Cherry Hill Township's Construction Office at the Municipal Building, 820 Mercer Street, is the enforcing agency under Chapter 13 of the township code, which fixes the office, its hours of nine to five, and the fee as the sum of the subcode fees paid before the permit issues. The township's own rule runs at the other end of ownership: homeowners must obtain a certificate of continued occupancy before the resale of any single-family residential property, with the home's exterior property areas inspected by the Property Maintenance Officer against the township's property maintenance standards before the sale can close.
Zoning comes first for nearly everything. A zoning permit is required for any change of use or occupancy and for most construction projects, on a completed application with a notarised consent of the owner where the applicant is not the owner of record; approved zoning permits are forwarded to the Construction Office for building permit review, and appeals from the construction side go to the Camden County Construction Board of Appeals.
This guide covers Cherry Hill Township. Camden, Gloucester Township, Voorhees and Pennsauken are separate Camden County municipalities with their own enforcing agencies, and Camden County issues no construction permits.
Resale means an exterior inspection. Cherry Hill requires a certificate of continued occupancy prior to the resale of any single-family residential property, as part of its property maintenance plan: before closing, the exterior property areas are inspected by the Property Maintenance Officer. Some condominiums and townhomes are excluded, and the township publishes the list; everyone else applies online or at Room 202.
What requires a building permit in Cherry Hill?
New Jersey runs on a single statewide instrument, the Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23), in force since January 1977 and administered by the Department of Community Affairs. Rather than writing its own code, the state adopts the national model codes as subcodes with New Jersey amendments: the International Building Code (building subcode), the International Residential Code for one- and two-family dwellings, the National Standard Plumbing Code — not the International Plumbing Code used in neighbouring states — the National Electrical Code, and the mechanical, fuel gas and energy codes. The 2024 editions of the I-codes and the NSPC, with the 2023 NEC, took effect on August 17, 2026 and replace the 2021 editions and the 2020 NEC; the usual six-month grace period lets an applicant file under either edition until roughly mid-February 2027. Under N.J.S.A. 52:27D-119 et seq. no municipality, Cherry Hill included, may adopt different technical standards — what is local is the enforcing agency, the fee ordinance, the zoning approvals that precede the permit, and the certificates that follow it.
The UCC itself draws the exemption line. Ordinary maintenance under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 needs no permit, no notice and no inspection; minor work under 5:23-2.17A needs a permit but may begin once the enforcing agency has been notified, with the application filed and inspected afterwards. Everything else waits for the issued permit.
Typically permit required
- Any single-family resale, which needs the certificate of continued occupancy and the exterior inspection before closing
- Any change of use or occupancy, which needs a zoning permit and, from a lower to a higher classification, a certificate of occupancy
- Most construction projects, which need the zoning permit forwarded to the Construction Office before building permit review
- New buildings, additions and any structural work on an existing building
- Interior alterations that reconfigure space, add plumbing fixtures or extend circuits — renovation, alteration and reconstruction under the rehabilitation subcode
- Decks, and sheds over 200 square feet, over ten feet tall or with any utility connection
Often exempt
- Ordinary maintenance under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7, which Chapter 13 expressly excepts from the permit requirement
- Painting, wallpapering and interior finishes on less than a quarter of the wall area of a house
- Like-for-like replacement of windows and doors in the same opening, and glass in any window or door
- Roofing and siding replacement on a one- or two-family dwelling
- Garden sheds up to 200 square feet and ten feet high with no utilities, and fences up to six feet — the zoning permit still applies to both
What is actually local, and what is not
Technical standards are the state's. Cherry Hill's layer is the local enforcing agency — the construction official and the building, electrical, plumbing and fire subcode officials, each licensed by the state under N.J.A.C. 5:23-5 — plus the municipal fee ordinance, the zoning officer's sign-off, and the single-family resale certificate that the Property Maintenance Officer inspects for before closing.
Who handles permitting in Cherry Hill?
