Franklin Lakes Borough, New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In the Borough of Franklin Lakes, the Code Enforcement (Building/Construction) Department at Borough Hall, 480 DeKorte Drive (201-891-4000), issues construction permits; Gary Goodman is the Construction Official and Building Subcode Official. Most outdoor and accessory projects start with a $75 zoning review, built on a survey no more than 7 years old, and many lots also need the borough Board of Health because Franklin Lakes regulates its own septic systems. Inspections are requested online through the SDL portal.

What requires a building permit in Franklin Lakes?

State rules decide which jobs are ordinary maintenance with no permit, which are minor work that may begin after notice, and which need a permit before work starts. Franklin Lakes publishes a permit matrix that lists, project by project, which approvals and subcode sections to file, and a zoning form that settles several common borderline cases.

The Construction Department adds one rule of its own wording: under the rehabilitation subcode, any work at all in a one- or two-family home brings a requirement for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms, battery-operated at a minimum. Removing a tree 7 inches or more in diameter, dead trees included, needs a separate borough permit.

What Franklin Lakes decides and what the state holds

Technical standards and permit categories are fixed statewide. Franklin Lakes sets its zoning in Chapter 300 of the borough code, its own construction fee ordinance, its septic and well rules through an independent Board of Health, its road opening and soil moving permits, its tree ordinance and its resale smoke alarm certificate. The state roster shows that elevators are enforced by DCA rather than borough staff.

Franklin Lakes building department: who handles permitting

The borough’s Code Enforcement Department covers construction, property maintenance and zoning. DCA’s Local Construction Contacts roster (September 2, 2026) shows the borough’s own officials in the construction, building, electrical, plumbing and fire protection posts, and the Department of Community Affairs in the elevator post.

Franklin Lakes permit types

The Code Enforcement forms section carries the state construction permit application (F100) and the building, electrical, fire protection, plumbing and mechanical technical sections, a framing checklist and a construction recycling report. The permit matrix tells you which of them a project needs and asks for two sets of plans for most building work.

Residential permits

• New houses are filed with two sets of plans and the subcode sections the matrix marks; it notes that no mechanical technical section is filed for a new single-family house. The borough’s development approvals checklist shows which borough officials and boards sign off on each kind of project.
• Additions, whether they enlarge the footprint or add a level, are filed with two sets of plans, and on septic lots the Board of Health checks the existing and proposed bedroom counts.
• Pools are filed with two sets of plans and also go to the Board of Health in its plan submission process; the fence around a pool needs a building permit as well as zoning approval.
• Mechanical replacements such as furnaces and boilers need a chimney certificate and a contractor; the matrix says these cannot be done by a homeowner.
• Demolition of a house follows a separate demolition checklist.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial, industrial and multi-family projects need preliminary and final site plan approval from the Planning Board, using the borough’s numbered application forms and its general requirements checklist. Businesses file a registration form and a certificate of liability insurance, and every building except an owner-occupied one- or two-family home must be registered with the Fire Prevention Bureau.

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

What comes before the construction permit

• Zoning review. The borough requires zoning approval before any structure is built, moved or altered. The $75 application ($50 for a re-review, $100 for a home occupation) needs a scaled survey no more than 7 years old showing the work, coverage and setbacks; several small jobs can be filed online.
• Zoning Board of Adjustment. Appeals from the zoning officer, interpretations of the zoning ordinance, dimensional and use variances and Map Act variances are heard on the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall; the board’s page also lists site plan reviews and subdivision approvals among its work.
• Planning Board. Subdivisions, site plans and conditional uses are heard on the first and third Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
• Engineering and soil. Grading and soil movement use the Engineering and/or Soil Moving Permit; disturbing more than 5,000 square feet needs Bergen County Soil Conservation District certification.
• Board of Health. Building plans for new homes, additions, pools, decks, bathrooms and outdoor plumbing are submitted to the Board of Health, which reviews them against the septic system.
• Trees. Trees 7 inches or more in diameter need a removal permit; the septic permit form adds that trees cleared within 25 feet of a septic installation, alteration or repair still need the Shade Tree Commission permit but pay no fee.
• Street work. Opening a borough road needs a road opening permit under Chapter 425, Article III of the Borough Code, 48 hours’ notice to the Superintendent of Public Works, and a utility mark-out through the state’s call-before-you-dig line (1-800-272-1000).

Franklin Lakes permit costs and fees

The borough’s construction fee schedule sits in the Borough Code, which is hosted on eCode360, and it is not reproduced on the Code Enforcement or forms pages, so get a fee estimate from the Construction Department (ext. 1211 or 1213) before you file. The local fees that are printed on the borough’s own forms are below.

