Haddon Township, New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In Haddon Township, which includes Westmont, construction permits are issued by the Construction & Zoning Office in the Township Annex Building, 10 Reeve Avenue, behind the Municipal Building (856-833-6265). Ed Toussaint is the Construction Official and also covers the building, plumbing, fire and mechanical subcodes. A $50 zoning permit must be approved before a construction application is filed, inspections are booked only by email or through the township’s GovPilot portal, and a home sale needs a certificate of compliance that costs $150 when the application is in more than 14 business days before closing.

What requires a building permit in Haddon Township?

The township applies the state Uniform Construction Code, so anything beyond N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7 ordinary maintenance (painting, flooring, cabinets, same-opening window swaps, a new roof covering on a detached house) needs a construction permit. Minor work, such as replacing a water heater, furnace or air conditioner of like capacity, needs one too, but may begin once the office has been told.

Haddon’s zoning ordinance makes a zoning permit a condition before any use starts or any structure is erected, altered, converted or installed. The guide’s rule of thumb is that most exterior projects need zoning approval and most interior ones do not, with garage conversions the main interior exception.

What Haddon Township decides and what the state holds

The building standards are state law. The township sets its fees by ordinance (Chapter 111 of the code holds its fee schedules, including the certificate of compliance fees), its land use rules in Chapter 142, the certificate of compliance required on every sale or tenant change, a local rule that open permits must be closed before a home is sold, and the affordable housing development fee, which Ordinance 1479 rewrote on March 12, 2026. The same March meeting adopted Ordinance 1480, rezoning sites and creating a Cuthbert Boulevard inclusionary affordable housing overlay; an earlier affordable housing overlay came with Ordinance 1476 on May 27, 2025.

Haddon Township building department: who handles permitting

The Construction & Zoning Office is the enforcing agency for the township, including the Westmont, West Collingswood Heights and West Collingswood Extension neighborhoods. DCA’s Local Construction Contacts roster (as of September 2, 2026) lists Ed Toussaint as construction official and building, fire protection and plumbing subcode official, a separate electrical subcode official, and the Department of Community Affairs for elevators. The roster still gives the Municipal Building address at 135 Haddon Avenue and the number 856-854-1176, while the township’s own page sends applicants to the Annex at 10 Reeve Avenue.

Haddon Township permit types

The construction permit packet is the state F-100 jacket (pages 1 and 2, fully completed and signed) plus the building, electrical, plumbing, fire and mechanical sections that apply; the township posts them with a framing checklist, an air barrier and insulation checklist and a chimney certification form. Applications can also start on the township’s GovPilot construction permit form.

Residential permits

• Plans. Two sets of architectural drawings signed and sealed by a New Jersey licensed architect, or drawn by the homeowner, who signs each sheet and the affidavits on page 2 of the jacket.
• Heating and cooling. Include Manual J and S design data or the manufacturer’s specification sheets for gas-fired appliances, details of any kitchen exhaust hood and its make-up air, and a chimney certificate for fuel-fired equipment.
• Grading. Where the Township Engineer must approve grading, four sets of grading plans are needed.
• Development fee. Projects subject to the affordable housing development fee file the township’s fee form; half the estimated fee is collected when the construction permit is issued.
• Pools, PODs and dumpsters. The township posts swimming pool information, a bulk storage container (POD) permit and a roll-off dumpster application.

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

Commercial permits

Commercial work uses the same packet with sealed drawings. The Fire Marshal’s Bureau of Fire Prevention registers and inspects every structure and business except owner-occupied homes, and is also the fire enforcing agency for Audubon Park. New non-residential construction pays a 2.5% development fee on equalized assessed value, and additions pay 2.5% of the increase.

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. $50, with a survey at least 11 by 17 inches, a grading plan where needed, proposed setbacks, fence height and whether a fence encloses a pool. Zoning review can take up to 10 business days.
• Planning/Zoning Board. If the Zoning Officer finds a variance is needed, the application goes to the board, filed online through GovPilot with the application instructions, Section A and the escrow agreement and fee worksheet.
• Outside agencies. The zoning form asks for copies of any NJDEP, NJDOT or Camden County Planning Board approvals; work in a county road needs a county road opening permit (856-782-3448), and septic or well questions go to the Camden County Septic and Wells Unit.
• Soil. Disturbing more than 5,000 square feet requires a plan certified by the DelAtlantic Soil Conservation District, which serves Camden County from West Berlin (856-767-6299).

Haddon Township permit costs and fees

Construction fees follow the township’s most recently adopted fee schedule in Chapter 111 of the code, and the office emails the amount when the permit is approved and ready to pick up. The township’s own forms print these related fees:

Half of a development fee is collected when the construction permit is issued and the rest when the certificate of occupancy is issued, with the tax assessor setting the final figure; rebuilding a home lost to fire or natural disaster pays no fee. The Planning/Zoning Board charges a non-refundable application fee and a separate escrow for its professionals, paid by two checks. The state surcharge is added to construction permits. Sewer service and rental charges sit in the same Chapter 111, and Ordinance 1477, adopted on May 27, 2025, revised them.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Every trade is a section of the same permit. The township’s checklist requires each technical section to be signed and sealed by a licensed contractor, unless a homeowner is doing the work in their own occupied home, and the contractor’s full license number must appear on the section or be attached.

