New Jersey Texting While Driving Tickets: Fines, Points and Possible Defenses

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In New Jersey, using a handheld phone while driving violates N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3. The fine is $200–$400 for a first offense, $400–$600 for a second and $600–$800 for a third or later offense, which also carries three motor vehicle points and a possible 90-day license suspension. First and second offenses carry no points.

Penalties under N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3(d)

Offense level	Fine	Motor vehicle points	License suspension
First offense	$200–$400	None	None under this section
Second offense	$400–$600	None	None under this section
Third or subsequent offense	$600–$800	3 points	Court may impose a 90-day suspension

A ticket for texting while driving can carry more than a fine. Repeat convictions can bring motor vehicle points and a license suspension. The law also reaches conduct beyond texting, including certain uses of a phone for navigation. Before paying a ticket, it is worth understanding the charge, the evidence and how prior offenses affect the potential penalty.

New Jersey’s principal handheld cell phone statute is N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3. Although often called the texting-while-driving law, it actually regulates the use of wireless telephones and electronic communication devices by operators of moving motor vehicles on public roads and highways.

What the Law Prohibits

The statute covers handheld telephone conversations, text messaging and sending electronic messages such as emails. Its definition of use is not limited to those examples. A driver therefore does not necessarily have a defense simply because the phone was being used for an app rather than a text.

Hands-free use is generally permitted for fully licensed drivers, provided the device’s placement does not interfere with required safety equipment and the driver exercises a high degree of caution. Holding a phone while talking on speakerphone is not the same as using it hands-free.

The law allows limited hand use to activate, deactivate or initiate a phone function. That language does not authorize extended manipulation of a phone. The distinction between limited activation and prohibited use is important, and New Jersey case law helps explain it.

Fines, Points and License Suspension

The table above shows the ordinary penalties for a direct violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3(d). Court costs and applicable assessments can increase the amount due, and other charges or a separate MVC basis for suspension can also affect the consequences. The 90-day suspension for a third or subsequent violation is discretionary; the three motor vehicle points are mandatory when that offense level applies. The fine schedule was set by P.L. 2013, c.70 and is summarized on the MVC’s cell phone page.

A ticket does not have to label someone a repeat offender for enhanced penalties to apply. Prior convictions need not be charged in the complaint, and the court must examine the relevant history. Under the statute’s step-down provision, a second offense occurring more than ten years after the first is treated as a first conviction for sentencing, and a third offense occurring more than ten years after the second is treated as a second conviction for sentencing.

For first and second offenses, the statute assesses no motor vehicle penalty points or automobile insurance eligibility points. That is not a guarantee about an insurer’s future premiums or the effect of other convictions.

Has the Law Changed in 2026?

Some 2026 news reports described new penalties or a new ban on phone use at red lights. N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3 was last amended by P.L. 2013, c.70, which took effect July 1, 2014, and the penalty schedule above is the schedule currently in the statute. Whether the statute reaches a vehicle stopped at a light is a separate question, discussed below.

New Jersey Case Law on Phone Use and Texting While Driving

State v. Troisi and Using Google Maps

In State v. Troisi, 471 N.J. Super. 158 (App. Div. 2022), an officer saw a driver holding a phone and moving his fingers as though texting. The driver explained that he was accessing Google Maps for directions. His actions included entering a six-digit passcode, opening the app and positioning the cursor in its search field.

The Appellate Division affirmed the conviction. It concluded that this sequence went well beyond the limited activation or initiation the statute allows. The driver’s attention was diverted from the road while he entered multiple inputs. The court also rejected his argument that the statute was unconstitutionally vague or overbroad.

The practical lesson is that “I was using GPS” does not automatically defeat a charge. The safer course is to set the route before driving or pull over safely before changing it. Troisi does not hold that every touch of a phone is prohibited, but it makes clear that multi-step tasks, such as unlocking a phone and searching in a navigation app, fall outside the statute’s limited-activation language. Because Troisi is a published Appellate Division decision, it binds New Jersey’s trial and municipal courts.

