Franklin Township (Gloucester County), New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In Franklin Township, Gloucester County, construction permits come from the township’s Construction Department at 1571 Delsea Drive, Franklinville (856-694-1234), a Class I enforcing agency. Sal Catania is the Construction Official. Permits can be submitted online through the township’s permit portal, fees follow Chapter 190 of the township code as amended by Ordinance O-3-22 in 2022 (alterations cost $34 per $1,000 of estimated cost), and every sale or new tenancy of a home needs a $100 resale or new tenant certificate inspection.

What requires a building permit in Franklin Township?

Franklin’s “Do I need a permit?” checklist sorts common jobs by whether they need a zoning permit, a construction permit, or both:

Those answers sit on top of the state rules, which apply everywhere in New Jersey: ordinary maintenance under N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 needs no permit, and minor work under 5:23-2.17A needs one but may begin after the department is notified. The township’s land use code (section 253-19.A) adds that a zoning permit must be secured before any principal or accessory structure is built, erected or altered, whether or not a construction permit is needed, and whenever the use of land or a structure changes.

What Franklin decides and what the state holds

The construction standards are the state’s. Franklin sets its fees (Chapter 190), its zoning and land development rules (Chapter 253), its resale and rental inspections (Chapter 178), house numbering for E-911 (Chapter 165), tree removal permits and affordable housing development fees. Its land use rules also carry Pinelands provisions, and an ordinance introduced on April 14, 2026 (O-5-2026) would confirm that data centers are prohibited in every zoning district; its second reading was set for June 9, 2026.

Franklin Township building department: who handles permitting

The Construction Department is the Division of Construction within the township’s Department of Code Enforcement and Land Use, which also has divisions for zoning and planning, housing and code enforcement. Chapter 190 sets up the Franklin Township Construction Code Enforcing Agency with a central permit office at the same address. DCA’s roster of local construction officials (as of September 2, 2026) lists township officials in the construction, building, electrical, plumbing and fire protection posts, and the Department of Community Affairs as elevator subcode official, so elevator permits and inspections go through DCA.

Franklin Township permit types

A construction permit is the state’s UCC application with building, electrical, fire protection, mechanical and plumbing technical sections, all posted on the Construction page along with the township’s requirements for each type of permit, its setback requirements and a request form for the list of property owners within 200 feet. Applications can be filed online through the portal or on paper at the municipal building.

Residential permits

• Additions and new houses are priced by building volume; renovations by estimated cost.
• Pools. In-ground pools are $150 up to 550 square feet and $210 above that; above-ground pools $100 and $140. A residential fence over 6 feet, or one used as a pool barrier, is a $50 building fee, and soft-sided and inflatable pools have their own requirements sheet.
• Reroofing or residing a one- or two-family house is capped at $75.
• Sheds need a zoning permit, and a construction permit too once they are over 200 square feet.
• Trees. Removing trees needs a township tree removal permit, priced at $35 per tree in the listed size classes, with replanting set by tree size.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial zoning permits are $75. A new business certificate of occupancy after a change of use group is $250, and a business certificate of continued occupancy with no change of use is $168. Large open-volume buildings such as barns, greenhouses, warehouses and distribution centers are charged a lower volume rate with a $1,602 cap, and a variation from the code costs $821 for a Class I building and $168 for Class II and III. Non-residential development pays an affordable housing development fee of 2.5% of equalized assessed value.

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 permit. File with a property survey showing the project and setbacks; no structure may go in wetlands, rights-of-way, buffers or easements.
• Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment. The administrator decides which board hears an application. The Zoning Board checklist asks for 15 copies, a 200-foot property owner list, photos and the tax map, filed 20 days before the meeting, and a Pinelands Commission certificate of filing where one is required before any permit is issued.
• Gloucester County. Site plans and subdivisions go to the county for review under its land development rules; the township posts the county application checklists.
• Soil erosion. More than 5,000 square feet of disturbance needs certification from the Gloucester County Soil Conservation District, 545 Beckett Road, Swedesboro (856-589-5250).
• Septic and wells. The Gloucester County Department of Health permits them; properties in the Pinelands file an extra application with the Pinelands Commission’s notice of filing.

Franklin Township permit costs and fees

Construction fees are set in Chapter 190 of the township code, as amended by Ordinance O-3-22, introduced on January 25, 2022 and adopted on February 8, 2022. A plan review fee of between 5% and 25% of the permit fee is paid when you apply (or, at the department’s discretion, at issue) and deducted from the permit fee; it is not refundable. The minimum basic construction permit is $75. Section 190-4 adds the state training surcharge: $0.00371 per cubic foot of new buildings and additions and $1.90 per $1,000 of value for other work.

