New Brunswick, NJ Fence Regulations: Fence Permit Requirements (2026)

Section 15.04.120 sets construction permit fees, payable to the City of New Brunswick at the central permit office. Under item B.5 of the building subcode fees, the fee for temporary structures and all structures for which volume cannot be computed includes a line for "Fences over 6 Feet" at $100.00, next to lines for in-ground swimming pools in use group R-5 at $125.00 and temporary mobile homes or construction trailers at $100.00. The schedule prints no separate line for shorter fences, and the printed text does not say whether a fence of 6 feet or less needs a construction permit, so ask the construction official, who enforces the Uniform Construction Code under § 15.04.100.

The zoning side is printed more directly. Section 17.03.015 lists the projects exempted from the zoning permitting process and zoning fees, and rooftop solar panels are the only project printed there. Section 17.03.070.A.2 requires all fences in all zones to comply with Table 1 and § 17.07.060, and § 17.03.070.E lets the owner of a residential property next to an industrial use request, through a zoning permit application, up to an eight foot fence. Under § 17.08.030.B, no zoning permit issues unless the application conforms to Title 17 or has been exempted by variance, a zoning permit is issued before a building permit, and the initial zoning permit fee for single- and two-family residential use is $30.00. The resubmission fee is free if submitted within 45 days of denial and $15.00 after 45 days.