State of New Jersey Makes Changes to Charities Portal
The Charitable Registration & Investigation (CRI) Section of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is the state department that regulates the fundraising activities of many charitable nonprofit organizations and others doing business in the state of New Jersey, through enforcement of the provisions of the Charitable Registration & Investigation Act (CRI Act). Such organizations are required to file an annual registration, which includes financial information, with the department. During May 2025, the state made changes to the DCA Charities Portal, the main system used to file these annual registrations, to improve user experience and streamline the filing process.
In a notice posted in early May, DCA announced the changes that would be coming to the Charities Portal. They noted that DocuSign would be integrated to allow users to electronically sign documents in the portal; additional supporting documents could be submitted through a new Miscellaneous Document Upload section; and auto-fill would help pre-populate the upload with information from previous filings to speed up the upload process. DCA also stated in the notice that the credentials used to log into the portal would not change and that the form would remain consistent with the previous version (the questions would stay the same, although the layout and some filing instructions may change).
The DCA Charities Portal was unavailable for a time in May as the enhancements were made, but the revamped portal is now accessible by nonprofit organizations to complete their registration and renewal filings. One major change is that the portal now has a new web address and the previous link used to access it is no longer functional; however, as mentioned in the earlier notice, the log-in credentials have not changed. The format of the upload has changed – some sections have been moved to earlier or later in the filing process. Most of the questions are the same, although there are a few new or reworded questions that filers need to look out for. Perhaps the biggest change is the DocuSign integration. Previously, filers uploaded a PDF of the NJ CRI signature page executed by two officers of the organization, certifying that all information contained in the filing is true. There currently appears to be no option to sign by paper; instead, a DocuSign request is sent to two organization officials that are chosen during the upload process. The filing cannot be completed and payment cannot be remitted until both signatures have been obtained.
DCA expects that users of the new portal will need time to familiarize themselves with the revamped layout and added features, so there will be a transition period, although they do not specify how long that adjustment period will be or if there will be any sort of leniency extended for late or incomplete filings.
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