Paterson
City of Paterson Department of Health and Human Services, Mercantile Licensing Division
In short
City of Paterson Department of Health and Human Services, Mercantile Licensing Division issues 3 permits we publish for Paterson, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food Establishment Permit | City of Paterson Department of Health and Human Services, Mercantile Licensing Division | Eating places, by seat count: 0–49 seats $700; 50–299 seats $900; 300+ seats $2,000. Retail food stores, by square footage: 5,000 sq ft or more $1,200; under 5,000 sq ft $600; prepackaged-only $450. Plan review is $500 (new) or $400 (alteration). A single location running multiple food operations pays $250 for the first plus $300 for each additional. | annual — renewal due January 31; a business unlicensed by June 30 must close | 2026-09-05 |
| Mercantile License | City of Paterson Department of Health and Human Services, Mercantile Licensing Division | $125 a year, or part of a year; a $50 application fee and $100 renewal fee also apply | calendar year — expires December 31 regardless of issue date | 2026-09-05 |
| Food Handler's Certificate | City of Paterson Department of Health and Human Services, Mercantile Licensing Division | $50 per certificate | no stated expiration — valid until suspended or revoked | 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
Food Establishment Permit
Confirmed directly against the ordinance text. A late renewal draws a $50/month penalty. A temporary single-event stand is $100; a seasonal stand $400.
Mercantile License
Confirmed directly against the ordinance text. State-licensed businesses, mere delivery of goods bought outside the city, government activity, and entities already licensed under another city chapter are exempt under section 322-7 — meaning a salon or veterinary practice already holding a state board license may not need this separately. A transfer costs $100.
Food Handler's Certificate
This is a Paterson city ordinance, not a statewide New Jersey card. A secondary aggregator source reports $30 instead of $50 — the $50 figure here comes from a direct read of the ordinance text itself and is treated as the more reliable of the two, but this conflict is disclosed rather than silently resolved.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Paterson
- Phone
- (973) 321-1242
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 Paterson Code chapter 231 — Food Establishments, RetailCity of Paterson (eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
- City of Paterson Code chapter 235 — Food Handler's CertificateCity of Paterson (eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
- City of Paterson Code chapter 322 — Mercantile EstablishmentsCity of Paterson (eCode360) · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-05
Other offices serving Paterson
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
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