State v. Malone and the Limits of an Older Decision

In State v. Malone, No. A-6176-09T4 (App. Div. July 1, 2011) (unpublished), the Law Division, on de novo review, found that the driver’s phone had a hands-free device but still held that pressing buttons violated the statute. The Appellate Division reversed and remanded for entry of a judgment of acquittal. It concluded that the statute does not limit hands-free use to listening and that dialing or otherwise initiating a function may involve more than one button press, although sending a text remains prohibited and the State had not proved that the driver was texting.

Malone is unpublished and is not precedent in New Jersey courts. See R. 1:36-3. It should not be presented as a blanket right to dial, type or operate apps while driving. The later published Troisi decision is particularly important when the conduct involves multiple steps to access an app. The actual actions and evidence remain central.

What the Prosecutor Must Prove

The State must prove the charged violation beyond a reasonable doubt. A useful defense review asks what the officer actually saw, whether the vehicle was moving on a public road or highway, and whether the observed conduct was prohibited use rather than activity permitted by the statute.

Credible officer testimony can be important evidence; the prosecutor does not invariably need a screenshot of a text or a download of the phone. Conversely, an officer’s conclusion that a driver was texting should be examined against the observations supporting it, including distance, viewing angle, lighting and duration.

Relevant evidence can include body-camera or dashboard recordings, contemporaneous notes, witness accounts and properly authenticated phone records. A record showing no ordinary text message at a particular time is not necessarily conclusive because prohibited use can involve an app, an internet-based message or another phone function. Preserve relevant evidence and obtain discovery promptly.

Common Situations and Possible Defenses

A Mounted Phone or a Navigation App

A mount can support hands-free use, but it does not make every interaction lawful. Likewise, having Bluetooth in the vehicle does not establish that the phone was actually being used hands-free. The manner of use matters, including whether the driver was repeatedly entering information.

A Vehicle Stopped at a Red Light

Police commonly treat a driver stopped at a light as still operating the vehicle, and a State Police spokesperson has been quoted as saying handheld use is unlawful unless the car is legally parked. News coverage in 2026 has repeated that view. The statute’s text is more specific. N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3(a) applies to an operator of a “moving motor vehicle” on a public road or highway. If a vehicle was completely stationary throughout the alleged phone use, a driver can argue that the State has failed to prove the movement the statute requires. This challenges an element of the charged offense; it is not one of the statute’s express emergency exceptions. The permit and probationary driver statutes use similar language (“moving passenger automobile”), and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety’s 2008 bulletin on the law also describes the offense as applying to the operator of a “moving motor vehicle.”

This is a potential defense rather than a settled exception. As of this writing, we are not aware of a published New Jersey appellate decision squarely deciding whether a vehicle temporarily stopped at a red light falls within this statutory language. A prosecutor may argue that a temporary traffic stop is part of the continuing operation of a vehicle during a trip. The defense can respond that the Legislature specifically used the word “moving.” How a court would resolve that question is unsettled. Troisi does not resolve it: the driver there was using the phone while driving, and the court did not address a stopped vehicle.

The facts will be decisive. The strongest factual basis for the defense exists when the officer observed phone use only while the car was completely stopped, particularly if video confirms that it remained stationary throughout the use. Relevant questions include when the officer first saw the phone, whether the wheels or vehicle were moving, how long the observation lasted, and whether the phone was put away before the vehicle moved again. Dashboard recordings, witness accounts and the officer’s contemporaneous notes may help establish that sequence.

The argument is weaker if the officer observed prohibited phone use while the car approached the light, crept forward in traffic or pulled away after the light changed. Being stopped when the officer approached or issued the ticket does not establish that the car was stationary during the alleged violation. The timing of the phone use and the vehicle’s movement should be examined together.

A red-light stop also does not resolve a separate charge supported by other driving conduct or the distinct restrictions on permit and probationary drivers. For motorists, the safer practice remains to pull into a lawful parking location before manually using the phone. For a defense review, however, the statute’s movement requirement deserves careful attention rather than an assumption that any phone use during a trip automatically satisfies it.

