Newark
City of Newark Office of the Construction Official
In short
City of Newark Office of the Construction Official issues 3 permits we publish for Newark, last verified 2026-09-05. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial Building/Alteration Permit | City of Newark Office of the Construction Official | Renovation/alteration, tiered by estimated construction cost: $28 per $1,000 up to $50,000; $21 per $1,000 for the portion between $50,001 and $100,000; $17 per $1,000 above $100,000 — plus a statewide NJ DCA training surcharge of $0.80 per $1,000. New construction is billed by volume instead: $0.02 per cubic foot (Assembly/Factory/Industrial/Institutional/Storage) or $0.03 per cubic foot (Business/Educational/High Hazard/Mercantile/Residential/Utility), plus a $0.016-per-cubic-foot state surcharge. Plan review is 20% of the construction fee, credited against the final permit. Every permit carries a $58 non-refundable processing fee and a $58 minimum. | one-time, per project | 2026-09-05 |
| Sign Permit | City of Newark Office of the Construction Official | $1.00 per square foot of sign area, computed on one side only, capped at $690. | one-time, per sign | 2026-09-05 |
| Certificate of Occupancy | City of Newark Office of the Construction Official | By occupancy classification and floor area: Business/Mercantile/Factory/Storage/Educational uses run $173 (0–5,000 sq ft) up to $460 (over 20,000 sq ft); Assembly runs $115–$1,150; Institutional $115–$230; High Hazard $460–$1,150. A Certificate of Continued Occupancy or a change-of-use Certificate of Occupancy is $138 flat. | issued once per qualifying occupancy | 2026-09-05 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Commercial Building/Alteration Permit
Fees are payable to the Construction Official, 920 Broad Street. Trade permits are itemized separately: electrical service panels run $81–$1,150 by amperage, plumbing is $14 per fixture ($75 for a grease trap), demolition is $144 or $403 by scale.
Sign Permit
A construction permit fee under the Building Subcode fee schedule of Newark Code section 7:2-3.1, payable to the Construction Official at 920 Broad Street: item (d)(12), Sign Fees, charges $1 per square foot with signs computed on one side only and a $690 maximum, and section 7:2-3.1(a) adds a non-refundable $58 processing fee to every permit, due at application and applied against the total permit fee. The section's history note ends with the March 20, 2024 amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-a (City Legistar file 24-0153), which added a building-permit fee waiver for City-occupied properties and left the sign fee unchanged, and eCode360's own table of contents, updated with legislation through May 20, 2026, flags no pending new law against chapter 7:2. Where a sign may go and how large it may be are set separately by the zoning code's chapter 41:9, Signs, which lists exempt signs, prohibits roof signs and billboards other than by conditional use, and caps sign type, size and number per street frontage by use.
Certificate of Occupancy
Newark Code section 7:2-3.1(d) sets these certificate fees: Business, Factory, Mercantile and Storage buildings and Educational buildings pay $173 up to 5,000 square feet, $230 to 10,000, $345 to 20,000 and $460 above that, and a Certificate of Continued Occupancy and a change-of-use Certificate of Occupancy are each $138 (items (d)(7) and (d)(8)).
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Newark
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
- Website
- www.newarknj.gov/
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- City of Newark code table of contents on eCode360 — Internet Archive capture of August 5, 2026 (includes legislation through 05-20-2026; new laws flagged against chapters 10:33, 18:6, 19:3 and 23:6 only)City of Newark (General Code/eCode360), captured by the Internet Archive · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Newark Code of Ordinances chapter 41:9, Signs — section 41:9-2 (Exemptions), section 41:9-4 (Prohibited Signs) and section 41:9-10 (Signage Design and Measurement Requirements, by use)City of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Newark Code of Ordinances chapter 7:2, Permits and Fees — building and construction fee scheduleCity of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
- Newark Code of Ordinances chapter 7:2, Permits and Fees — Certificate of Occupancy and sign permit feesCity of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
- Newark Code of Ordinances section 7:2-3.1, Building Subcode Fees (chapter 7:2, Permits and Fees) — item (d)(12), Sign FeesCity of Newark (General Code/eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Ordinance 6PSF-a, adopted March 20, 2024 (file 24-0153), certified copy — amending Title VII, Chapter 2, Section 3 to add a fee waiver for City-occupied propertiesCity of Newark Municipal Council (Legistar) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-18
Other offices serving Newark
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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