Business Licensing & Operations in New Jersey (2026)

Bloomfield Township bars any adult use that offers live entertainment. Other adult uses need Planning Board…

Clifton requires any bar, cabaret, theater, or licensed establishment furnishing entertainment to obtain a Municipal…

In the City of East Orange, sexually oriented businesses are excluded from the permitted retail-sales use in the…

Jersey City doesn't license adult bookstores, adult theaters or erotic dance clubs: it prohibits them outright. Chapter…

Newark restricts sexually-oriented businesses to its Second and Third Industrial Zoning Districts, requires a…

In Old Bridge Township, no premises licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption may present live adult…

In the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, Chapter 73 of the Township Code bans topless and bottomless…

The Town of West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey, regulates adult entertainment through its alcoholic beverage…

Brick Township bans sexually oriented businesses within 1,500 feet of churches, schools, parks, homes, and each other…

In East Brunswick Township, Chapter 153 makes it unlawful to distribute obscene material, take part in an obscene…

Edison Township bars large gatherings for sexually oriented products or obscene materials within 1,000 feet of another…

Freehold Township allows adult bookstores, adult theaters, body painting studios, exotic dance or strip clubs, modeling…

In Howell Township, New Jersey, a sexually oriented business needs a conditional use permit from the Planning Board and…

Adult entertainment establishments must sit at least 500 feet from another such use, a residential use or district, a…

Jackson Township Code § 244-179 bars operating a sexually oriented business within 1,500 feet of any place of worship…

Linden bans sexually-oriented businesses within 1,000 feet of another such business, a church, school, school bus stop…

Long Branch prohibits adult entertainment uses in every zoning district except where expressly permitted, and even in a…

Monroe Township, Gloucester County, NJ permits adult bookstores, adult movie houses and massage parlors, as the Code…

In the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey, a go-go bar is a conditional use in the I-2 industrial district under Zoning…

Passaic Code Chapter 70 tightly controls adult bookstores and adult motion-picture theaters: every regulated use needs…

Sexually-oriented businesses in Paterson need conditional-use approval and must sit at least 1,000 feet from schools…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, adult bookstores are a listed prohibited use in the C-1 Neighborhood Business…

In the City of Plainfield, New Jersey, no sexually oriented business can operate within one thousand feet of another…

Trenton requires a $1,000 annual license for adult entertainment businesses under § 146-20, on top of strict zoning…

In Wayne Township, Passaic County, adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters and adult entertainment cabarets are…

In the City of Vineland, Section 511-11 restricts sexually oriented businesses, including adult bookstores, to…

Woodbridge does not run a separate adult-business permit or spacing scheme. Instead, Township Code § 4-1.3 defines a…

Old Bridge Township prohibits massage parlors in every zone under Code § 250-42B(16); the ban is absolute, with no…

In the City of Vineland, an 'establishment which does tattooing, massage, body piercing' is a flatly prohibited use in…

Operating a massage establishment in the City of Bayonne requires a City Clerk license approved by the Municipal…

Massage businesses in Bergenfield are a conditional use confined to the B-1 Zone under Borough Code § 208-1, kept at…

In Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, § 630-3 bars anyone from performing massage or bodywork therapies…

Brick Township requires massage establishments to register with the Township Clerk, attach valid state licenses for the…

Operating a massage business in Cherry Hill Township requires a $2,000 annual license from the Township Clerk, and…

Clifton requires a separate City Clerk license for any massage establishment and for every individual massagist under…

In East Brunswick Township, anyone who owns or operates a health spa or a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy…

In the City of East Orange, a health spa or therapeutic massage business can operate only where the zoning schedule…

Edison Township requires a Health Department permit costing up to $5,000 a year to operate a massage, bodywork or…

Elizabeth requires a separate license for every massage business premises and for each individual masseur or masseuse…

Hackensack requires every massage establishment to hold a Health Department license under City Code Chapter 111 before…

Hamilton requires every massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment to hold a Municipal Clerk license good for…

In Howell Township, no massage establishment can operate or provide massage services without a license from the…

Jackson Township requires a license from the Township Clerk before anyone may operate a massage establishment or work…

Every massage, bodywork and somatic therapist working in Jersey City must hold a valid license under the state Massage…

Lakewood Township requires a separate Township Clerk permit for every massage business and for each masseur or…

A massage establishment in the City of New Brunswick, New Jersey cannot operate without a permit from the city clerk…

