The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced that as of October 15, 2024 obtaining a New Jersey Saltwater Registration requires completion of a Child Support Certification Form. Hunters and freshwater anglers have had to comply with this legislative requirement for decades, literally, and NJDEP has apparently now caught up with this state requirement on the saltwater side at saltwaterregistry.nj.gov.
A lot of anglers seem pretty ticked off, with many seeing this as some precursor to a fee-based saltwater license. Just remember, the only way that New Jersey can charge a fee to fish in marine waters is by an act of legislation requiring both the state Senate and Assembly to push a bill through various committees in Trenton for a full vote by both houses, with that bill ultimately requiring the governor’s signature to become law.
Currently, New Jersey statute (Title 23 – Fish and Game, Wild Birds and Animals) prohibits “the imposition of a saltwater recreational anglers license on any person,” while an amended section which created the saltwater registry in 2011 specifically states “The department shall not charge a fee for the registration required pursuant to this section.” I know there are plenty of government folks who would like to see a fee to fish enacted for marine waters, but again, that cannot happen without members of the state Senate and Assembly rewriting Title 23 with amended language.
Under the Child Support Program Improvement Act, NJDEP is required by law to obtain this information – just as it is required to obtain Social Security numbers – prior to issuing any license or permit. I remember writing about this back in the early 2000s BF (Before Facebook) when animal rights nuts first started using the Child Support Program Improvement Act to go after hunting and freshwater fishing licenses. Seems the antis figured that even stopping a few hunters and anglers from being legally licensed would amount to a win for their side.
But it’s not only hunters and anglers; other licenses affected by this longstanding state law include driving, professional and occupational licenses issued by various state agencies. In fact, this same legislation also gives New Jersey the power to collect any outstanding child support payments through withholding income from paychecks, asset seizure, credit reporting and even the interception of any lottery winnings.
On the landing page where anglers will find the NJ Child Support Certification Requirement information, NJDEP says it realizes the imposition this has placed upon constituents, license agents and staff, and they also understand that individuals may have concerns regarding the collection of this information. In order to address these concerns, NJDEP said it has worked with the Office of the Attorney General, the Administrative Offices of the Court and State Information Technology staff to develop a convenient, efficient and secure way of meeting their longtime obligations under this law.
Bottom line is this – completing the Child Support Certification is required when purchasing a hunting or fishing license, same as it is with many related permits issued by state agencies. Hunters and freshwater anglers have been complying with this requirement for years, whereas saltwater anglers have not. But, the state has now caught up with the compliance requirements of the Child Support Program Improvement Act within the free saltwater registry.
The certification must be completed annually and covers all fish and wildlife licenses, permits and/or registrations obtained for the respective calendar year. For those individuals who have already registered this year, you will be prompted to complete the Child Support Certification Form the next time you log into the system.
Also keep in mind that if child support payments have not been paid for six months or more, the licensing agency, either through court or administratively, may suspend, revoke or deny any licenses or registrations that slacker may be applying for, which includes driving, professional, occupational, recreational or sporting licenses.
