How Do You Get a Demolition Permit in New Jersey?
A demolition permit in New Jersey comes from the construction official in the town where the building stands. The state’s Uniform Construction Code makes it unlawful to demolish a structure without that permit.
The permit comes at the end of a paper trail. Every utility sends a release, and the construction office gets an asbestos notice. The owners next door get written notice, and some towns add a sewer cap inspection and a rodent baiting certificate.
We are a demolition contractor in Paterson. This guide follows the state’s rules and a few towns’ own checklists.
Who issues a demolition permit in New Jersey?
Every New Jersey town enforces the Uniform Construction Code, N.J.A.C. 5:23, through its construction official. The Department of Community Affairs writes the code, and each town’s construction office applies it.
The application goes on the state’s standard Construction Permit Application form. It asks for the owner’s name and address and the lot and block. For a demolition, the site plan shows what comes down and what stays. Each town sets its own fees by ordinance and posts the schedule in the construction office.
The demolition rules speak of the owner or agent for the utility and asbestos steps. So the paperwork can come from the owner, or from an agent, such as the contractor, on the owner’s behalf. On a house or an apartment building, the code counts a teardown as home improvement work. A contractor doing that work puts its home improvement registration number on the application.
The construction official has 20 business days to approve or deny an application. A permit lapses if work does not start within 12 months, or if it stops for six months.
What does the town need before it issues the permit?
N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17 sets the state’s demolition prerequisites, and towns can add local items on top. Here is the state list, plus local items from three towns’ own rules. Your town’s construction office has the final word on its list.
| Item | Who issues or signs it | Where the rule comes from |
|---|---|---|
| A release from each utility that served the building | Each utility, once its meters and connections are removed or sealed | N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17(a) |
| Notice that friable asbestos has been or will be abated | The owner or agent | N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17(e) |
| Written notice to the owners of adjoining lots | The applicant | N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17(c) |
| A sealing certification for an abandoned well | A well driller holding a state license | N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17(b) |
| Measures to protect buildings close by, where needed | The owner, filed with the permit application | N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.34 |
| A sewer cap inspection before demolition | The town’s construction office | Elizabeth and Fairfield checklists |
| A rodent baiting or pest treatment certificate | The town’s health office | Paterson code, Elizabeth checklist |
The state’s Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Act adds a step for bigger sites. A demolition that disturbs over 5,000 square feet of land counts as a project under it. A project needs plan certification from the county soil conservation district before the ground work starts.
How do utility disconnect letters work?
The owner or agent notifies every utility with a connection in the building, such as water, electric, gas and sewer. The permit waits until each one sends a release. The release states its connections and equipment, such as meters and regulators, are removed or sealed in a safe manner.
The water shutoff and the sewer cap belong to this step. In Fairfield Township, Essex County, the sewer cap needs a plumbing permit and an inspection before demolition. A line that will not be used again gets capped at the curb there. Elizabeth wants a certificate of approval for the sewer cap-off before it issues the permit.
An old well is part of this step too. An abandoned well has to be sealed by a well driller holding a state license. The permit waits for that driller’s certification.
What does the asbestos step involve?
The code ties the demolition permit to the federal asbestos rule, 40 CFR 61, subpart M. The owner or agent documents that the federal rule has been or will be met. The permit then waits for a notice that friable asbestos has been or will be properly abated before demolition. The Department of Community Affairs has said a letter suffices.
The federal rule reaches most buildings other than homes with four or fewer units. For those buildings, it calls for a thorough asbestos inspection before demolition. It also calls for written notice at least 10 working days before demolition begins, even when no asbestos turns up.
Elizabeth wants a certification from an environmental testing agency on the asbestos status. Fairfield wants a statement with the application on whether asbestos is present.
Our guide to asbestos inspection before a demolition covers the survey and the notices in depth. When asbestos turns up, the licensed asbestos abatement contractor we work with removes it. Our excavators take the building down after that.
Do towns require a rodent control certificate?
Some do. Paterson’s city code requires the applicant to rat bait the building before a demolition permit issues. The baiting happens 7 to 30 days before demolition starts, by a method the city’s Health Officer approves.
No demolition permit issues in Paterson until the city’s Health Division certifies its approval. Elizabeth asks for a certificate of approval for pesticide treatment from its Health and Human Services Department. Fairfield wants the building baited for rodents, with a certification that it is clear of insects and termites.
What happens after the permit is issued?
State law counts demolition as excavation, so New Jersey One Call comes next. The excavator calls 811 at least three business days, and no more than 10, before work starts. The permit is not effective until the town has proof of that call, such as the confirmation number. Fairfield asks for that dig number before demolition.
During the work, the construction office inspects. The code asks for a written request at least 24 hours before each inspection. Paterson also sets a deadline: a demolition there must finish within 60 days of the permit. The city’s building inspector may grant one 30-day extension on a written request.
How does the permit close out?
When the building is down, the code wants the lot left safe, with the grades restored. Towns check the hole before anyone fills it. Fairfield wants an inspection before any fill goes in, and clean, compactable fill only. Elizabeth wants footings, foundations and slabs removed and inspected before clean fill goes in.
Then comes the final inspection. Fairfield lists a call for final inspection and wants the recycling weight slips for the debris. Elizabeth wants the site even with the surrounding grade, clear of debris, with damaged sidewalks repaired.
A demolition has no certificate of occupancy, so the code calls for a certificate of approval instead. No separate application is needed for it.
Where should you start?
Start with the construction office in the town where the building stands. Ask for its demolition checklist and fee schedule, since local items differ from town to town.
For how a job runs from the first call to the clean lot, see our demolition services across New Jersey. Whole-house teardowns are on our house demolition page. Stores, offices, warehouses and parking garages are on our commercial demolition page.
To talk through your building, call or text (201) 673-5470. We look at the job and put the quote in writing.