Passaic requires every massage, bodywork and somatic therapy establishment to hold a permit from the City before…

Operating a massage business or working as a masseur or masseuse in Toms River Township requires a separate license…

In Wayne Township, New Jersey, Wayne Township Code § 114-2 prohibits operating a massage, bodywork and somatic therapy…

In the Town of West New York, New Jersey, a massage business and each massage practitioner need separate annual…

No one may operate a massage, bodywork or somatic therapy establishment in Woodbridge without a Municipal Clerk permit…

Linden requires a separate license for any massage establishment and for every individual massagist. Establishment…

Long Branch requires anyone operating a massage establishment to hold a city license issued through the City Clerk…

Newark allows massage services only as an accessory use inside a personal service establishment, medical office, or…

Every massage salon operating in Trenton must hold an annual business license under Code § 146-20, which sets the fee…

Clifton bans tattooing outright except when performed by a licensed physician for medical or cosmetic purposes. Body…

In the City of East Orange, tattoo and body-piercing establishments are excluded from the permitted retail-services use…

Old Bridge Township prohibits tattooing and body piercing establishments in every zone under Code § 250-42B(15); no…

Anyone performing tattooing, permanent cosmetics, body piercing, or piercing of the trailing edge of the ear in…

In the City of Bayonne, anyone offering body piercing, body branding or tattooing must obtain a separate $1,000 license…

In Bloomfield Township, New Jersey, no one can tattoo or body-pierce other people without a license from the Township…

In East Brunswick Township, no one can operate a body art establishment without a current license from the Township…

Edison Township requires a Health Department permit before operating a tattoo, body art or body piercing business, and…

Freehold Township requires a Health Department license before anyone can operate a body art or ear-piercing…

Hamilton Township requires anyone operating a tattoo, body piercing or permanent cosmetics business to hold an annual…

Hoboken adopts the New Jersey State Sanitary Code's body art rules in full under City Code § 183-1, then adds its own…

In Howell Township, no one can advertise as a body art practitioner or operate a tattoo or piercing business without a…

Operating a tattoo, permanent cosmetics, or ear and body piercing business in Irvington requires a Township license…

Linden's zoning code prohibits tattoo uses in every district except industrial zones where retail uses are permitted…

Passaic requires a body art establishment license from the Health Division before anyone can advertise or operate a…

Paterson requires a Health Division license to operate any tattoo or body piercing establishment, with a $500 initial…

In the City of Perth Amboy, no one runs a body art establishment without a license, applied for through the local…

The Village of Ridgewood requires every body art establishment, meaning tattoo, body-piercing and permanent-cosmetics…

Toms River Township's zoning code excludes tattoo parlors and body piercing shops from the personal-service uses…

In the City of Vineland, no one may own, construct or operate a body art establishment, or perform tattooing, permanent…

In Wayne Township, NJ, any business offering tattooing, permanent cosmetics, or ear and body piercing needs written…

A tattoo or permanent-cosmetics establishment in Bergenfield needs an annual $250 license from the Health Department…

Brick Township requires written parental or guardian consent before tattooing or body piercing anyone under 18, with…

Tattoo and body piercing shops in Cherry Hill Township need a $50 annual license from the Township Clerk, and…

Operating a tattoo, body piercing or permanent cosmetics business in Hackensack requires a license from the City Health…

No one may tattoo within Jersey City without a license from the Division of Health. Code § 182-27 ties approval to the…

Long Branch defines a body art establishment as one whose primary business is applying permanent body art or makeup to…

In Monroe Township, Gloucester County, a body art or tattooing establishment pays a $500 initial application fee, a…

Newark's zoning code defines a body art studio as any establishment offering tattooing, permanent make-up or body…

Piscataway Township charges a $900 annual license fee for a tattoo parlor or body piercing establishment under the…

Woodbridge licenses tattoo and body art studios through the Department of Health, which has adopted the state's Body…

Trenton zones tattoo and body-piercing shops as a defined "Body Modification Establishment" use under § 315-2.3. The…

New Jersey regulates vape retailers under NJSA 54:40B and NJSA 26:3D, requiring licensing, prohibiting flavored vape…

In Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, smoke shops and vape shops are expressly prohibited in every zone. A…

Linden's zoning code flatly prohibits vape shops in every zoning district. City Code § 31-20.25 lists 'vape shops as…

