The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) states the following in regards to violations committed in other states - even though you are a New Jersey driver, you can still acquire points and penalties for violations committed in other states.

New Jersey is a member of two compacts that enforce this policy. There is the Drivers License Compact (DLC) which consists of 45 states and the District of Columbia. States not included are Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Members in this compact exchange all violation information. Out-of-state moving violations are worth two points in NJ. For example, if you receive a speeding ticket in Virginia, you will get two points on your New Jersey driving record for that violation.

The Non-Resident Violator Compact (NRVC) consists of 44 states and the District of Columbia. States not included are Alaska, California, Michigan, Montana, Oregon and Wisconsin. This compact assures nonresident motorists the same rights and privileges as residents.

With this agreement nonresident drivers have due process protection and cannot be detained out-of-state. It requires drivers to fulfill the terms of traffic citations received in member states or face the possibility of license suspension in their home state. This compact does not apply to parking or standing violations, highway weight limit violations and violations of Hazmat transportation laws.

The NJ MVC does not say that Puerto Rico would exchange information with them since it is not a state or US territory that is involved in the Compacts listed above however we would advise you to check with the NJ MVC to find out if tickets from Puerto Rico are reported to them and/or placed on your driving record with points assessed.

We asked a representative of the MVC, however she was unable to say for certain if the offense would go on your record and be assessed 2 points (the normal amount assigned to out of state moving violations).The MVC rep. thought most likely the PR conviction would be treated as other out of state tickets since even tickets from Puerto Rico showed up in the national database the MVC gets information from.

You may also try asking the PR government agency which you pay the ticket to if your home state of New Jersey will be informed of the conviction of the traffic violation. Just for your information, we have read that tickets in PR for minor traffic violations are normally issued by either municipal or Commonwealth police officers and may be paid at any local Collector of Internal Revenue office (Colecturía de Rentas Internas).

We have heard that with speeding and other similar violations, your driver’s license is withheld by the policeman issuing the ticket. You must pay the ticket and then bring the receipt within thirty days to the local police station to recover your license. After thirty days, your driver’s license will be sent to the P.R Department of Transportation (Departamento de Transportación y Obras Públicas). So if your driver's license was held by the police to make sure you would take care of your ticket then you will need to make sure to find out when paying the ticket what is needed to get it back.