Old Bridge, NJ Home Business: Zoning & Home Occupation Permits (2026)

Township Code § 250-6 defines HOME OCCUPATION as an occupation conducted entirely within a dwelling unit by residents of the dwelling unit that stays clearly incidental and secondary to the home's residential use. Six conditions attach: there can be no exterior evidence of the occupation, no employees besides the residents themselves, no deliveries of stock or inventory to the premises, no occupational sounds audible outside the dwelling, no equipment that interferes with a neighbor's radio or television reception, and no handling or storage of hazardous wastes or substances.

This standard is narrower than the Township's separate home business use at § 250-41P, which is also permitted in all zones but allows up to two non-resident employees and a dedicated space of up to 20% of the dwelling's floor area or 500 square feet; a use that needs employees, floor area, or deliveries beyond the § 250-6 limits must instead qualify as a home business or home professional office, not a home occupation. A detached one- or two-family home operating a qualifying home occupation is exempt from site plan review under § 250-83, but the resident still needs a zoning permit from the Zoning Officer under § 250-85 before starting the use, since any change in use requires that permit before a construction permit or certificate of occupancy can issue. The Department of Community Development's Zoning Officer administers and enforces these standards townshipwide.