Newark confines smoke shops to C-2 and C-3 zones, bars them within 2,500 feet of another smoke shop or 200 feet of a…

In the Town of West New York, New Jersey (Hudson County), § 414-14 expressly prohibits smoke shops and vape shops as…

Bergenfield requires a separate $400 annual Health Department license before any retailer may sell vapor products, on…

In East Brunswick Township, no one can operate a retail electronic smoking device establishment without first getting a…

Elizabeth requires a tobacco business license from the bureau of central licensing before any smoke shop can sell…

No one can sell or manufacture vape products in Howell Township without a Township license. Under Howell Township Code…

Jersey City caps Smoke Shop and Tobacco Store licenses citywide at 45, requires zoning sign-off before a license…

Piscataway Township treats vape and e-cigarette retailers as a conditional zoning use under Township Code Section…

Village of Ridgewood Code confines tobacco, smoke, and electronic vapor shops to the OB-2 Zone, requires a Planning…

Trenton requires a $750 annual license from the Department of Health and Human Services before any retail electronic…

In the City of Vineland, no one may operate a retail vapor product establishment without a license from the Department…

In Wayne Township, New Jersey, no one can run an electronic smoking or vapor device operation without a license from…

Brick Township requires every business, including tobacco retailers, to hold a $25 annual mercantile license from the…

Any store or shop selling tobacco in the City of East Orange must get a mercantile permit from the Department of Health…

Hackensack requires any establishment that sells electronic smoking devices, including e-cigarettes, vape pens and…

Irvington requires every retailer selling tobacco or vaping products to hold a local license issued by the Department…

Every tobacco store or smoke shop in Paterson must hold an annually renewed license from the Division of Health before…

Toms River Township bars tobacco retailers from operating a vending machine that dispenses e-cigarettes or tobacco…

Selling vapes or e-cigarettes in Woodbridge requires a license from the Department of Health and Human Services. Code §…

Buying, selling or pawning precious metals or other secondhand goods in Bayonne requires a City Clerk license with a…

In Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, no buyer or dealer of secondhand goods, precious metals, other metals…

Brick Township requires anyone buying, selling, or pawning precious metals or secondhand goods to get a Township Clerk…

Buying scrap gold, jewelry, electronics or other used goods from the public in Cherry Hill Township requires a $300…

Buying used jewelry, electronics or other secondhand goods for resale in Clifton requires a $1,000 municipal license, a…

In East Brunswick Township no one can buy, sell or pawn precious metals or other secondhand goods without a license…

Edison Township requires a Township Clerk license to buy or sell used electronic equipment from the public, backed by a…

Elizabeth requires anyone buying and reselling secondhand goods to hold two separate licenses, a premises license for…

Freehold Township licenses every junk dealer, junk shop keeper and motor vehicle junk dealer under Code § 186-2…

Hackensack requires anyone dealing in secondhand jewelry, coins, or old gold to hold a license from the Chief of…

Anyone buying scrap gold, jewelry, electronics or other secondhand goods from the public in Hamilton needs a Municipal…

Howell Township Code § 245-3 requires a license from the Township Clerk before anyone buys or sells used goods as a…

Jackson Township requires anyone buying or selling secondhand goods, from jewelry and electronics to tools and gift…

Anyone dealing in secondhand goods in Jersey City needs a Class A or Class B license under § 275-3, issued by the…

Anyone buying secondhand goods, jewelry or precious metals for resale in Lakewood Township needs a Municipal Clerk…

Long Branch requires anyone buying or selling used goods, precious metals, gems or pawned items in the city to hold a…

Chapter 169 of the Monroe Township Code (Gloucester County) bars anyone from establishing, operating or maintaining a…

In the City of New Brunswick, anyone who buys used electronic equipment from the public or sells it to the public, or…

Newark requires anyone buying precious metals, gems or secondhand goods from the public, from old gold to electronics…

Anyone who buys, sells or takes in pawn used goods such as scrap gold, jewelry, electronics, musical instruments or…

Passaic requires a city license before anyone can operate a junkyard, junk shop, or work as a junk dealer buying and…

Anyone buying or selling secondhand gold, silver, precious metals, gems or jewelry in Paterson must obtain a license…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, no one can keep a junk shop, junkyard, junk cart, wagon, boat or vehicle for…

Nobody in the City of Plainfield, New Jersey can run a retail or wholesale junk dealer business without a license, and…

