Montgomery Township (Somerset County), New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In Montgomery Township, Somerset County (mailing address Skillman), the Construction Department at 100 Community Drive (908-359-8211) is a Class I UCC agency with full-time inspectors for every subcode it holds; the state Department of Community Affairs covers elevators. Zoning and the Engineering Department review most projects first. Ordinance 25-1765, adopted December 4, 2025 and in use since December 10, 2025, charges $40 per $1,000 for alterations up to $50,000 and a plan review fee of 10% of the permit fee.

What requires a building permit in Montgomery?

The township’s FAQ answer is broad: building, repairing, moving, removing or demolishing any building or structure needs a permit, and electrical, plumbing and mechanical work each need their own trade permit. It reminds owners that small jobs such as finished basements, raised patios, decks and tool sheds count, and that unpermitted work tends to surface when a house is sold. State rules set the floor: ordinary maintenance (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.7) needs no permit, and minor work (5:23-2.17A) needs a permit but may start once the office is notified, although the township’s FAQ tells owners not to begin before the permit is on site.

What the township decides and what the state holds

The technical code is statewide, but Montgomery sets the fees in section 8-1.3 of its code, its Land Development Ordinance (applied by the Zoning Division of the Planning Department), Engineering’s rules for grading, soil movement, driveways and trees, and the Board of Health’s septic codes. Its plan rules note that building in wetlands and their buffers, riparian zones, flood hazard areas, steep slopes, stream corridors and conservation easements is regulated and in most cases prohibited.

Montgomery building department: who handles permitting

The Construction Department, a Class I agency, handles plan review, permits and inspections for commercial and residential work, from new buildings and additions to alterations needing building, electrical, plumbing or fire permits. DCA’s roster as of September 2, 2026 lists township officials in the construction, building, electrical, fire protection and plumbing posts and the Department of Community Affairs as elevator subcode official, at 100 Community Drive, Skillman, phone 908-359-8211, fax 908-359-2006. The township’s page and the roster name different people as construction official, so ask the office who currently holds the post.

Montgomery permit types

The township uses the state’s UCC forms and posts an illustrated guide to filling out the construction permit application, a Construction Permits brochure, a finished basement guide with diagrams, and shed setbacks. Plot and grading plans go with Engineering, Building and Zoning applications, following Engineering’s plot plan review checklist.

Residential permits

• Sheds. Every shed needs a zoning permit with a survey or plot plan showing its setbacks; one over 200 square feet also needs a building permit with a plot plan, a brochure for a kit shed or two sets of drawings for a built one, 12-inch footings and anchoring.
• EV chargers. The F-100 signed by the contractor (or the homeowner acting as principal contractor), three sealed F-120 electrical sections, two single-line drawings, two load calculations, two product sheets and a copy of the contractor’s New Jersey electrical license.
• Pools. $140 above ground or $225 in ground for the building subcode, plus $95 or $200 electrical and $150 for the pool electrical certificate inspection.
• Solar. $150 building fee for a house system plus the electrical fee by kilowatt ($275 for 1 to 50 kW).

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

Commercial permits

Commercial buildings in use groups A, F and S are priced at $0.058 per cubic foot, other new buildings at $0.048, and commercial solar at $300. A certificate of continued occupancy costs $150 and a certificate of occupancy for a change of use $175. Fire protection items are priced individually, from $95 for five or fewer sprinkler heads or alarm devices to $1,500 for systems of 1,001 or more, with $250 for each commercial kitchen exhaust system and $200 for each pre-engineered suppression system. A request for a variation from the code costs $500 for a Class I structure and $100 for Class II or III, and $200 or $50 to resubmit.

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

What comes before the construction permit

• Zoning. The Zoning Division reviews building permits before the Construction Department does; most permit work needs a zoning permit, filed online through GovPilot with the lot coverage calculation.
• Engineering. Engineering must issue a prior approval for most building projects, and handles street and right-of-way openings (including driveways), soil disturbance and hauling, and tree removal; circular driveways always need a permit.
• Boards. Applications to the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment are reviewed by Zoning before their hearings, and the Board of Adjustment can overrule the Zoning Officer’s reading of the ordinance.
• Soil conservation. A soil erosion and sediment control certification from the Somerset-Union Soil Conservation District (308 Milltown Road, Bridgewater; 908-526-2701) is needed once disturbance reaches 5,000 square feet.
• Septic. Any repair to part of a septic system needs a Montgomery Township Health Department permit, and systems in the township’s management district renew a license every three years (conventional) or every year (alternative systems) with proof of maintenance.
• Utilities. Call NJ One Call (811) at least three business days before digging more than six inches.