The Construction Office is the enforcing agency, with the Construction Official and the building, electrical, plumbing and fire subcode officials reviewing their sections of the state UCC jacket; applications are dropped at Room 205 or mailed to the Construction Office. The zoning office issues the zoning permit and forwards it, the Property Maintenance Officer inspects for the resale certificate through Room 202, and the Planning Board and Zoning Board hear applications under the Municipal Land Use Law.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Department | Cherry Hill Township Construction Office — Division of Construction and Inspections |
| Office | Municipal Building, 820 Mercer Street, Room 205, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 |
| Phone | (856) 665-6500 |
| Hours | Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, by ordinance |
| Zoning | Zoning permit first — (856) 488-7870 for districts, setbacks and permitted uses |
| Resale | Certificate of continued occupancy through Room 202, or online |
Permit types
Residential permits
A Cherry Hill house project files the zoning permit first, then the state UCC jacket and subcode sections at Room 205, with the home improvement registration number on the application. Sheds need a zoning permit at any size and a construction permit above 200 square feet or with utilities, and pools need both. When the house sells, the certificate of continued occupancy is applied for and the exterior is inspected before closing unless the property is on the exclusion list.
How New Jersey contractor credentials work
New Jersey has no state general contractor license. What it has instead is a registration that doubles as a permit gate: a home improvement contractor business must be registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs under the Contractors' Registration Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-136 et seq.), and N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.15(b)8 requires the registration number on the construction permit application — an enforcing agency may not issue a home improvement permit to an unregistered contractor. Registration now carries commercial general liability insurance of at least five hundred thousand dollars per occurrence, workers' compensation cover and a tiered compliance bond, and the 2024 Home Improvement and Home Elevation Contractor Licensing Act is phasing in individual licensing through a new state board. New construction is different: a new-home builder registers with the Department of Community Affairs under the New Home Warranty and Builders' Registration Act and shows the builder registration card at permit. Electrical contractors, master plumbers and HVACR contractors hold separate state licenses from Consumer Affairs boards. Owners working on their own home are exempt from registration, and Cherry Hill licenses no trades of its own.
Commercial permits
Commercial work in Cherry Hill clears any site plan or subdivision review under the land development ordinance, then the zoning permit, then construction review under Chapter 13. A change of use from a lower to a higher use and occupancy classification needs a certificate of occupancy, priced at ten percent of the construction permit fee with a ninety-dollar minimum, and new construction of any use group is priced by volume.
Prior approvals, subcode review and the twenty-day clock
A New Jersey construction permit is one application with technical sections — the state's UCC F100 jacket with building, electrical, plumbing, fire and mechanical subcode forms — and each subcode official reviews their own section. The permit cannot issue until the prior approvals are in hand: zoning or planning board approval under the Municipal Land Use Law is a separate track that precedes the construction permit, and where a project touches a county road or county drainage the county planning board signs off as well. Sites disturbing 5,000 square feet or more need soil erosion certification from the regional soil conservation district, and DEP approvals apply in flood hazard, wetland and coastal areas. In Cherry Hill the Camden County Soil Conservation District certifies disturbance over 5,000 square feet, the county planning board reviews frontage on county roads, and the Cooper River and Pennsauken Creek corridors bring DEP flood hazard approvals into the file. Once complete, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.16 gives the enforcing agency twenty business days to approve or reject a complete application, with a written list of deficiencies on any rejection.
Cherry Hill permit costs and fees
Fees follow Chapter 13 of the Cherry Hill code — the sum of the subcode fees, by volume for new construction — plus the state training fee, with zoning and resale certificate fees charged separately.
| Item | Fee or rule |
|---|---|
| Construction permit | Sum of the subcode fees under Chapter 13, paid before issuance |
| New construction | Three and eight-tenths cents per cubic foot of volume for all use groups, sixty-five dollar minimum |
| Certificate of occupancy | Ten percent of the construction permit fee, ninety-dollar minimum |
| Zoning permit | Required for most projects and every change of use, before building permit review |
| Resale certificate | Certificate of continued occupancy with exterior inspection, applied for through Room 202 or online |
| State training fee | Added to every permit under N.J.A.C. 5:23-4.19 |
Appeals go to the county board. Chapter 13 sends all appeals to the Camden County Construction Board of Appeals under N.J.A.C. 5:23A, and the state's twenty-business-day rule means a silent enforcing agency is a deemed denial that can be appealed there. The township's published local fee schedule for building, plumbing, electrical and fire is the document to check before estimating.
Trade permits and who may pull them
Trade work is permitted through the same application under the electrical, plumbing, fire and mechanical subcode sections, and inspected by the subcode official for each.