Under state rules the plan review fee is paid with the application and credited against the permit fee when the permit is issued, and the state’s training-fee surcharge is collected on top of the borough’s fees. Septic test hole permits, sewer connections and soil moving permits have their own borough forms; ask the office that issues each one for its current charge.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing, fire protection and mechanical work is applied for on the matching technical section of the one construction application. Separate borough subcode officials review and inspect electrical, plumbing and fire work, and DCA handles elevators.

• Electrical: wiring for new equipment such as generators, EV chargers, hot tubs and solar arrays goes on the electrical technical section.
• Plumbing: the matrix calls for a plumbing section on hot tubs because of the backflow preventer, and the Board of Health form covers outdoor plumbing and new bathrooms on septic lots.
• Mechanical and fuel-burning equipment: furnaces, boilers, water heaters and chimney liners need a chimney certificate and, under the borough’s matrix, a contractor rather than the homeowner.
• Septic: only installers licensed by the Franklin Lakes Board of Health may build or repair a septic system, and advanced pretreatment units need a NEHA-certified installer on site for the whole installation.

Contractors carry state credentials: home improvement contractors register with the Division of Consumer Affairs, builders of new homes register with DCA, and electrical, plumbing and HVACR contractors hold state licenses.

How to apply for a Franklin Lakes building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The UCC gives the construction office 20 business days to decide a complete application. Projects in Franklin Lakes most often stall on approvals that run beside the construction review: an old or unscaled survey sent back by zoning, a Board of Health review of bedroom counts on a septic lot, or engineering comments on walls and grading. A zoning denial can be the first step toward a variance hearing before the Zoning Board.

Inspections and certificates in Franklin Lakes

Construction inspections are requested on the SDL portal, where new users create an account first; the borough posts instructions for requesting a permit inspection there. Zoning permits that need a site visit are marked on the approval, and the applicant calls the zoning office at ext. 1220 when the work is done. Septic work is inspected separately by the Board of Health, which wants 2 business days’ notice, the licensed installer present and a watertight test of new tanks witnessed before anything is covered.

Before a home is sold, rented or given a new occupant, the owner needs a certificate of smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm compliance from the Fire Prevention Bureau. The application must arrive 30 days before closing, the inspection costs $150 (re-inspections $100), all open permits must be closed, real estate taxes must be current, and the certificate expires 90 days after approval. The inspector also checks that house numbers are at least 3 inches high in a contrasting color and visible near the front door.

New Jersey building code in Franklin Lakes

The borough reviews plans under New Jersey’s UCC; the 2024 I-codes and the 2023 National Electrical Code have governed new applications since August 17, 2026, with a grace period for complete 2021-code applications until February 17, 2027. Franklin Lakes appears in FEMA’s Community Status Book as community 340036, a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program with flood 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

Franklin Lakes permit search and official resources

Permit files and inspection records are public records: request them from the Borough Clerk, the records custodian, through the online public records request form, by email to OPRA@franklinlakes.org or at ext. 1202. Master Plan documents and property record cards are posted on the borough site.

• Franklin Lakes Code Enforcement (Building/Construction)
• Borough forms and applications (construction, zoning, planning, health)
• Permit application requirements matrix
• Application for zoning review
• Zoning Officer and online zoning applications
• Zoning Board of Adjustment
• Planning Board
• Development approvals checklist
• Board of Health septic permit application
• Board of Health plan submissions and fees
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate application
• Request a construction inspection (SDL portal)
• Public records requests (OPRA)
• NJ DCA Local Construction Contacts roster
• NJ DCA construction permit forms
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Franklin Lakes building permit FAQs

Do I need a permit for a shed in Franklin Lakes?

A shed of 200 square feet or less, 10 feet or less in height and with no utilities needs only a zoning permit with anchoring details; anything bigger also needs a building permit.

How tall can a fence be?

The zoning form sets a 5-foot maximum with no spikes, and a pool on the property means the fence also needs a building permit.

Can I replace my own water heater or furnace?

Not under the borough’s permit matrix, which says this work needs a chimney certificate and cannot be done by a homeowner.

Who approves septic work?

The Franklin Lakes Board of Health, using installers it licenses; repairs and abandonments cost $100 each.

What do I need before selling my house?

A smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate from the Fire Prevention Bureau: apply 30 days before closing, pay $150 and close any open permits.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Online through the SDL portal, after creating an account.

When does the Zoning Board meet?

On the first Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. in Borough Hall, 480 DeKorte Drive.

Simplify Franklin Lakes 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 Franklin Lakes Borough permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.