Business Licensing & Operations in Plainfield, NJ (2026)
5 verified business licensing & operations rules for Plainfield, New Jersey, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
In the City of Plainfield, New Jersey, no sexually oriented business can operate within one thousand feet of another one, a house of worship, a school, a school bus stop, a playground, a hospital, a child care center or any area zoned residential. Each business also needs a fifty-foot perimeter buffer and is limited to two exterior signs.
Plainfield Sexually Oriented Business Spacing and Buffer Rules
Significant RestrictionsPlainfield Municipal Code § 17:9-49B
A. No person shall operate a sexually oriented business within one thousand (1,000) feet of any existing sexually oriented business, or any church, synagogue, temple or other place of public worship, or any elementary or secondary school or any school bus stop, or any municipal or County playground or place of public resort and recreation, or any hospital or any child care center, or within one...
Secondhand Dealers
Nobody in the City of Plainfield, New Jersey can run a retail or wholesale junk dealer business without a license, and each place of business and each vehicle needs its own. The Mayor grants licenses through the License Bureau for a June 1 to May 31 year, and can cap the number issued with Council approval.
Junk Dealer Licensing in the City of Plainfield, NJ
Significant RestrictionsPlainfield Municipal Code § 9:6-2
§ 9:6-2. License required; exception. ... (a) No person shall engage in the business of a retail or wholesale junk dealer without a license. (b) Nothing in this article shall apply to persons maintaining a licensed motor vehicle junk business or motor vehicle junk yard, as defined in N.J.S.A. 39:11-2, unless such persons are also engaged in the purchase, sale and collection of discarded article...
Pawnbrokers
Anyone in the City of Plainfield, New Jersey who runs a pawnshop, or buys or sells used gold, silver, jewelry, ornaments, wearing apparel or household goods, needs a license from the Mayor or the Mayor's designee before doing business. The license year runs June 1 to May 31, and the Schedule of Fees lists $100.
Pawnbroker and Secondhand Dealer Licenses in Plainfield, NJ
Significant RestrictionsPlainfield Municipal Code § 9:6A-1
§ 9:6A-1. Pawnbroker's and second hand dealer's license. ... Every person now or hereafter engaged in or carrying on the business of pawnbroker or buying or selling used or second hand gold, silver, jewelry, ornaments, wearing apparel, household goods or articles of household use in the City of Plainfield shall, before engaging in such business, or, after the effective date of this ordinance co...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
In the City of Plainfield, Property Maintenance Code Section 2.03 bars keeping a vehicle outdoors on private land for more than five days when it is being dismantled or repaired, unregistered or inoperable. Work inside an enclosed garage is exempt, and first-offense fines run up to $500.
Plainfield NJ Vehicle Repair on Residential Property
Some RestrictionsPlainfield Municipal Code § 6:2-6
(I) Sec 2.03 Parking or storage of motor vehicles on private property. ... (b) No person shall place, abandon, leave, keep, park or maintain, or permit the placing, abandoning, leaving, keeping, parking or maintaining of any motor vehicle described below out of doors upon any private land in the City of Plainfield for more than five days if said vehicle: ... (A) A motor vehicle shall be deemed ...
Towing Companies
In the City of Plainfield, police-requested tows go to licensed rotation towers under Article 16A: a two-year license costing $250.00, with a 20-minute response standard. Rates are capped at $115.00 for a Category I tow truck or wheel lift and $125.00 for a flatbed, and after-hours release fees are prohibited. Violations carry fines up to $500.
Rotation Towing and Wrecker Rules in Plainfield, NJ
Significant RestrictionsPlainfield Municipal Code § 9:16A-16
(a) The tow operator must only charge the rates set forth in this article. No other charges or fees are permitted. (b) The tow operator must tow the motor vehicle from the location of the police request to the towing operator's storage site(s). This shall constitute a single tow rate. ... (d) The tow operator is prohibited from charging a release fee for releasing vehicles after normal business...
Looking for Union County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Plainfield city rules.
Business Licensing & Operations in Union County →