Cliffside Park Borough, New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In the Borough of Cliffside Park, work permits come from the Building Department in Room 220 of the Municipal Complex, 525 Palisade Avenue (201-313-2042, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), where Greg Yfantis is Construction Code Official. Inspections are requested in writing through the borough’s online SDL form, the borough no longer takes cash in any department, and a certificate of occupancy is required both when a property is sold and when a new business opens.

What requires a building permit in Cliffside Park?

The Building Department describes its job as issuing work permits for new construction, alterations, demolitions and interior renovations. Cliffside Park follows the statewide Uniform Construction Code for where the line falls: ordinary maintenance, such as painting or swapping a faucet, needs no permit or notice; minor work needs a permit but may start once the department has been notified; and all other work needs the permit in hand first.

Many of these borough permits have nothing to do with the construction code itself: they cover use of the street and sidewalk, trees, signs and zoning. A single project can need several, for example a dumpster permit and a street opening permit alongside the construction permit.

What Cliffside Park decides and what the state holds

The building, electrical, plumbing and fire rules are the state’s, and the borough cannot amend them. Cliffside Park decides the enforcing agency and its fee ordinance (in the Borough Code on eCode360), zoning and land use through its Planning Board and Board of Adjustment, stormwater rules for development (Stormwater Control Ordinance 2024-01, which followed ordinances 2021-06 and 2022-01), its fourth round housing element and fair share plan, and the certificates of continued occupancy it requires on sales, rentals and new businesses.

Cliffside Park building department: who handles permitting

Cliffside Park runs its own construction office. DCA’s Local Construction Contacts roster (as of September 2, 2026) shows the construction official also holding the building subcode post, borough officials in the electrical, fire protection and plumbing posts, and the private agency Top Floor Elevated Solutions in the elevator post. The Construction Code Official also serves as the borough’s Fire Official and housing and building inspector, and the department’s staff includes a zoning official, electrical, plumbing and fire inspectors and code enforcement inspectors.

The roster’s phone and fax numbers differ from those on the department page; the page’s 201-313-2042 is the department’s published line.

Cliffside Park permit types

Cliffside Park posts a long list of applications on its Applications and Permits page. The construction permit is built on the state construction permit application jacket, with the borough’s building, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, mechanical inspection, framing and elevator subcode forms, plus a construction permit placard for the site.

Residential permits

• New houses and additions: the jacket, the building permit form and the new construction checklist; framing gets its own framing permit form.
• Heating and hot water: the mechanical inspection application, and the chimney verification form when fuel-fired equipment is replaced.
• Demolition: follow the borough’s posted requirements for demolition; the application list also includes a referral form for the Bergen County Utilities Authority (BCUA), the county sewer authority.
• Trees: trimming or removal needs the borough’s tree permit form.
• Street work: a street opening of less than 15 square yards uses the borough’s street opening permit; a dumpster or crane on the street needs its own permit.

Building or remodeling a home here? Alliance handles home building permits, so the crew isn't waiting on the counter.

Commercial permits

Opening a new business requires a certificate of occupancy, applied for on the business certificate of continued occupancy form together with a business contact list. Awning signs, sidewalk cafés and crane work each have their own applications, and site plans follow the borough’s site plan requirements. Elevator work in the borough’s high-rise buildings is reviewed by Top Floor Elevated Solutions under the state roster, and sprinkler or alarm changes go on the fire protection permit.

For tenant improvements and new commercial builds, Alliance handles commercial permit filing through issuance. More on this: commercial building permits explained.

What comes before the construction permit

• Zoning permit. Filed with the Zoning Office in Room 220, which handles zoning, land use and planning and keeps the zoning map.
• Planning Board. Applications must meet the board’s complete application requirements. The department page says the board meets on the first Monday of the month, while every date posted on its meeting list since September 2023 falls on the first Wednesday of the month, the latest being November 4, 2026.
• Board of Adjustment. Appeals and variances use the Board of Adjustment application; the board adopts its calendar by resolution, with regular meetings on the fourth Monday at 6 p.m. (2026 dates included September 28 and October 26; the January and February meetings were canceled for snow).
• Stormwater. Development is subject to Stormwater Control Ordinance 2024-01, and the borough has a stormwater coordinator for its stormwater program; the stormwater page, under the Public Works Department, also posts the borough’s Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and its stormwater pollution management plan.
• County roads. Bergen County also takes residential driveway permit applications for county roads through its GeoCivix portal.
• County and soil. County Planning Board reviews are filed through Bergen County’s GeoCivix portal, excavation in a county road needs a county road opening permit (201-336-7678), and more than 5,000 square feet of disturbance needs a certified soil erosion and sediment control plan.

Cliffside Park permit costs and fees

Cliffside Park’s construction permit fees are set in its fee ordinance in the Borough Code on eCode360. The Building Department’s web pages do not list fee amounts for construction permits, zoning permits or certificates of continued occupancy, so the office at 201-313-2042 gives the figure for a particular job. Three payment rules apply everywhere:

• No cash: the borough no longer accepts cash in any department; pay by check or debit or credit card.
• Plan review fee: under the state rules it is paid when you file, credited against the permit fee when the permit is issued, and not refunded.
• State training fee surcharge: collected with the borough fee on construction permits, based on the volume of new buildings and additions or the cost of other work; demolition and asbestos or lead abatement are exempt.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Each trade has its own Cliffside Park form, attached to the construction permit jacket so that the job is one permit: an electrical permit, a plumbing permit, a fire protection permit, the mechanical inspection application and the elevator subcode form. Borough subcode officials review and inspect electrical, plumbing and fire protection work, and the department lists separate electrical and plumbing inspectors; elevator work is reviewed by Top Floor Elevated Solutions according to the state roster.

