Newark, NJ Building Safety: Building Permits (2026)

Chapter 7:4 of the Revised General Ordinances, the Miscellaneous Provisions closing out Newark's Uniform Construction Code Title, sets two conditions that sit on top of the state code before the Central Permit Office at 920 Broad Street (City Hall) will issue a permit. Section 7:4-1(c) requires that every application for a building, fire, plumbing or electrical permit submitted to the City shall be accompanied by certification that no taxes or assessments for local improvements are due or delinquent on the property, certified on a form from the City's Tax Collector; if taxes are owed, no permit shall be issued until such payment is received by the City or adequate provision for the payment thereof is made.

Section 7:4-1(d) adds a construction requirement specific to housing: all new residential dwellings built in Newark must include in their plans a secondary means of egress through an enclosed stairway exiting at the side or rear of the property, or no building permit shall be issued for said project, a stricter rule than the baseline BOCA egress standard the state code otherwise allows.

Applications and plan review run through the Central Permit Office under Section 7:1-5, which also collects fees and issues certificates of occupancy; the Construction Official has final say over completeness and prior approvals under Section 7:1-6. A non-refundable $58 processing fee applies to every permit application under Section 7:2-3.1(a), credited against the total permit fee once the Building Subcode Official calculates it from the project's cubic footage or estimated construction cost.