9 published records
Business licenses and permits in Burlington County, New Jersey
Burlington County, New Jersey, seat Mount Holly. The New Jersey Department of Health's Directory of Local Health Departments, dated 10/05/2026, lists the 40 municipalities the Burlington County Health Department serves: Bass River, Beverly, Bordentown City, Bordentown Township, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Chesterfield, Cinnaminson, Delanco, Delran, Eastampton, Edgewater Park, Evesham, Fieldsboro, Florence, Hainesport, Lumberton, Mansfield, Maple Shade, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Holly, Mount Laurel, New Hanover, North Hanover, Palmyra, Pemberton Borough, Pemberton Township, Riverside, Riverton, Shamong, Southampton, Springfield, Tabernacle, Washington, Westampton, Willingboro, Woodland and Wrightstown. The county records here are the Health Department's plan review and application fees for retail food, mobile and temporary food, body art, public bathing and kennel or pet shop facilities, its septic and well permits, the Weights and Measures Division's scale certification for food sold by the pound, the County Planning Board's site plan review under the Land Development Review Resolution (April 2024), and the Engineering Division's road occupancy, road opening and driveway access permits on county roads. Each municipality runs its own zoning, construction, fire and municipal licensing, which stack on these county records: the Health Department's retail food and body art packets state that the 'Applicant must apply to the township for all necessary permits (including, but not limited to zoning, construction, plumbing, fire, electrical, etc.)', and the county's Retail Food Program page states that 'Construction permits, change of owner permits and other licenses may be required by the local municipality.' The population figure of 475,515 is the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate supplied with the assignment.
What are you opening in Burlington County?
- RestaurantsFull-service restaurants carry the densest permit load of any small business: food, fire, occupancy, waste, and usually alcohol.See the full permit list
- Coffee shopsCafés are permitted as food service establishments even where no cooking happens, and the plan review step catches most operators by surprise.See the full permit list
- Retail storesRetail is the lightest common permit load, but the sales tax permit and the certificate of occupancy are non-negotiable in every jurisdiction.See the full permit list
- Salons and barbersPersonal care is licensed at state board level as well as locally, so the shop license and the practitioner licenses are separate obligations.See the full permit list
- Food trucksMobile food is the one category with no certificate of occupancy — but it gains a commissary agreement, and the unit itself is inspected rather than the premises.See the full permit list
- Fitness studiosPrepaid memberships trigger state registration and often a surety bond, which catches operators who budgeted only for the fit-out.See the full permit list
- Childcare centresThe heaviest permit load of any small business: state agency licensing, per-person background checks, and a stricter fire standard than ordinary commercial use.See the full permit list
- Contractors and tradesLicensed at state board level rather than locally, and the only common category with no premises permits at all — the bond is usually the long pole.See the full permit list
- Auto repair shopsOrdinary commercial permitting plus an environmental layer: waste oil, solvents and stormwater are each registered separately.See the full permit list
- Veterinary clinicsA state facility permit, controlled substances registration at both state and federal level, and a medical waste manifest — none of which a general business license covers.See the full permit list
Permits that apply to every type of business in Burlington County
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Septic System and Potable Well Permits (Plan Review and Inspection)only if it applies to you | Burlington County Health Department, Environmental Section | Per the county Health Department's Septic and Well Application Fees as of January 1, 2021: plan review and inspection of a pressure dosing septic system $200.00; plan review and inspection of other systems (gravity flow/gravity dosing) $150.00; alternate design (advanced treatment) $200.00; septic repair applications $50.00; septic application revisions $50.00 (not charged for minor revisions); plan review and inspection for a new well $50.00; for a replacement well $25.00 (not charged for emergency wells). Checks payable to the County of Burlington. | per application | 2026-10-10 |
