Announcement of Mandatory Online Filing of Charities Registrations and Extension Requests for Tax Exempt Organizations Registered in New Jersey

Over the past few years, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has been revising the Charity Registration website to transition to an online portal, known as the DCA Portal.  

In December 2017, the State made available the following forms for online submission:

CRI-200: Short Form Registration/Verification Statement

CRI-150I: Long Form Initial Renewal Registration/Verification Statement

CRI 300R: Long Form Renewal Registration/Verification Statement

CRI 400:  Extension of Time to File the Annual Renewal Registration Statement and Financial Report for a Charitable Organization                 

The DCA Portal is designed to allow charities and paid fund raisers to complete their registration requirements by entering all their applicable data through the online forms. New Jersey DCA requires registered charities to file and renew their registration on an annual basis.  This renewal is due within six (6) months of the organization’s year end. 

Recently, the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs has printed an announcement on its website to mandate that all charitable renewal registration forms and extension requests must be filed online through the DCA portal, effective May 1, 2018.  Any charity renewal registrations and/or extensions that the State receives after May 1, 2018, will not be accepted and will ultimately be returned.

Organizations with gross contributions of $25,000 or less are eligible to file Form CRI-200:  Short Form Registration/Verification Statement. There is a $30 registration fee associated with the filing of this form.

Organizations that raised gross contributions of $25,001 or more are required to file Form CRI-300R: Long Form Renewal Registration/Verification Statement.  Additionally, organizations that are required to complete the long form registration AND received over $500,000 in total gross revenue for the year are also required to submit audited financial statements with their registration. Fees for the long form registration range from $60- $250, depending on gross contributions.

All registration fees must be paid online via major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express).  A late fee of $25 will be automatically assessed for filings made after the annual due date.

Accounts are set-up on an individual basis, and then linked to the registered charities. Therefore, to file online, individuals will need to have a myNewJersey account.  Once an individual account is set-up, the charity can be linked by clicking “add a new charity.”  

After completion of the online registration forms, it is important to note that a copy of the form 990, 99O-EZ or 990-PF and a certified audit (if applicable) must be uploaded to the portal.  In addition, users will need to upload the signature page of the registration renewal and upload that page to the portal as well, after it has been signed by two officers of the organization.

What does CohnReznick think?

Maintaining compliance with State registration requirements are an essential part of a charity’s sustainability. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs website is often accessed by grantmaking organizations, and compliance with all the charitable filing requirements is sometimes a requirement for a grant to be awarded.  To assist with the online filing process for our clients, CohnReznick will provide a paper copy of the applicable renewal registration that can be used for information purposes when entering the data online.