An Emergency Call

The statute contains specific exceptions for safety threats and calls reporting a fire, a traffic accident, a serious road hazard, a medical or hazardous-materials emergency or a dangerous driver to the authorities. The driver must keep one hand on the steering wheel. An urgent personal message is not automatically a qualifying emergency. Call records and information from the authority receiving the report can help establish a permitted call.

Stricter Rules for Permit and Probationary Drivers

New Jersey’s graduated licensing statutes prohibit special learner’s permit holders and probationary drivers from using any hand-held or hands-free interactive wireless communication device while operating a moving passenger automobile, except in an emergency. See N.J.S.A. 39:3-13.2a(a) (permit holders) and N.J.S.A. 39:3-13.4(c) (probationary drivers); the MVC’s graduated licensing page summarizes the restriction. Parents and new drivers should not assume that the rules for fully licensed drivers apply to them. License status, rather than simply whether the driver is a teenager, matters.

When a Crash Raises the Stakes

Phone use associated with an injury or death can lead to consequences beyond N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3. New Jersey’s death-by-auto statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5(a), and its assault-by-auto provision, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(c)(1), provide that proof that the defendant was operating a hand-held wireless telephone in violation of the cell phone statute may give rise to an inference that the defendant was driving recklessly. That inference does not itself establish every element of a crime; the State must prove the applicable offense and causation. A crash can also produce a civil personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Before Paying or Resolving the Ticket

Paying a traffic ticket means pleading guilty. Before doing so, review the statute charged, the evidence and your prior record. A ticket that appears to have no points can still matter when determining penalties for a later conviction.

Plea terms also deserve careful attention. Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3(g), when this section is used as a substitute charge for another Title 39 offense that carries points, the penalty is the same as for unsafe driving under N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2, including its surcharge, and the conviction also counts as a conviction under 39:4-97.2 for enhanced penalties. The ordinary cell phone fine table therefore does not describe every negotiated disposition.

A defense may involve challenging the observations, showing permitted conduct, establishing an applicable exception or correcting the claimed repeat-offense level. The appropriate approach depends on the record. Neither an officer’s brief observation nor the absence of a text in a phone bill automatically resolves every case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to use my phone at a red light in New Jersey?

The statute applies to the operator of a “moving motor vehicle,” and some defendants argue a car completely stopped at a light is not covered. Police commonly treat a stopped driver as still operating the vehicle, and no published appellate decision that we are aware of has settled the question. The safe course is not to handle the phone unless the car is legally parked.

Can I use Google Maps or another navigation app while driving?

Not through a series of manual inputs. Limited activation of a phone function is allowed, but in State v. Troisi, the Appellate Division upheld a conviction where a driver entered a passcode, opened Google Maps and placed the cursor in the search field. Set the route before you drive or pull over safely first.

Does a texting ticket carry points?

Not for a first or second offense. A third or subsequent offense carries three motor vehicle points and a possible 90-day license suspension.

Does using speakerphone count as hands-free?

Hands-free use is generally permitted for fully licensed drivers, but holding the phone while talking on speakerphone is not the same as using it hands-free.

Can a handheld phone ticket be dismissed?

It depends on the evidence. Defenses can include challenging what the officer actually saw, showing the conduct was permitted, establishing an emergency exception, or correcting the claimed repeat-offense level. No outcome is guaranteed.

If I pay the ticket, am I pleading guilty?

Yes. Paying a traffic ticket is a guilty plea, and a conviction can raise the penalty for a later offense even when no points are assessed.

Talk to a New Jersey Traffic Ticket Lawyer

Wolf Law PC represents motorists in New Jersey municipal courts throughout the state from its Red Bank office. If you have received a texting or handheld phone ticket, call 732-741-4448 to discuss the evidence, potential penalties and available options. You can also read about our traffic ticket and license restoration services or browse more traffic law articles.

This article provides general information as of October 7, 2026. It is not legal advice for a particular case, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on the facts of each matter and are not a guarantee of a similar outcome.