| County Planning Board Site Plan Review (County Roads and Drainage)only if it applies to you | Burlington County Planning Board | Per §11.11 of the county's published Land Development Review Resolution (April 2024): exempt site plans and pre-application submissions, no fee; minor site plans: preliminary $200.00, final $200.00, sketch $200.00; major site plans with frontage on or access to a county road: preliminary $800.00 plus $10.00 per parking space, final $200.00; major site plans with no frontage on or access to a county road: preliminary $400.00 plus $6.00 per parking space, final $200.00. Tractor-trailer and car spaces both count; loading bays do not. A substantial revision to comply with another agency's requirements carries a resubmittal fee of 30 percent of the original fee (§11.09). Payable to the Burlington County Treasurer; no cash; non-refundable. | one-time, per application | 2026-10-10 |
| County Road Occupancy, Road Opening and Driveway Access Permitonly if it applies to you | Burlington County Department of Public Works, Engineering Division | Per Appendix A of the county's Road Occupancy policy manual (Revised 3/1/2021), for applicants other than residential/farmer applicants: application fees, road occupancy $300.00, road opening and driveway access $60.00 (non-refundable); permit fees, road occupancy $200.00; road opening and driveway access: excavation within the right-of-way under 3 SY $60.00, over 3 SY plus $12.00 per SY; curb, sidewalk and path installation $1.20 per LF; drilling, tunneling, jacking or boring under 8-inch diameter $6.00 per LF, over 8-inch diameter $35.00 per LF; utility poles, monitoring wells and soil borings $100.00 each. Road opening permit fees are doubled for approved work in roads under moratorium. Appendix B (Revised 3/1/2021) deposits: $200 per SY for roadway and handicap ramp work, $75 per SY for roadside or grass work, $15 per LF for directional boring and curb, $1,500.00 minimum bond. Application and permit fees are separate and both payable; check or money order, no cash. | per permit | 2026-10-10 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
What do these permits involve in Burlington County?
Septic System and Potable Well Permits (Plan Review and Inspection)
The county's Septic and Well Application Fees memo states that 'The above charges became effective on January 1, 2021' (marked 'Revised 1/21'), and the county's current Environmental Health page links it as 'Septic and Well Fees (PDF)'. The memo states that applications received without the required fee are returned without action and that checks are payable to the County of Burlington. The county resolution adopting the memo is not published on the county site. The county's application to construct or alter an individual subsurface sewage disposal system (form BCHD90/1) lists new construction, alteration/expansion or change in use, alteration of a malfunctioning system, deviation from standards and repairs; separate county forms cover septic component repairs and wells. Any business on a private septic system or private well that builds, expands or changes the use of its premises goes through this review; a business on public sewer and public water needs neither permit. The New Jersey Department of Health's Directory of Local Health Departments, dated 10/05/2026, lists the Burlington County Health Department as the local health department for all 40 municipalities in the county.
County Planning Board Site Plan Review (County Roads and Drainage)
The fee figures are those in §11.11 of the Burlington County Land Development Review Resolution (April 2024), linked from the county's Planning Board page, and the county's Site Plan Application (marked 'EFFECTIVE DATE April 2024') prints the same schedule. Section 11.01 states that the fees apply to all land development applications filed on or after April 1, 2024; §1.02 states that the resolution takes effect on approval by the Board of County Commissioners and the Pinelands Commission, and the adopting resolution is not published on the county site. Under §2.01, Planning Board review covers developments other than single-family homes that are along a county road and propose a new or changed commercial use or more than 2,000 square feet of parking or impervious surface; developments not along a county road with one acre or more of new impervious surface; and any development that drains to a county road or county drainage facility. Section 2.02 exempts developments outside those categories; the county's Exemption Certification Application carries no fee. Under §11.02, state agencies, county and municipal governments, houses of worship and nonprofit hospital facilities pay no application fee. The site plan application asks the applicant to certify that the township planning board has received the same submission, so this review runs alongside the municipal one.