Toms River Township requires every buyer, seller or pawnbroker of precious metals, jewelry, coins, electronics, tools…

Anyone doing business as a secondhand dealer in the City of Vineland, including scrap metal and cash-for-gold buyers…

In Wayne Township, New Jersey, every dealer in secondhand gold, silver, precious metals, gems or jewelry must register…

In the Town of West New York, Hudson County, New Jersey, a junkyard, salvage yard or used-goods dealer needs a license…

Anyone buying or reselling secondhand jewelry, watches or precious metals from the public in Woodbridge must be a…

Anyone buying or selling secondhand gold, silver, precious metals or jewelry in Bergenfield must register with the…

Hoboken requires a City license before anyone runs a secondhand auto dealership or a general secondhand merchandise…

Anyone buying used precious metals, gems or jewelry in Irvington needs a license from the Division of Licensing before…

Anyone buying or selling second-hand gold, silver or jewelry in Linden must register with the Chief of Police and hold…

Bayonne pawnbrokers, defined as anyone lending money on pledged personal property, pay a $300 initial license fee plus…

In Bloomfield Township, New Jersey, a dealer who buys, takes in pawn or takes on consignment gold, silver, other metals…

Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers in Brick Township must obtain a license from the Township Clerk, pass a Chief of…

No one may pawn or lend money on pledged property in Clifton without a numbered license from the Municipal Clerk, a…

In East Brunswick Township a pawnbroker is licensed with other secondhand dealers under Chapter 135, Article VIII. The…

In the City of East Orange, Chapter 195 requires anyone operating a pawnbroker business to comply with Chapter 51's…

Anyone operating as a pawnbroker, auctioneer or junk dealer in Edison Township needs a Township Clerk license under…

Howell Township licenses pawnbrokering together with secondhand dealing under Chapter 245. A license from the Township…

Irvington treats pawnbrokers as a conditional use with a strict spacing rule rather than a separate license. Township…

Pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers must hold a Jackson Township Police license before buying or trading gold…

Jersey City has no stand-alone pawnbroker license. Anyone who buys or sells pawn tickets, or redeems or sells pledged…

Lakewood Township licenses pawnbrokers, defined as anyone lending money on a pledge of personal property, under Code §…

In Monroe Township, Middlesex County, no one can buy, sell, or pawn precious metals or other secondhand goods without a…

Anyone operating as a pawnbroker or secondhand dealer in Old Bridge Township needs a license from the Municipal Clerk…

In the City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, operating as a pawnbroker requires both proof of a license from the…

Anyone in the City of Plainfield, New Jersey who runs a pawnshop, or buys or sells used gold, silver, jewelry…

Trenton pawnbrokers need an annual license from the City Clerk, capped at three citywide, costing $500 per year, and…

Toms River Township treats pawnbrokers as a category of licensed 'dealer' under Chapter 415, requiring a numbered…

In the City of Vineland, pawnbrokers licensed under state law are exempt from the City's secondhand dealer license…

In East Brunswick Township, New Jersey, motor vehicle repair facilities are listed as a prohibited home occupation. A…

Irvington's zoning code allows limited home occupations inside a residence, but Section 650-4's definition expressly…

Jersey City's home-occupation standards flatly prohibit industrial operations and retail sales at a residence, which…

Newark's zoning code allows many home-based businesses as an accessory 'home occupation,' but Section 41:2-2 expressly…

Passaic keeps vehicle repair garages and auto body work out of residential neighborhoods entirely. Code of the City of…

Trenton's zoning code flatly bans auto repair as a home occupation. Under § 315-9.4L(13), 'repair and service of any…

In the City of Vineland, a vehicle repair operation run out of a home falls under the home occupation standards of City…

Hackensack's Property Maintenance Code bars keeping any vehicle in major disassembly, disrepair, or in the process of…

In the City of Hoboken, home occupations cannot store equipment outdoors or emit glare, fumes or odors detectable off…

In Howell Township, New Jersey, auto repair for anyone other than a resident is a prohibited home office use, along…

Lakewood Township, Ocean County, does not allow automobile repair or service businesses as a home occupation. The…

Linden's home occupation zoning rule effectively rules out residential auto repair. Section 31-19.14c bans storing…

In Monroe Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey, § 162-4 of the Township Code bars storing any nonoperable vehicle at…

In Bloomfield Township, New Jersey, no person can clean or repair a vehicle in any street, except in an emergency, and…

