10 permits · verified 2026-10-08
What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Camden County Nj?
In short
A restaurant in Camden County Nj, NJ has 3 permits that apply to every business of this type, plus 7 more that depend on your premises, signage or how you are set up. New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services charges $75 a year; $30 for a nonprofit for the annual report. 4 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 restaurant in Camden County Nj
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Food Establishment Plan Review (New, Change of Use or Remodel)only if it applies to you | Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental & Consumer Health | Per the fee schedule on the county's 2026 Retail Food Establishment Plan Review Application: Risk Type 1 $75.00; Risk Type 2 $100.00; Risk Type 3 $250.00; Risk 2-4 (risk type 2 using time as a public health control) $150.00; Risk 3-4 (risk type 3 with an extensive HACCP plan or specialized process) $200.00; specialized processing plan $150.00; resubmittal or incomplete submission fee $50.00 each time; plan change, resubmission or addendum $50.00. Check or money order payable to the Camden County Treasurer. | one-time, per new establishment, change of use or remodel | 2026-10-08 |
| Retail Food Establishment Permit (Stationary), Annual | Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental & Consumer Health | The annual permit fee is not published on the county's Stationary & Mobile Retail Food page or on its Retail Food Permit Application; contact Camden County Environmental & Consumer Health at 856-374-6052 for the current amount. | annual | 2026-10-08 |
| Retail Food Establishment License | New Jersey Department of Health, Public Health and Food Protection Program | $80–$1,000 a year, set by the local board of health across more than a hundred jurisdictions | annual, usually the calendar year | 2026-09-03 |
| Certified Food Protection Manageronly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of Health, Public Health and Food Protection Program | No fee | set by the certifying programme, not by New Jersey | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
Local permits that apply to every type of business in Camden County Nj
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| County Road Opening, Access and Right-of-Way Permitonly if it applies to you | Camden County Department of Public Works, Office of Permits | Varies — formula on the Camden County Nj page | permit expires if construction is not started within 90 calendar days of issuance | 2026-10-08 |
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
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Reportonly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | $75 a year; $30 for a nonprofit | annual — due the last day of the entity's anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| General Business License — New Jersey Business Action Center Positiononly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | No fee | set by the municipality | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Incorporationonly if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | $100 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due each anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| Certificate of Formation (LLC)only if it applies to you | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | $100 one-time filing | no expiry, but an annual report is due each anniversary month | 2026-09-03 |
| Business Registration (Form NJ-REG) | New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services | No fee | one-time registration — no renewal | 2026-09-03 |
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 restaurant in Camden County Nj?
There is no single figure, and any site quoting one is rounding away the part that matters. Of the 10 records listed for a restaurant in Camden County Nj, NJ, 3 apply to every business of this type and 7 are conditional. Adding every fee on the page together would overstate what most operators pay, because it would include permits they never need.
4 of the 10 are charged as a range or a formula set by the issuing agency, and 3 have no fee published at all. The ones particular to this business that vary:
Retail Food Establishment Plan Review (New, Change of Use or Remodel): Per the fee schedule on the county's 2026 Retail Food Establishment Plan Review Application: Risk Type 1 $75.00; Risk Type 2 $100.00; Risk Type 3 $250.00; Risk 2-4 (risk type 2 using time as a public health control) $150.00; Risk 3-4 (risk type 3 with an extensive HACCP plan or specialized process) $200.00; specialized processing plan $150.00; resubmittal or incomplete submission fee $50.00 each time; plan change, resubmission or addendum $50.00. Check or money order payable to the Camden County Treasurer.
Retail Food Establishment Permit (Stationary), Annual: The annual permit fee is not published on the county's Stationary & Mobile Retail Food page or on its Retail Food Permit Application; contact Camden County Environmental & Consumer Health at 856-374-6052 for the current amount.
Retail Food Establishment License: $80–$1,000 a year, set by the local board of health across more than a hundred jurisdictions
The other 1 variable fee belongs to permits that apply to every type of business here; its formula is set out on the Camden County Nj permits page and the NJ state page.
Which offices issue these permits in Camden County Nj?
Permits for a restaurant in Camden County Nj, NJ come from 4 separate offices: Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental & Consumer Health, Camden County Department of Public Works, Office of Permits, New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, New Jersey Department of Health, Public Health and Food Protection Program. No single office issues them all, which is why an opening means filing in several places rather than one.
- Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental & Consumer HealthIssues 2 permits on this page: Retail Food Establishment Plan Review (New, Change of Use or Remodel), Retail Food Establishment Permit (Stationary), AnnualDiPiero Center, 512 Lakeland Road, Blackwood, NJ 08012 · 856-374-6052www.camdencounty.com/service/health-human-services/stationary-mobile-retail-food
- Camden County Department of Public Works, Office of PermitsIssues 1 permit on this page: County Road Opening, Access and Right-of-Way Permit2311 Egg Harbor Road, Lindenwold, NJ 08021 · 856-782-3448www.camdencounty.com/service/public-works
- New Jersey Department of the Treasury, Division of Revenue and Enterprise ServicesIssues 5 permits on this page, including Annual Report, General Business License — New Jersey Business Action Center Position, Certificate of Incorporation33 West State Street, 5th Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608-1214 · (609) 292-9292www.nj.gov/treasury/revenue
- New Jersey Department of Health, Public Health and Food Protection ProgramIssues 2 permits on this page: Retail Food Establishment License, Certified Food Protection ManagerPO Box 369, Trenton, NJ 08625-0369 · (609) 826-4935www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/phfpp/retailfood
What does a restaurant need in Camden County Nj that other businesses do not?
Retail Food Establishment Permit (Stationary), Annual
The county's Stationary & Mobile Retail Food page states that stationary retail food establishments, 'including restaurants, schools, daycares, healthcare facilities, and any business selling or giving away food to the public, must be permitted and inspected by the Camden County Department of Health', and lists 'Annual permits for stationary food establishments' among its services. The county's Retail Food Permit Application (uploaded March 2024) covers a new establishment, for which a plan review application is also required, and a change of ownership; it asks for a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate for Risk Type 3 and specialized processes and a menu to confirm the risk type. Neither the page nor the application form states the permit fee, so this record carries no dollar figure. Municipal food licenses, where a town has one, stack on this county permit. The New Jersey Department of Health's Directory of Local Health Departments, dated 10/05/2026, lists the Camden County Department of Health & Human Services as the local health department for all 36 municipalities in the county.
Retail Food Establishment License
Chapter 24 of title 8 of the New Jersey Administrative Code, as published by the Department of Health, sets no state retail food license and no state fee — its only fees are the $100.00 cottage food operator permit and its $100.00 renewal (8:24-11.6). Licensing sits with more than a hundred local boards of health, and they band differently: Hamilton by risk type from $175 to $300, Randolph by risk type from $80 to $500 with a floor-area surcharge of a quarter over ten thousand square feet and double over forty thousand, Hanover by floor area alone from $250 to $1,000. The state department licenses only a narrow slice directly — turnpike and parkway rest stops, facilities on state property, cottage food and frozen desserts. There is no statewide fee table and it would be wrong to publish one.
Shared with other businesses in Camden County Nj
- Retail Food Establishment Plan Review (New, Change of Use or Remodel) — Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Environmental & Consumer Health, Per the fee schedule on the county's 2026 Retail Food Establishment Plan Review Application: Risk Type 1 $75.00; Risk Type 2 $100.00; Risk Type 3 $250.00; Risk 2-4 (risk type 2 using time as a public health control) $150.00; Risk 3-4 (risk type 3 with an extensive HACCP plan or specialized process) $200.00; specialized processing plan $150.00; resubmittal or incomplete submission fee $50.00 each time; plan change, resubmission or addendum $50.00. Check or money order payable to the Camden County Treasurer., one-time, per new establishment, change of use or remodel. Also required for coffee shops, retail stores and childcare centres; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
- Certified Food Protection Manager — New Jersey Department of Health, Public Health and Food Protection Program, No fee, set by the certifying programme, not by New Jersey. Also required for coffee shops and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
The other 1 local permit in the tables apply to every type of business in Camden County Nj, NJ; what each one involves is set out on the Camden County Nj permits page. The 5 state-level registrations apply to every type of business across NJ and are covered on the NJ state page.
How does a restaurant compare with other businesses in Camden County Nj?
A restaurant and a coffee shop in Camden County Nj, NJ need exactly the same 4 permits beyond the ones every business needs.
| Business | Its own permits | Shared with a restaurant | Only a restaurant needs | Only it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee shops | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Food trucks | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Retail stores | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Childcare centres | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Auto repair shops | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Contractors and trades | 5 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Fitness studios | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Salons and barbers | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| Veterinary clinics | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
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 shared with other businesses are listed with their explanations on the coffee shops page and food trucks page. Sources for the permits that apply to every type of business are listed on the Camden County Nj permits page and the NJ state page. Confirmed by Editorial Team.
- Camden County Retail Food Permit Application (uploaded March 2024)Camden County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Stationary & Mobile Retail Food pageCamden County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Directory of Local Health Departments in New Jersey (dated 10/05/2026)New Jersey Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, Health Officer pageCamden County, New Jersey · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-08
- New Jersey Administrative Code title 8, chapter 24 — sanitation in retail food establishments, including the food protection manager ruleNew Jersey Department of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Township of Hamilton, Mercer County — retail food license fees by risk typeTownship of Hamilton Division of Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- Township of Randolph, Morris County — food license feesRandolph Township Health Department · 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.