Commercial Compliance Hub
Check requirements

10 permits · verified 2026-10-08

What permits do you need to open a contractor or trade in Bergen County?

In short

A contractor or trade in Bergen County, NJ has 1 permit that applies to every business of this type, plus 9 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. Bergen County Department of Planning & Engineering / County Planning Board charges $600 per connection (Ordinance 24-28, Section I) for the permit to connect to a county storm drain. 1 of the 10 are charged as a range or formula rather than a flat fee. Verified 2026-10-08 against the issuing agencies’ published fee schedules.

Permits particular to a contractor or trade in Bergen County

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Permit to Connect to a County Storm Drainonly if it applies to youBergen County Department of Planning & Engineering / County Planning Board$600 per connection (Ordinance 24-28, Section I)revocable by the county if an adverse condition is caused, as stated on the county's application form2026-10-08
County Road Opening Permit (and Road or Lane Closure)only if it applies to youBergen County Department of Public Works, Operations DivisionAs published in the county's current online Road Opening Permit application (the Road Opening Permit Policy Requirements, revised 3-18-2025, state the same $350.00 application fee, $300.00 inspection fee, $75.00 hourly rate, $2,500.00 minimum escrow and per-square-yard maintenance fees): application fee $350.00 minimum, plus $0.75 per linear foot over 100 linear feet; review fee $150.00 over 100 linear feet up to 500 feet, plus $0.25 per linear foot over 500 feet; inspection fee $300.00, covering up to 4 inspections of up to 1 hour each, then $75.00 per hour; refundable performance escrow $2,500.00. Road or lane closure: application $100.00 and review $150.00; road closure $1,000.00 per day (24-hour) or $500.00 per day (daily) per direction; lane closure or shift $250.00 per day per lane (24-hour) or $125.00 per day (daily). Non-refundable permanent maintenance fee $12.00 per square yard (minimum $100.00) if the road was resurfaced within 5 years, otherwise $7.50 per square yard (minimum $50.00).per project; no road opening permits are issued from November 15 to March 15 except for emergencies; the escrow is released two years after final restoration is inspected2026-10-08
Home Improvement Contractor Registrationonly if it applies to youNew Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection, Regulated Business Section$110 initial registration, non-refundable; $90 to renewannual — expires 31 March2026-09-03
Master Plumber Licenseonly if it applies to youNew Jersey State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers, Division of Consumer Affairs$160 biennial renewal; the initial license is $160 or $80 by year of the cyclebiennial — expires 30 June of odd-numbered years2026-09-03
Electrical Contractor License and Business Permitonly if it applies to youNew Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, Division of Consumer Affairs$225 triennial license renewal, plus a $150 triennial business permittriennial — the current period runs to 31 March 20272026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

NJ registrations that apply to every type of business

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Annual Reportonly if it applies to youNew Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services$75 a year; $30 for a nonprofitannual — due the last day of the entity's anniversary month2026-09-03
General Business License — New Jersey Business Action Center Positiononly if it applies to youNew Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise ServicesNo feeset by the municipality2026-09-03
Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to youNew Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services$100 one-time filingno expiry, but an annual report is due each anniversary month2026-09-03
Certificate of Formation (LLC)only if it applies to youNew Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services$100 one-time filingno expiry, but an annual report is due each anniversary month2026-09-03
Business Registration (Form NJ-REG)New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise ServicesNo feeone-time registration — no renewal2026-09-03

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

How much does it actually cost to permit a contractor or trade in Bergen County?

There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a contractor or trade in Bergen County, NJ, 1 apply to every business of this type and 9 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.

1 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 2 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:

County Road Opening Permit (and Road or Lane Closure): As published in the county's current online Road Opening Permit application (the Road Opening Permit Policy Requirements, revised 3-18-2025, state the same $350.00 application fee, $300.00 inspection fee, $75.00 hourly rate, $2,500.00 minimum escrow and per-square-yard maintenance fees): application fee $350.00 minimum, plus $0.75 per linear foot over 100 linear feet; review fee $150.00 over 100 linear feet up to 500 feet, plus $0.25 per linear foot over 500 feet; inspection fee $300.00, covering up to 4 inspections of up to 1 hour each, then $75.00 per hour; refundable performance escrow $2,500.00. Road or lane closure: application $100.00 and review $150.00; road closure $1,000.00 per day (24-hour) or $500.00 per day (daily) per direction; lane closure or shift $250.00 per day per lane (24-hour) or $125.00 per day (daily). Non-refundable permanent maintenance fee $12.00 per square yard (minimum $100.00) if the road was resurfaced within 5 years, otherwise $7.50 per square yard (minimum $50.00).

Which offices issue these permits in Bergen County?

Permits for a contractor or trade in Bergen County, NJ come from 6 separate offices: Bergen County Department of Planning & Engineering / County Planning Board, Bergen County Department of Public Works, Operations Division, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Office of Consumer Protection, Regulated Business Section, New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers, Division of Consumer Affairs, New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors, Division of Consumer Affairs. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.

What does a contractor or trade need in Bergen County that other businesses do not?

5 of the 5 permits particular to a contractor or trade here apply to no other business type we cover in Bergen County: Permit to Connect to a County Storm Drain, County Road Opening Permit (and Road or Lane Closure), Home Improvement Contractor Registration and 2 more.