Permit required
- Any change of use or occupancy — zoning permit, then certificate of occupancy where the classification rises
- Electrical — state-licensed electrical contractor; electrical subcode section
- Plumbing and gas piping — state-licensed master plumber; plumbing subcode section under the NSPC
- HVAC and fuel-fired equipment — licensed HVACR contractor; mechanical or fire subcode section
- Fire protection, alarms and sprinklers — fire subcode section, with fire official review
Typically exempt
- Like-for-like fixture, receptacle, switch and light fixture replacement in the same location
- Communications and low-voltage wiring in a house that does not penetrate a fire-rated assembly
How to apply for a Cherry Hill building permit
A zoning permit or planning board approval under the Municipal Land Use Law precedes the construction permit.
The home improvement registration number, or the new-home builder registration card, goes on the application.
One F100 application with the building, electrical, plumbing, fire and mechanical sections the scope requires, plus sealed plans where the UCC demands them.
Soil conservation, county planning board, DEP or overlay agency sign-offs are attached before the permit can issue.
Fees follow the local ordinance plus the state training fee surcharge, and are due before issuance.
Footing to final under 5:23-2.18, then the certificate of occupancy or approval that closes the permit.
Review, corrections and what actually causes delay
Cherry Hill reviews on the state's twenty-business-day clock, with volume and complexity setting the actual pace. What delays a Cherry Hill file is a zoning permit not yet forwarded, an application without the owner's notarised consent where the applicant is not the owner, and a resale scheduled before the exterior inspection.
Inspections in Cherry Hill
N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18 sets the inspection sequence statewide — bottom of footing trenches, foundation and backfill, rough framing, electrical and plumbing, insulation, and final — and the enforcing agency must inspect within three business days of the request. Work that passes final receives a certificate of occupancy for new buildings or changes of use, or a certificate of approval for everything else. Cherry Hill inspects by subcode from the Construction Office, with finals required before occupancy; the resale exterior inspection by the Property Maintenance Officer is separate and precedes closing, and permit status can be checked through the township's online permit lookup.
Cherry Hill permit search and official resources
- Cherry Hill Township Construction — the enforcing agency, permits and the local fee schedule
- Cherry Hill Code Chapter 13 — Building and Housing — office, hours, subcode fees and the county board of appeals
- Cherry Hill residential resale inspections — the certificate of continued occupancy and the exclusion list
- New Jersey Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23) — the statewide code and subcode adoptions from the Department of Community Affairs
- DCA rule proposals and adoptions — the August 2026 notice adopting the 2024 model codes and 2023 NEC
- Home improvement contractor registration — Division of Consumer Affairs registration and licensing
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a certificate to sell a house in Cherry Hill?
Yes. A certificate of continued occupancy is required before the resale of any single-family residential property, with the exterior inspected by the Property Maintenance Officer before closing; some condominiums and townhomes are on a published exclusion list.
Does a shed need a permit?
A zoning permit at any size; a construction permit as well if it exceeds 200 square feet or has utilities.
Where do I drop off the application?
Room 205 of the Municipal Building at 820 Mercer Street, or by mail to the Construction Office; the resale certificate goes through Room 202.
How is a certificate of occupancy priced?
Ten percent of the construction permit fee, with a ninety-dollar minimum, under Chapter 13.
Who hears a permit appeal?
The Camden County Construction Board of Appeals, under N.J.A.C. 5:23A.
Which code edition applies?
The New Jersey editions of the 2024 I-codes with the 2023 National Electrical Code and the 2024 National Standard Plumbing Code, effective August 17, 2026, with a six-month grace period during which the 2021 editions may still be used.
Simplify Cherry Hill permitting with Alliance Permitting
Cherry Hill runs zoning first and property maintenance last, with the construction permit in between. We file the zoning permit with the owner's consent in place, file complete at Room 205, and book the resale inspection so it lands before closing rather than the week of it.
Ready to break ground in Cherry Hill sooner?
Send us the scope and the parcel. We confirm the review path with the Cherry Hill Township Construction Office, assemble the submittal, file it, and track it through issuance — corrections included.
More New Jersey permitting guides
More New Jersey permitting guides
This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Cherry Hill permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.