Long Branch lets residents repair a motor vehicle at home under § 332-3, but only if it's registered to that property's…

In the City of New Brunswick, Middlesex County, New Jersey, repairing, servicing or overhauling a vehicle on a public…

In the City of Perth Amboy, outside storage of inoperable cars for more than fifteen days is not permitted in any…

In the City of Plainfield, Property Maintenance Code Section 2.03 bars keeping a vehicle outdoors on private land for…

Toms River treats disruptive home auto repair as a nuisance rather than a licensing issue: repairing, rebuilding or…

In the Town of West New York, New Jersey, all persons or entities, whether commercial or private, are prohibited from…

A towing company cannot handle Atlantic County's illegally parked, police-impounded, accident, or abandoned-vehicle…

Wreckers and tow trucks doing nonconsensual municipal police towing in Bayonne must hold a city license, keep a garage…

Bergenfield bars towing companies from removing a vehicle from private property without the owner's consent unless the…

In Bloomfield Township, Essex County, New Jersey, every towing company that wants to do business in the Township must…

Brick Township limits police-called towing to a 12-operator rotating list run by the Chief of Police, licensed for $325…

A tower may not remove a vehicle from private property without the owner's consent unless a 36-by-36-inch sign is…

In East Brunswick Township no one can operate a wrecker or tow truck business without a license. Towing and storage…

Any wrecker operating on East Orange streets needs an annual $1,000 license from the Chief License Inspector under City…

Edison Township requires any towing agency doing business for the Township, on public or private property, to hold a…

Elizabeth requires every private-property tower to hold an annual mercantile license, cap towing fees at $100 to $400…

Hackensack licenses "official towers" to handle police-requested vehicle towing under Chapter 159, requiring a $500…

Hamilton Township requires anyone in the towing or wrecking business to hold an official tower license from the…

Hoboken caps who can tow from its streets: City Code § 184-4 limits the city to eight licensed light-duty towing…

In Howell Township, a tow ordered by the Police Department is a nonconsent tow, and only operators permitted by the…

Jackson Township requires towing companies to hold an annual, nontransferable license from the Chief of Police before…

Lakewood Township requires a Police Department-vetted towing license before any wrecker operator can work police-called…

Long Branch requires every towing and wrecking business on the police rotation list to hold a City license under Code §…

In Monroe Township, Middlesex County, towing at the Township's direction requires a three-year permit issued after…

New Brunswick licenses wreckers on the police call list through the city clerk, capping licenses at one per 6,000…

Old Bridge Township requires any tow operator seeking police-requested towing or roadside repair work to hold a license…

In Parsippany-Troy Hills, a towing company cannot take police-initiated tows without written approval from the Chief of…

Passaic Code § 297-5 caps what a private towing operator may charge motorists and property owners, from $155 for a…

Only six towing companies may hold a City-issued license to handle Paterson's police-directed, non-consent tows…

In the City of Perth Amboy, no one may provide towing and vehicle storage services to the City without an executed…

Piscataway Township Police Department dispatches vehicle tows from an approved rotating list of licensed wrecker…

In the City of Plainfield, police-requested tows go to licensed rotation towers under Article 16A: a two-year license…

Toms River Township caps non-consent tow licenses at five and routes all police-called tows through a CAD-monitored…

Trenton runs a rotating list of licensed tow vendors under Police Department contract, charging a $500 annual…

In the City of Vineland, any towing operator seeking a spot on the Police Department tow list must hold a City license…

In Wayne Township, New Jersey, Chapter 191 of the Township Code limits the police towing rotation list to four licensed…

In the Town of West New York, NJ, only official towers appointed by the Director of Public Safety get police-requested…

Woodbridge requires anyone doing municipal towing at police request to hold an Official Tower license under § 4-7.4…

Freehold Township regulates police-called towing through a rotating tow list run by the Police Department under Chapter…

Irvington bars anyone but a property owner or a Township official from ordering a nonconsensual tow. Under § 604-18…

Jersey City lets a property owner remove a vehicle parked without consent under N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6, but the licensed…

Any towing firm removing unauthorized vehicles from private or quasi-private property in Linden must register with the…

Newark requires every wrecker or towing company operating in the city, including non-consent tows from private…

Village of Ridgewood Code Chapter 258 governs police-directed towing in the Village of Ridgewood, Bergen County, New…