Business licenses and permits in New Jersey

New Jersey’s licensing starts with a search. The state keeps a guide of what to get for each kind of business, and your town may add its own. Start there, then work from the state to the town to the regulator of your trade.

What’s different in New Jersey

• The state keeps a searchable guide. The Licensing and Certification Guide on business.nj.gov listed 551 items when we checked, with the contact for each State authority.
• We could not confirm a general state business license. The pages we read do not say in so many words whether one exists, so use the guide, and ask your municipal clerk about town licenses.*
• Towns can require their own. Newark, the state’s largest city, requires a City of Newark Business License. Whether a town charges a mercantile or fire protection license is a question for its clerk.*
• Alcohol licenses are local. They are issued by the municipality; licenses run July 1 to June 30.

Do this

1. Search the Licensing and Certification Guide. Describe your business and read the entries that match. Each one names the State authority to contact.
2. Check your municipality. Call the municipal clerk’s office before you sign a lease. Ask about a local business license, mercantile or fire protection licenses, and zoning for your address.* In Newark the application package comes from the Office of Central Licenses and Permits.
3. Get any professional license your work needs. Many professions license through boards at the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs; the guide lists them.
4. Building or remodeling homes? A home improvement contractor registers each year with the NJ Division of Consumer Affairs. The rule is that home improvement contractors must register annually with the Division of Consumer Affairs, with no dollar threshold for residential home improvement work. The initial fee was $110 when we checked and renews by March 31. The Director sets the fee, so confirm it on the Division’s page. Registration needs proof of commercial general liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence, and workers’ compensation insurance unless exempt by law.
5. Selling food or alcohol? The NJ Department of Health Retail Food Project sets the sanitation rules. Who issues the food license in your town varies, so check the official source.* Alcohol retail licenses come from the municipality; licenses run July 1 to June 30; the NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control lists the license types.
6. Selling taxable goods or services? Register for taxes before your first sale: Get your tax IDs.
7. Ask for help if the list gets long. The SBA’s New Jersey District Office in Newark offers counseling, and the state’s business helpline is 1-800-JERSEY-7.

What you get back

One license or permit from each agency that regulates your work, each on its own renewal schedule, plus any town permits. Write down the renewal date on each one as you receive it. A contractor’s registration renews by March 31 each year, and retail alcohol licenses run on their own term. Some licenses take far longer than others: the guide notes 14 to 16 months for an A-901 waste transport license.