• Electrical: a state-licensed electrical contractor files the electrical permit.
• Plumbing and gas: a state-licensed master plumber files the plumbing permit, with the chimney verification form for fuel-fired replacements.
• Mechanical: heating and cooling equipment goes on the mechanical inspection application.
• Fire protection: sprinkler and alarm work on the fire protection permit.

New Jersey has no general contractor license. Home improvement contractors register with the Division of Consumer Affairs and put that number on the jacket, new-home builders register with DCA, and owners working on their own homes do not need to register.

How to apply for a Cliffside Park building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The state code gives the construction official 20 business days to approve or deny a complete application, and a permit cannot be released until the zoning and other prior approvals are attached. In Cliffside Park, Planning Board and Board of Adjustment calendars are the main variable: several board meetings did not go ahead. The Board of Adjustment’s own list shows March 24, 2025 (no agenda), April 28 and August 25, 2025 (no quorum), December 15, 2025 (canceled) and January 26 and February 23, 2026 (snow), and the Planning Board’s list shows an August 2024 meeting canceled for lack of a quorum. Meeting details are posted under each date and on the borough calendar once available.

Inspections and certificates in Cliffside Park

Cliffside Park schedules inspections online. Complete the inspection request form at the borough’s SDL portal link (or scan the QR code on the inspections page); the borough points out that N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.18(c)1 requires inspection requests in writing. The state rule asks for the request at least 24 hours before the inspection is wanted. Building and housing inspections are done by the Construction Code Official, with plumbing, electrical, fire and elevator inspectors for their trades.

When all inspections have been performed and the requirements met, the Construction Code Official issues a certificate of occupancy for new space or a certificate of approval for work on an existing building.

Sales, rentals and new businesses. Cliffside Park requires a certificate of occupancy for the sale of a property and for the opening of a new business, and posts separate certificate of continued occupancy applications for a sale, a rental and a business. The Fire Prevention Bureau, where the Construction Code Official also serves as Fire Official (201-313-2063), has a secretary at 201-313-2062 and a team of fire inspectors who carry out the borough’s fire safety inspections; its fax is 551-313-7026, shared with the Building Department.

Appeals. A decision of the construction or fire official can be appealed to the Bergen County Construction Board of Appeals, which meets at One Bergen County Plaza in Hackensack; zoning decisions go to the borough’s own Board of Adjustment instead.

New Jersey building code in Cliffside Park

Cliffside Park enforces the statewide Uniform Construction Code with its own construction official and subcode officials. The 2024 I-codes, the 2024 National Standard Plumbing Code and the 2023 NEC took effect on August 17, 2026, and a complete application with all prior approvals may still use the 2021 editions until February 17, 2027. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Cliffside Park (community 340582) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with maps effective August 28, 2019.

New Jersey has one Uniform Construction Code for every municipality; the town supplies the enforcing agency, the fee ordinance and the zoning approvals. New Jersey rules

Cliffside Park permit search and official resources

Records of past permits and certificates are requested under the Open Public Records Act. The borough’s online OPRA form goes straight to the Municipal Clerk’s office by e-mail; you can also print the form and fax it (the OPRA page gives 201-945-9823; the Borough Clerk’s page lists fax 551-313-7005), e-mail it to the clerk or hand it in at the clerk’s office on the third floor of the Municipal Complex (201-945-3456, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). The clerk is the custodian of the borough’s minutes, contracts and archival records, and the Planning Board and Board of Adjustment post their agendas and minutes on the Building Department pages. Health services come through a health officer from Mid-Bergen Regional Health (borough health office 201-313-2048).

• Cliffside Park Building Department
• Applications and permits
• Inspection scheduling
• SDL inspection request form
• Zoning Office
• Planning Board meeting dates
• Zoning Board meeting dates
• Stormwater management and ordinances
• Fourth round housing element and fair share plan
• Fire Prevention Bureau
• Health Department
• Open Public Records Act requests
• Borough ordinances
• DCA construction permit forms
• DCA Local Construction Contacts roster
• DCA adopted codes
• Bergen County Planning & Engineering
• Bergen County Construction Board of Appeals
• NJ soil erosion and sediment control program
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Cliffside Park building permit FAQs

Where is the Cliffside Park Building Department?

In Room 220 of the Municipal Complex, 525 Palisade Avenue; call 201-313-2042.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Through the borough’s online SDL inspection request form; requests must be in writing.

Can I pay for a permit in cash?

No. Cliffside Park no longer takes cash in any department; use a check or a debit or credit card.

Do I need a certificate to sell my home?

Yes. A certificate of occupancy is required for the sale of property, using the certificate of continued occupancy sale application.

When does the Board of Adjustment meet?

On the fourth Monday of the month at 6 p.m., unless otherwise noted on the posted list.

Do I need a permit to open a street for a utility connection?

Yes. Openings of less than 15 square yards use the borough’s street opening permit; a county road also needs a county road opening permit.

Does Cliffside Park have stormwater rules for new building?

Yes. Stormwater Control Ordinance 2024-01, posted on the borough’s stormwater page with the earlier 2021 and 2022 ordinances, governs stormwater from development.

Who reviews elevator work?

The state roster lists the private agency Top Floor Elevated Solutions as Cliffside Park’s elevator subcode official.

Simplify Cliffside Park Borough permitting with Alliance Permitting

Alliance Permitting is a permit documentation and submission company in New Jersey. We prepare your paperwork, file it correctly and coordinate with the permitting authority through issuance. We are not a contractor and we do not perform licensed plan review or inspections; that work stays with your licensed team and the jurisdiction.

This guide is provided by Alliance Permitting for general information about Cliffside Park Borough permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.