Palisades Park Borough, New Jersey Building Permit Guide

In the Borough of Palisades Park, construction permits come from the Building Department at Borough Hall, 275 Broad Avenue (201-585-4108), open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Tom O’Malley is the Construction Official. Contractors register with the borough for $450, small sheds, fences, dumpsters and tree work go on a separate municipal permit, and a home cannot be resold without a certificate of occupancy together with the smoke, carbon monoxide and fire extinguisher certificate.

What requires a building permit in Palisades Park?

The Building Department applies the Uniform Construction Code: new structures, additions, alterations, changes of use and regulated electrical, plumbing and fire work need a construction permit before work starts. Owner and contractor share the responsibility for getting it, and the department says a homeowner should be wary of a contractor who will not take charge of the application. If a water heater fails on a Friday night, an emergency repair may go ahead, but the permit must follow as soon as possible and within 72 hours; call the office to be placed on its Emergency Work List.

Small sheds may not sit in a front yard or in a side yard leading to the rear yard, nor within 3 feet of a rear or side line or 10 feet of another structure. Fences are not allowed in any front yard, residential, commercial or mixed use; on a corner lot the front yard is the one facing the main entrance, and side and rear fences top out at 6 feet. Building a shed without the permit brings a $50 fine plus the permit cost.

What Palisades Park decides and what the state holds

The construction rules are New Jersey’s. Palisades Park adds its fee schedule in Section 116-3 of Chapter 116, its zoning and board approvals, the borough contractor registration, the resale certificate of occupancy, rental certificates and Chapter 169 on lead-based paint testing (Ordinances 2024-15 and 2024-18). Elevators are inspected by a private agency: the DCA roster lists Top Floor Elevated Solutions as the borough’s elevator subcode official.

Palisades Park building department: who handles permitting

The Building Department is the enforcing agency for construction, with its own building, electrical, plumbing and fire subcode staff and a technical assistant who also handles escrow. Zoning questions go through a zoning information request; the Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Board hear variances and site plans, and the borough has its own Board of Health and Rent Leveling Board.

Palisades Park permit types

Construction permits use the standard New Jersey UCC jacket and technical sections; the department says forms from another town are accepted as long as they are the standard state forms. Applications are taken Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the borough posts its own permit procedure, acceptance and plan submittal checklists and office procedures.

Residential permits

• Plans. A homeowner may draw plans for a single-family home used exclusively as their primary residence; a building contractor may not draw them. Plans for a rental, a multiple-family building or any non-residential use must come from a New Jersey licensed architect or engineer, except that on a single-family home or other Class III structure a licensed electrician or master plumber may design and submit the electrical or plumbing plans.
• Surveys. A survey from a closing may not show enough; the department wants every existing and proposed structure, all lot and structure dimensions, and adjacent streets and waterways. The municipal permit form requires a survey no more than 10 years old.
• Fuel-burning appliances need the chimney verification form, and demolition and stand-by generators follow their own requirement sheets.
• Accessory dwelling units. Ordinance 2024-17 created an article of the borough code allowing accessory dwelling units as an accessory use for one- and two-family dwellings in the AA zones.

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

Commercial permits

A new business first files a zoning information request to confirm the use is allowed in its zone; if no Planning Board approval is needed, the next step is the business application for a certificate of continued occupancy, an inspection, and the certificate once all prior approvals are in. Outdoor dining and crane work have their own applications. A construction dumpster on a public street needs a $100 permit that covers seven days including weekends, and the container must be gone by noon the day after the permit expires; one on private property needs no permit or fee.

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 approval is a prior approval for new construction, additions, decks, retaining walls, fences, sheds, pools, spas, hot tubs and signs, and no plan review starts without it. A complete zoning application is reviewed within 10 business days; a sloping lot may need a topographic survey.
• Board approvals. After a Planning Board or Zoning Board approval, permit applications are accepted only once the signed resolution and signed plans reach the department. The borough notes a 45-day period after publication of the decision, during which work may start only at the owner’s own risk.
• Engineering. New houses, retaining walls and in-ground pools, or other work the Construction Official directs, need engineering approval with an escrow (and a W-9) posted at application; performance bonds cover unfinished site work.
• County and utilities. Bergen County soil and Bergen County Utilities Authority approvals, and county approval for any property on a county road (a new home, a front addition needing a variance, a street opening or a wider driveway or apron). Any excavation needs a mark-out dig number (1-800-272-1000), and a demolition needs letters from every utility and a pest control certification.
• Contractor registration. Contractors file the borough’s contractor’s license registration ($450) and attach their license and insurance to municipal permit applications.
• Streets and curbs. Street openings use a borough application, and curb cuts or replacements are $5 per linear foot on the municipal permit form.
• Overlay districts. Ordinance 2026-9 created the Bellview Place Overlay District for Block 217, Lot 23 and amended the zoning map.
• Larger sites. Earth disturbance over 5,000 square feet needs a soil erosion and sediment control plan certified by the Bergen County Soil Conservation District.

Palisades Park permit costs and fees

Construction fees are set in Section 116-3 of the borough code. The department explains the basis: new structures and additions are charged per cubic foot of volume, alterations per dollar of estimated cost, which must be the current market value of labor and materials no matter who does the work, and electrical, plumbing and fire permits by the number of fixtures or appliances. The full rate table sits in the codified Chapter 116 rather than on the department’s page; when the permit is approved, a Construction Office representative phones with the amount due. Fees printed on borough forms:

Permits are paid by check or money order only. In 2026 the borough also adopted Ordinance 2026-6, which repealed and replaced the development fee and mandatory affordable housing set-aside articles of Chapter 123; ask the department whether a development fee applies to a new house, addition or commercial project.