Montgomery permit costs and fees

Ordinance 25-1765 amended section 8-1.3 of the township code; the Township Committee adopted it on December 4, 2025 and the Construction Department applied it from December 10, 2025. The permit fee is the sum of the subcode fees and any special fees, paid before the permit issues and rounded to the nearest dollar.

Worked example using the ordinance’s rates: a $30,000 kitchen remodel with no trade work is 30 × $40 = $1,200 in building fees, all within the first band; the 10% plan review fee ($120) is paid first and credited when the permit issues. Plumbing and electrical work on the same job adds its own subcode fees, which raise the plan review fee too. Fees are waived for accessibility work, township projects, nonprofit low- and moderate-income housing, public buildings and township volunteer fire and rescue stations.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Montgomery treats each trade as its own permit section, reviewed and inspected by the township’s full-time subcode staff. New Jersey licenses electrical contractors, master plumbers and HVACR contractors, has no general contractor license, and requires home improvement contractors to register with the Division of Consumer Affairs and new-home builders with DCA; owners working on their own home are exempt from registration. The township’s contractor advice asks owners to collect three written estimates, see liability and workers’ compensation certificates, check the contractor’s state registration, and hold back the final payment until the final inspection, as the state consumer rules allow.

• Electrical work by a contractor carries the contractor’s seal on each technical section copy; a homeowner acting as principal contractor signs the application instead.
• Plumbing charges no fee for gas service entrances or for the water meter required for sewer billing on a private well.
• Fire fees cover fireplaces, stoves, furnaces, chimney liners and generators at the minimum fee each, and solar battery storage at $100 per battery outside the house or $150 inside.
• Elevators are inspected by DCA, with fees set by the state elevator rules.

How to apply for a Montgomery building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.16 gives the construction official 20 business days to approve or deny a complete application. In Montgomery, zoning and Engineering approvals come first, and plans that put sheds, fences, sprinklers or walls in an easement or the road right-of-way (usually 10 feet behind the road edge), or clear wetlands, floodplain or conservation areas, will not get those approvals.

Inspections and certificates in Montgomery

Following DCA’s rule, every inspection other than for minor work must be requested in writing: email the Construction Department with the permit number, project address, contact number and the date you want, and the office does its best to fit it in. The full-time inspectors cover every township-held subcode. When work is finished, the certificate of occupancy fee is 10% of the new construction permit fee, a certificate of continued occupancy is $150, and a change-of-use certificate $175, each on top of the permit fees. A lapsed permit or certificate can be reinstated for 25% of the original fee if nothing has changed.

Selling a home

The township’s construction pages describe no resale certificate of occupancy for houses. They do warn that work done without permits often turns up in the search when a house is sold, so open or missing permits are worth clearing first. The state fire code separately requires a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm certificate before a one- or two-family home is sold or leased; ask the township which fire official issues it.

New Jersey building code in Montgomery

Montgomery’s Class I office applies the state UCC directly. From August 17, 2026 the state moved to the 2024 I-codes, the 2024 National Standard Plumbing Code and the 2023 NEC, keeping the 2021 codes and 2020 NEC available until February 17, 2027 for complete applications with prior approvals in hand. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Montgomery Township, Somerset County (community 340439) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps dated November 4, 2016; Engineering treats flood hazard areas and floodplains as places where development is regulated and usually prohibited.

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

Montgomery permit search and official resources

Ask the Construction Department about the permit history of a property; copies of permit and certificate files are public records, which the township provides on request under the Open Public Records Act.

• Building & Construction: inspections, sheds, basements, EV chargers
• Ordinance 25-1765, construction fee schedule (adopted Dec. 4, 2025)
• Building Department FAQs and choosing a contractor
• Apply for a zoning permit
• Engineering permits
• Plan requirements for building and zoning applications
• Health Department septic FAQs
• Soil conservation district directory (NJ Department of Agriculture)
• DCA local construction contacts roster
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Montgomery building permit FAQs

How much is a building permit in Montgomery?

Alterations are $40 per $1,000 of cost up to $50,000, then $35 and $30 per $1,000, plus a 10% plan review fee credited at issue.

Do I need a permit to replace my roof?

Not on a one- or two-family house; the township code exempts repair or full replacement of roofing there.

Does a shed need a permit?

Every shed needs zoning; one over 200 square feet, over 10 feet tall or with utilities also needs a building permit.

Do I need a permit to replace a water heater?

Yes. The township says a water heater replacement needs a permit.

How do I schedule an inspection?

By email to the Construction Department with the permit number, address, phone number and preferred date.

Who permits septic repairs?

The Montgomery Township Health Department; any repair to part of a septic system needs its permit.

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