Business Licensing & Operations in New Jersey (2026)

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

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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…

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

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

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

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…

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

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 §…

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…

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…

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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 §…

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…

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…

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

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…

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

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

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

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

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…

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…

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 §…

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…

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…

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…