Trade permits and who may pull them

Electrical, plumbing and fire permits are part of the same application and are charged by fixture or appliance. When work involves a regulated trade, the department asks for proof of that trade’s state license or registration; its list includes master plumbers, electrical contractors, home improvement contractors, architects and engineers, burglar alarm installers, irrigation contractors and HVAC contractors.

• Borough registration. On top of any state credential, a contractor working in Palisades Park files the borough’s $450 contractor’s license registration.
• Owner-occupants. In a single-family, owner-occupied home the owner may do their own electrical and plumbing work; otherwise a licensed plumber or electrician takes out the permit and signs and seals the section, and whoever signs must do the work.
• Changing contractors needs a new technical section and a letter from the owner naming the old and new contractor; there is no extra fee unless work is added.
• Complaints. Disputes with a contractor go to the state Division of Consumer Affairs; inspectors do not recommend contractors or judge workmanship beyond the code.

How to apply for a Palisades Park building permit

Review, corrections and what causes delay

The borough’s office procedures list what gets an application held: an F100 folder without sections I to IV and VI filled in and signed, technical sections not signed and sealed where required, or fewer than two sets of legible, scaled plans with a use schedule. Kitchen and bathroom renovations need a drawing of the existing layout unless fixtures are directly replaced, and new walls or framing need an elevation drawing. The estimated cost must include integral equipment, built-in furnishings and finishes, with donated material or labor at its usual cost, and a job that is both an addition and an alteration must split the two. The state’s 20-business-day limit applies once the application is complete. Once issued, work must start within a year, and the permit lapses if work stops for more than six months.

Inspections and certificates in Palisades Park

Each trade has set inspection days: building inspections on Monday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., electrical on Tuesday and Thursday, plumbing on Tuesday and Thursday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and fire on Tuesday and Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. The office cannot promise a specific time. Final inspections are mandatory, and the department warns that penalties follow when they are skipped.

A complete set of approved plans must be kept on site, or the inspection fails, and the permit placard must be posted where it can be seen from the street. A certificate of occupancy is needed for new structures and additions, a change of use, or work extensive enough to count as reconstruction; apply on the “Application for Certificate” once every final has passed and the engineering, final as-built, Bergen County soil and home warranty documents are in.

Resale and rental certificates

Palisades Park requires a certificate of occupancy for resale, “in conjunction with a Certificate of Smoke Detector, Carbon Monoxide Detector, and Fire Extinguisher Compliance”, in the department’s own words, from the Bureau of Fire Prevention. The residential owner certificate costs $150 for a one- or two-unit dwelling or a condominium or co-op unit, $375 for three to ten units plus $75 for each unit over ten, and $50 per unit for each re-inspection. The purchaser must sign the application and have it notarized, and an LLC must name its manager or principal. Commercial, mixed-use and vacant-land sales have their own certificates. A landlord renting a unit files the residential tenant certificate; once the inspection passes, the certificate is issued on the spot.

Sellers do not have to remove an underground oil tank that is still in use and not leaking, and they do not have to bring an older house up to current code just because a buyer’s inspector flags items; both are matters for the contract.

New Jersey building code in Palisades Park

Palisades Park enforces the statewide UCC through its own Building Department, with Top Floor Elevated Solutions holding the elevator subcode. FEMA’s Community Status Book lists Palisades Park (community 340061) as participating in the National Flood Insurance Program, with flood maps dated 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

Palisades Park permit search and official resources

Copies of permits, plans or certificates can be requested on the Building Department’s own “request for copy of documents” form or on the borough’s OPRA request form.

• Palisades Park Building Department and FAQ
• Building applications, forms and permits
• Permits procedure
• Office procedures for permit processing
• Municipal permit application: shed, fence, dumpster, tree
• Contractor’s license registration
• Residential owner certificate (resale)
• Borough ordinances
• Ordinance 2022-4, Chapter 116 fees
• Ordinance 2024-17, accessory dwelling units
• Ordinance 2026-6, development fees and affordable housing
• OPRA request form
• DCA Local Construction Contacts roster
• FEMA Community Status Book, New Jersey

Palisades Park building permit FAQs

Do I need a permit for a shed in Palisades Park?

Yes. A shed of 200 square feet or less and up to 12 feet high takes a $175 municipal permit with a survey no more than 10 years old.

How high can a fence be?

Up to 6 feet in side and rear yards on a $100 municipal permit; taller fences need a UCC permit, and no fence is allowed in a front yard.

What does a resale certificate cost?

$150 for a one- or two-unit dwelling or a condo or co-op unit, $375 for three to ten units, and $50 per unit for a re-inspection.

Do contractors need a borough license?

Contractors register with the borough on its contractor’s license registration form, which costs $450.

How do I pay for a permit?

By check or money order, Monday to Friday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

How long is a permit good for?

Work must begin within a year of issue, and the permit expires if work is abandoned for more than six months.

Can I draw my own plans?

Only for a single-family home that is your primary residence; rentals, multifamily and commercial plans need a licensed architect or engineer.

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