Permit to Connect to a County Storm Drain

Section I of Ordinance 24-28, the certified county ordinance adopted on December 4, 2024 that sets the County Planning Board's fee schedule, lists the Permit to Connect to County Storm Drain at $600.00 per connection. The county's Application for Permit to Connect to County Drain, linked from the Department of Public Works Operations page, is signed by the contractor or owner, and states that the permit is released by the DPW Operations Division after Engineering Division approval. The form states that the County of Bergen reserves the right to revoke the license or privilege at any time if any adverse condition is caused. The record applies to a site whose private drainage connects to a county drain.

County Road Opening Permit (and Road or Lane Closure)

The county's current online Road Opening Permit application, linked from the Department of Public Works Operations page, and the DPW's Road Opening Permit Policy Requirements (revised 3-18-2025) publish these figures as the county's fees; they are a DPW schedule, not figures printed in an ordinance. The application, inspection and escrow amounts ($350.00, $300.00, $75.00 per hour and $2,500.00) appear in both documents. Ordinance 20-25, a certified county ordinance adopted on October 7, 2020, prints no dollar amounts; it authorizes the County Executive, through the Department of Public Works, to establish county road regulations and the necessary permits according to the rules and regulations promulgated by the department. The policy document states that no road opening permits are issued from November 15 to March 15 except for emergencies. The online application states that the performance escrow is refundable, less charges, two years after final restoration is inspected, and asks for the contractor's information and license number.

Home Improvement Contractor Registration

Registration rather than licensure, and the money is the smallest part of it. Half a million dollars of commercial general liability cover is required for each occurrence, a million for home elevation, plus workers' compensation, and since 2024 an additional security deposit banded by contract value — $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000 depending on the size of the job and of the previous year's book. The regimes do not stack by default: architects, engineers, land surveyors, electrical contractors and master plumbers acting within their own scope are statutorily exempt from this registration. A separate individual home improvement license was created by the same 2023 act but remains inoperative until the new board makes rules, so it is not recorded here. One conflict worth knowing: the department's own consolidated rule compilation still prints the older $90 and $75 figures, and it is demonstrably stale — the live application says $110.

Master Plumber License

Unlike electrical contracting there is no separate business permit for plumbers; the security requirement is instead a $3,000 surety bond running with the biennial license. The application fee is $100 without a prior registration or $50 with one, and reinstating a lapsed license costs $150 on top of the renewals owed. Master plumbers are among the trades statutorily exempt from home improvement contractor registration when working within their scope, so the two do not stack.

Electrical Contractor License and Business Permit

Two instruments, both mandatory, and the second is the one people miss: a licensed electrical contractor may not perform electrical contracting work without also holding a business permit, which costs $150 for the triennium and requires a $1,000 surety bond and $300,000 of general liability cover. All business permits expire on 31 March 2027 regardless of when they were issued, so a permit bought late in the cycle is short. The application fee is $100 on top, and the initial license is prorated by year of the cycle at $225, $150 or $75. Continuing education is thirty-four hours per triennium. The board's own slide deck still quotes a $90 renewal; that is stale.

The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across NJ and are covered on the NJ state page.

How does a contractor or trade compare with other businesses in Bergen County?

The closest match is a auto repair shop, which shares 0 of these permits. A contractor or trade also needs Permit to Connect to a County Storm Drain, County Road Opening Permit (and Road or Lane Closure), Home Improvement Contractor Registration and 2 more. A auto repair shop needs Automotive Repair Shop Licensing — Motor Vehicle Commission Position (New Jersey) and Auto Body Repair Facility License, which a contractor or trade does not.

Permits particular to each business type in Bergen County, NJ, compared with a contractor or trade
BusinessIts own permitsShared with a contractor or tradeOnly a contractor or trade needsOnly it needs
Auto repair shops2052
Childcare centres1051
Coffee shops3053
Fitness studios0050
Restaurants3053
Retail stores1051
Salons and barbers1051
Veterinary clinics2052

Sources

Every figure for the permits explained on this page was read from one of these government pages on the date shown. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Bergen County permits page and the NJ state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.

  1. Bergen County Ordinance 24-28, Ordinance Amending the Bergen County Planning Board's Site Plan Review Fee Schedule (adopted December 4, 2024; certified copy)County of Bergen, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  2. Bergen County DPW, Application for Permit to Connect to County DrainCounty of Bergen, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  3. Bergen County Department of Public Works, Operations Division pageCounty of Bergen, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  4. Bergen County Road Opening Permit Application (online form linked from the county DPW Operations page)County of Bergen, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  5. Bergen County Road Opening Permit Policy Requirements (revised 3-18-2025)County of Bergen, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  6. Bergen County Ordinance 20-25, Ordinance Establishing County Road Regulations and Permit Fees (adopted October 7, 2020; certified copy)County of Bergen, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
  7. New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs — home improvement contractor application for initial registrationNew Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  8. New Jersey State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers — reinstatement application, showing the biennial renewal feeNew Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
  9. New Jersey Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors — fee schedule adoption, effective 2 June 2025New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03

Related

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.