
Finding your ticket through NJMCdirect is a quick and easy process. Start by going to the traffic ticket lookup section of the portal. You will need one of the four pieces of information listed below:
- Your name
- Your driver license number
- The complaint number
- The ticket number.
As long as you have one of these four pieces of information, you can start the search process to find your ticket. You should easily be able to start a simple search, assuming you remember your own name and how to spell it!
Once you have the necessary information, click “search.” It’ll take you to a page with a disclaimer on it. To proceed, click “I Accept.”
The next step is to select your search criteria. For example, to search by name, select “Name (FML).” FML stands for First Middle Last. Enter your first and last name with your middle initial. Adding your suffix (e.g. Mr., Ms., etc.), birthdate, marital status, and setting “Court” to “All” will help make the process even easier.
Lastly enter a Captcha and the results should populate in a few seconds.
Online Payment Times
Unlike most online payment systems, NJMCdirect is not available 24/7. NJMCdirect operates pretty much all day and night, but with a few hours of inactivity in between. Unless you’re nocturnal or working late night shifts, you most likely won’t have to worry about the offline hours. For a full list of the online payment times for NJMCdirect, see the table below:
| Day | Time |
| Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday | From 4:30 a.m. to 11:15 p.m. |
| Friday | From 4:30 a.m. to 10:15 p.m. |
| Saturday | From 4:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. |
| Sunday | From 1:00 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. |
What Payment Methods Are Accepted By NJMCdirect?
NJMCdirect accepts two kinds of payment methods: debit and credit. You can pay with either a debit card or a credit card, but you will still have to pay the 3% convenience fee for using the system. NJMCdirect accepts most major credit companies, including but not limited to the following:
- American Express
- Discover
- Master Card
- Visa
If your credit card is not an accepted form of payment, check on the back of your ticket for other ways to pay. Unfortunately, you will not be able to use the NJMCdirect payment system if your payment methods are not accepted.
How Soon Will I Be Able To Pay My Ticket Through NJMCdirect?
How long it takes for tickets to appear in the system varies from ticket to ticket. It all depends on the speed at which the police officer records it with the record-keeping staff at their station and how quickly those record-keepers update it in the system. The problem is that so many tickets are issued each day and they are often handled in the order in which they are received.
You most likely will not be able to pay your ticket for a couple of days. Use that time to think whether paying the ticket is the right decision for you. The lawyers on the WinIt app can help make this decision as easy and pain-free as possible.
Speed Limit Violation Fines in NJ
If you’re trying to pay your ticket through NJMCdirect, you’re going to want to know how much it costs. For speeding, there are seven different speed brackets each with different fine amounts. See the table below for a list of specific fines. Of course, keep in mind that speeding ticket fines can vary depending on the judge’s disposition.
| Miles Per Hour Over the Limit | Fine Amount |
| 1-9 | $85 |
| 10-14 | $95 |
| 15-19 | $105 |
| 20-24 | $200 |
| 25-29 | $220 |
| 30-34 | $240 |
| 35-39 | $269 |
Anything above 39 is considered reckless driving. For more information on reckless driving in New Jersey, check out WinIt’s blog!
Are There Any Traffic Tickets That I Cannot Pay Through NJMCdirect?
You can pay all traffic tickets on NJMCdirect, provided that the other requirements of the ticket have been met. What does that mean? You cannot pay a traffic ticket through the NJMCdirect system until you have taken the necessary steps. That often means pleading guilty and entering the plea with the county.
Of course, it could mean other things. If your traffic ticket requires a mandatory court appearance, you will not be able to pay the ticket until after appearing in court.
What Complaints Can I Pay Through NJMCdirect?
Like with traffic tickets, you can only pay complaints through NJMCdirect after the necessary steps have been taken. That means meeting requirements for mandatory court appearances and filing the proper paperwork with the county. Only civil fines and penalties and penalties associated with minor criminal offenses are payable through the NJMCdirect payment system.
If I Receive a Complaint Today, Will I Be Able To View or Pay It Today?
Most likely not. It is rare for police officers and court staff to issue a ticket, record it, and upload it into the system in a matter of hours. This process typically takes a few days. That means you might want to wait and check back every day until you see it. If after three days you still do not see the ticket in the system, call your court. There may be some paperwork for you to fill out first.
It is possible for complaints to appear in the system on the same day that they were issued. But it is not common.
What If I Have More Than One Offense On My Complaint?
You have to plead to each charge separately and pay them individually. In this case, it is often a good idea to consult with a lawyer, especially if this is regarding a traffic or parking ticket. If your goal is to plead guilty to some of the offenses and not guilty to the others, then you may consider going to court on your court date and explaining your circumstances to the judge.
NJMCdirect Customer Service Numbers
Nobody ever said that the government was a great source of user-friendly interfaces. Finding the right number to call when you have problems with the NJMCdirect system is a considerable challenge. Fortunately, WinIt is here to save the day! Here are the customer service numbers for NJMCdirect: 609-292-8580 and 973-284-4945.