• Plumbing, fire and mechanical: reviewed and inspected by the Construction Official, who holds those subcodes.
• Electrical: handled by the township’s separate electrical subcode official through the same office.
• Contractor numbers: attach the builder’s registration number for a new home or the home improvement contractor registration number for other residential work.
• Owner work: the homeowner guide suggests hiring a licensed professional unless the owner is comfortable with their own knowledge and experience.

New Jersey licenses electrical contractors, master plumbers and HVACR contractors; home improvement contractors register with the Division of Consumer Affairs, and new-home builders with DCA. The guide also reminds owners that when a contractor handles the application, it is still the owner’s job to confirm the permit has been released before work starts.

How to apply for a Haddon Township building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The homeowner guide quotes N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.16(a): the construction official has 20 business days to review an application, and any zoning review comes first. Reviews by the Township Engineer or the county board of health can add time. The township recommends a short narrative answering each comment when resubmitting, which it says helps the re-review move faster.

Inspections and certificates in Haddon Township

Inspections are scheduled only by email to inspections@haddontwp.com or through the portal, with the permit number, address and type of inspection; the office replies by email with the date and time. Construction inspections run in set windows: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7 to 10 a.m., Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Tuesday and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. The required inspection list comes with the permit; the applicant or contractor must book the finals, and a permit stays open until a certificate is issued. The homeowner guide advises holding back a contractor’s final payment until that certificate arrives, since it is the proof the permit was closed.

Selling a home or changing tenants

Every sale or tenant change needs a certificate of compliance (COC) or temporary certificate (TCC), issued only when the home meets the township’s land use rules, the International Property Maintenance Code and the state fire code. Resale and lead paint inspections happen on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 to 10 a.m., and applications must be in and paid at least 14 business days before closing. Moving in, or even storing belongings, before the inspection can bring a penalty of $100 to $2,500 per occurrence. If the sale or tenancy does not happen within six months, a new application is needed. The Fire Marshal’s office checks smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers in homes for sale, and any open construction permit must be closed first.

New Jersey building code in Haddon Township

The township enforces the Uniform Construction Code as DCA adopts it: since August 17, 2026 the 2024 I-codes, the National Standard Plumbing Code and the 2023 NEC, with the 2021 codes allowed until February 17, 2027 for a complete application with all prior approvals. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Haddon Township (community 340134) as a participating National Flood Insurance Program community with flood maps effective August 17, 2016. Property maintenance follows the 2018 International Property Maintenance Code, enforced on complaint by the township’s compliance officer (856-833-6266).

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

Haddon Township permit search and official resources

Ask the Construction & Zoning Office (856-833-6265) whether a property has open permits before a sale, since they must be closed before closing; formal requests for permit files can be made under the Open Public Records Act. Adopted and introduced ordinances are posted by year on the township site.

• Construction & Zoning Office page and forms
• GovPilot construction permit application
• Checklist for a construction permit submission
• Residential permits homeowner guide
• Zoning permit application
• Planning Board escrow agreement and fees
• Resale and tenant change inspection application
• Affordable housing development fee form
• Ordinance 1479, affordable housing and development fees
• Township ordinances
• Fire Marshal Office
• Compliance and code enforcement
• DCA Local Construction Contacts roster
• Camden County Planning Department
• Camden County road opening permit rules
• Camden County Septic and Wells Unit
• DelAtlantic Soil Conservation District
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Haddon Township building permit FAQs

Where is the Haddon Township construction office?

In the Township Annex Building at 10 Reeve Avenue, the white building behind the Municipal Building; call 856-833-6265.

Do I need zoning approval before a building permit?

For most exterior work and for garage conversions, yes: the Zoning Officer must approve a $50 zoning permit before the construction application can be filed.

How do I schedule an inspection?

Email inspections@haddontwp.com or use the portal with the permit number, address and inspection type; phone requests are not taken for scheduling.

What does a resale certificate cost?

$150 if the application is in more than 14 business days before closing, rising to $175, $200, $225 or $250 the later it arrives.

Is there an affordable housing fee on my addition?

Residential projects pay 1.5% of the equalized assessed value they add, half when the permit issues and the rest at the certificate of occupancy, unless an exemption in Ordinance 1479 applies.

Can I draw my own plans?

Yes, for work on your own occupied home: sign each sheet and the affidavits in the permit jacket; otherwise plans need a New Jersey licensed architect’s seal.

Does Haddon Township cover Westmont?

Yes. Westmont, West Collingswood Heights and West Collingswood Extension are part of the township and use the same construction office.

Simplify Haddon Township 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 Haddon Township permitting. Requirements, fees, and procedures change; confirm details with the permitting authority before relying on them.