Moving between states / New Jersey

Flag of HawaiiHawaiitoFlag of New JerseyNew Jersey, Truck driver

Moving from Hawaii to New Jersey as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in Hawaii has to do to work in New Jersey, what the move does to your pay, and who in New Jersey is hiring from out of state.

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a New Jersey resident you surrender the Hawaii CDL at a New Jersey driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in New Jersey. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

Hawaii and New Jersey take about the same from a $60,000 salary; the difference is under $150 a year either way.

SalaryHawaii state taxNew Jersey state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,080$3,010+$70
$60,000$4,620$4,515+$105
$90,000$6,930$6,773+$157

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Hawaii to New Jersey

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Hawaii certificate stays on the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric); to work in New Jersey you apply to the New Jersey Department of Health, Nurse Aide Registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Hawaii to New Jersey

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Hawaii is not in the compact, so your Hawaii licence is single-state. Apply to the New Jersey board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because New Jersey is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: Hawaii to New Jersey

Exam required. New Jersey licenses electricians through the New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors and does not reciprocate with any state. Your Hawaii hours count toward eligibility, so get them certified in writing by the Hawaii Board of Electricians and Plumbers before you move and book the New Jersey exam early.

No statewide program in New Jersey pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in New Jersey

45 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by New Jersey employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Hawaii to New Jersey

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for New Jersey employers.

Plan my move to New Jersey

Same move, by trade

CNA: Hawaii to New Jersey · RN or LPN: Hawaii to New Jersey · Electrician: Hawaii to New Jersey · All licences: Hawaii to New Jersey

From Hawaii to the states next to New Jersey

New York (progressive, top rate 10.9%) · Pennsylvania (flat 3.07% state income tax) · Delaware (progressive, top rate 6.6%)

To New Jersey from the states next to Hawaii

Everything about working in New Jersey · All moves between states · All 50 states

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

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