Worked example from the schedule: a $20,000 kitchen remodel has a building fee of 20 × $34, or $680, before the plumbing and electrical items; the surcharge on that building work is 20 × $1.90, or $38. The plan review percentage is not fixed in the ordinance, so ask the department what share it collects at filing. New housing also pays an affordable housing development fee of 1.5% of equalized assessed value under Ordinance O-10-26, adopted July 14, 2026; a new accessory building assessed under $100,000 is exempt.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing, fire protection and mechanical work go on their own technical sections of the construction permit and are inspected by the township’s subcode officials. Elevators go to DCA.

• State credentials. Electrical contractors, master plumbers and HVACR contractors hold state licenses. New Jersey has no general contractor license; home improvement contractors register with the Division of Consumer Affairs and builders of new homes register with DCA, and owners working on their own homes are exempt from that registration.
• Lawn sprinklers need a plumbing permit for the backflow device, and backflow devices that must be field-tested are re-inspected each year for $75.
• Pools carry an annual electrical reinspection fee of $75, plus $50 for each additional pool on the property.
• Lead abatement needs its own permit ($196) and a $40 clearance certificate.

How to apply for a Franklin Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

Chapter 190 requires every application to be granted, in whole or in part, or denied within 20 business days, with written reasons for a denial; if no decision comes in that time and the applicant has not agreed to more, it can be treated as a denial and appealed to the Gloucester County Construction Board of Appeals. The department can approve changes in plans that do not need site plan approval. A permit expires if work does not start within one year or stops for six months. Where the Pinelands rules apply, the Zoning Board checklist calls for the Pinelands Commission certificate of filing before any permit is issued.

Inspections and certificates in Franklin Township

The Construction Department inspects the work during construction, and Chapter 190 sets inspection hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except in an emergency or with the owner’s permission. Request inspections at least 24 hours ahead. Work done contrary to the permit can be stopped by a written stop-construction order. New buildings get a certificate of occupancy (10% of the total permit fee). Chapter 190 also requires every home and business to show house numerals at least 3 inches high and 2 inches wide where they can be read from the road.

Resale and new tenant certificates. Every time a residential unit changes occupant or tenant, the Zoning and Land Use Department must inspect it and issue a Resale Certificate or New Tenant Certificate. The application and $100 fee go to the Housing Code Official’s office in the municipal building (not to inspectors in the field), and each re-inspection costs $50. The certificate needs a passing water test and Gloucester County Board of Health septic approval, and the inspection checks reflective house numbers at least 3½ inches high, a smoke detector on every level and in every bedroom on bedroom levels, carbon monoxide detectors near sleeping areas and a mounted 2A:10B:C fire extinguisher of no more than 10 pounds. Allow at least three weeks before settlement or move-in; applications expire after 60 days, and violations can bring fines of $100 to $200 a day. Rental units must also be registered with the Clerk’s Office.

New Jersey building code in Franklin Township

Franklin enforces the statewide Uniform Construction Code through its own Class I enforcing agency, with DCA as the elevator agency. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Franklin Township, Gloucester County (community 340202) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps effective January 20, 2010; NJDEP flood hazard approvals can apply in mapped flood areas.

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 Township permit search and official resources

Construction permits can be submitted through the township’s online permit portal. For copies of permits, approvals or inspection records, file the township’s OPRA request form with the Municipal Clerk; Planning Board and Zoning Board resolutions are posted on the township site.

• Franklin Township Construction Department
• Online construction permit portal
• Do I need a permit? checklist
• Ordinance O-3-22: Chapter 190 construction fees
• Code Enforcement and Land Use
• Zoning permit application
• Zoning Board application checklist
• Resale and new tenant certificate checklist
• Tree removal application
• Ordinance O-10-26: affordable housing development fees
• Ordinance O-5-2026 (data centers), as introduced
• OPRA request form
• Gloucester County well and septic submission requirements
• Gloucester County Land Development Review and Approval Committee
• NJ soil conservation district directory (2026)
• NJ DCA local construction contacts roster
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Franklin Township (Gloucester County) building permit FAQs

Is this the Franklin Township in Somerset County?

No. Franklin Township in Gloucester County is a separate municipality with its own construction office at 1571 Delsea Drive, Franklinville.

How much is a building permit for a renovation?

$34 per $1,000 of estimated cost under Chapter 190, plus trade fees, with a $75 minimum permit.

Does a shed need a permit in Franklin Township?

Every new or replacement shed needs a zoning permit; one over 200 square feet also needs a construction permit.

Does a fence need a construction permit?

The checklist names pool and commercial fences, and Chapter 190 also charges a $50 building fee for a residential fence over 6 feet; every new or replacement fence needs a zoning permit.

Can I apply online?

Yes, through the township’s construction permit portal; paper applications are taken at the municipal building.

What do I need to sell a house?

A resale certificate: a $100 inspection, a passing water test and county septic approval, applied for at least three weeks before settlement.

Who inspects elevators?

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

Simplify Franklin Township (Gloucester County) 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 Township (Gloucester County) permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.