County Road Occupancy, Road Opening and Driveway Access Permit
The fee figures are those in Appendix A (fees) and Appendix B (deposits and bonding) of the Board of Commissioners' policy manual for road occupancy, road opening and driveway access, adopted 12/28/2015 by Resolution No. 2015-00792 and revised March 2021; both appendices are marked 'Revised 3/1/2021', and the county's current Applications & Checklists page links the manual as 'ROAD OCCUPANCY POLICY 2021'. Appendix A states that 'Non-profit entities shall not be exempt from Application and Permit Fees and Bonding requirements' and that 'The County Engineer reserves the right to amend the fees listed above.' The county's Application for Road Occupancy Permit (Rev. Jan 2020) states that a permit is 'REQUIRED FOR ANY AND ALL WORK OR EVENTS OCCURRING WITHIN THE COUNTY RIGHT-OF-WAY' and refers applicants to Appendix A for the fee schedule. The Road Opening and Driveway Access Form is submitted with it for any excavation in the county right-of-way and for 'any new driveway access, alteration to existing driveway access, or any change in use of an existing driveway access'. A business on a county road needs this permit when it builds, alters or changes the use of a driveway or works in the county right-of-way; contractors need it for any such work.
Sources
Every figure in the table above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- Burlington County Health Department, Septic and Well Application Fees as of January 1, 2021 (Revised 1/21)Burlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Health Department, Application for Approval to Construct/Alter an Individual Subsurface Sewage Disposal System (form BCHD90/1)Burlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Health Department, Application for Approval to Repair or Replace Components to Existing Septic SystemBurlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Health Department, Well ApplicationBurlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Health Department, Environmental Health pageBurlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Directory of Local Health Departments in New Jersey (dated 10/05/2026)New Jersey Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Burlington County Land Development Review Resolution (LDRR), April 2024Burlington County Planning Board, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Planning Board Site Plan Application with fee schedule (effective date April 2024)Burlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Planning Board Exemption Certification Application (Rev. July 2025)Burlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Applications & Checklists pageBurlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Planning Board pageBurlington County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Board of Commissioners Policy, Procedures and Specifications Manual for Road Occupancy, Road Opening, Driveway Access (adopted 12/28/2015, Resolution No. 2015-00792, revised March 2021)Burlington County Department of Public Works, Division of Engineering · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Application for Road Occupancy Permit (Rev. Jan 2020)Burlington County Department of Public Works, Engineering Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
- Burlington County Road Opening and Driveway Access Form (Rev. Jan 2020)Burlington County Department of Public Works, Engineering Division · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-10
Who issues business permits in Burlington County?
Permitting in Burlington County is split across 4 agencies we hold records for, with tax registration handled at state level. No single office issues everything, which is why an opening usually means filing in several places rather than one.
Burlington County issuing agencies
- Burlington County Health Department, Environmental SectionReviews plans for and inspects retail food establishments, including mobile units and temporary events, under N.J.A.C. 8:24, according to the county's Retail Food Program page · Reviews applications for body art and ear-piercing facilities, public recreational bathing facilities, and kennels, pet shops and shelters · Reviews and inspects individual subsurface sewage disposal systems and potable wells · Serves all 40 municipalities, according to the NJ Department of Health Directory of Local Health Departments dated 10/05/20266 permits
- Burlington County Department of Public Works, Engineering DivisionIssues road occupancy, road opening and driveway access permits for work in the county right-of-way under the Board of Commissioners' policy manual adopted 12/28/2015 (Resolution No. 2015-00792, revised March 2021) and N.J.S.A. 27:16-311 permit
- Burlington County Health Department, Weights and Measures DivisionCertifies scales used by retail food establishments selling food by the pound, according to the county's Retail Food Program page1 permit
- Burlington County Planning BoardReviews site plans along county roads, larger developments elsewhere and developments draining to county facilities under the county's Land Development Review Resolution (April 2024)1 permit
Other New Jersey jurisdictions we cover
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.