New Jersey: rules that reach your site, phones and email

New Jersey writes rules for the exact things a contractor's website and phone line do: show a number in an ad, promise a price, take a card, call a lead. This page covers the state rules with a written source, read in October 2026 on state sites, the Legislature's text and Cornell's copy of the administrative code. The Division of Consumer Affairs website blocked our automated reader for its contractor page, so for the licensing law we relied on the Legislature's text and flag what to confirm.

Your registration number belongs in every ad

New Jersey registers home improvement contractor businesses, and the rule on displaying the number is specific. Under N.J.A.C. 13:45A-17.11, the contractor shows its registration number on all advertisements distributed within the state, and on business documents, contracts and correspondence with home improvement customers. The same section requires the original or a duplicate registration certificate to be displayed at each place of business, and requires commercial vehicles that the registrant owns or leases for the work to carry the contractor's name on both sides and "HIC reg. #" with the number in lettering at least one inch high. Invoices, contracts and correspondence must also show the Division's toll-free consumer number in bold capital letters of at least 10 points.

"Advertisement" is defined broadly in the registration rules. It reaches print, radio, television, signs, business cards and the internet, so a home page, a landing page, a Business Profile and a directory listing all count. Put the number in your footer and header and in the description of any paid ad. If your registration lapses or is revoked, you must remove the number from vehicles and ads, so keep the number in one place you can change, such as a site setting.

One thing to confirm before you act. P.L. 2023, c.237, approved January 8, 2024, added a licensing system for individual home improvement contractors on top of business registration. By its terms, its sections 9 through 13 (the license requirement and the advertising section among them) stay inoperative until the first day of the sixth month after the new board promulgates its rules. Sections 7, 8 and 14 through 20 took effect on the first day of the 25th month after enactment, which is February 1, 2026. Trade-press commentary we found in mid-2026 said the board's rules had not yet been published, but we could not confirm that on a Division page, so treat the status as open. The advertising section subjects advertisers to the act and does not itself say a license number goes in ads. Check the Division's contractor page for the current status, then see our New Jersey licenses guide.

Written contracts and what an online estimate turns into

N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a)12 provides that all home improvement contracts for a purchase price in excess of $500, and all changes to their terms, must be in writing and signed by all parties. The contract must set out in understandable language the seller's legal name and business address, a description of the work and the principal products and materials, the total price including finance charges, the start and completion dates, any mortgage or security interest, and any guarantee or warranty. The Legislature's text of P.L. 2023, c.237 amends N.J.S.A. 56:8-151 so that a contract over $500 must include the registration number, the license number of any licensed contractor, and a copy of the liability insurance certificate. The same section lets the consumer cancel a home improvement contract for any reason before midnight of the third business day after receiving a copy, with a refund within 30 days, and requires a 10-point boldface cancellation notice in the contract.

That has a plain website consequence. A "get a quote" form can collect details, but a price emailed from a form and answered with "yes, book it" is not a signed contract. Use an e-signature step for any job over $500 and put your registration number and insurance certificate in the package. Change orders need the same signatures. Our estimate email templates show how to word the send.

Charging a card fee: New Jersey caps it

Many contractors add a fee for card payments. In New Jersey, P.L. 2023, c.146 (N.J.S.A. 56:8-156.1 and 156.2) prohibits a surcharge greater than the seller's actual cost to process the credit card payment. The Division's FAQ (revised December 2023) says a flat rate is allowed as long as it does not exceed the cost of processing that transaction, and that the law covers credit cards only.

Disclosure is the part owners miss. The seller must disclose the amount of the surcharge before the customer incurs any charge. A sign saying only that a surcharge applies is not enough. For a payment on a website, mobile app or kiosk, the notice must be clear and conspicuous on the checkout page. For a payment taken by phone, the seller gives verbal notice of the surcharge before processing. For in-person sales other than restaurants, the amount goes on a sign at the point of entry and the point of sale. A 2026 bill, S595, introduced in January 2026 and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, would ban credit card surcharges outright by amending that law. We could not confirm any later action, so check the Legislature's site before you rely on the cap.

Calling leads and customers

New Jersey's do-not-call law is run by the Division of Consumer Affairs, which says it bars telemarketers from calling residents whose residential or mobile numbers are on the national registry, bars calls from telemarketers not registered with the Division, bars calls between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m., and bars intentionally blocking caller ID. A seller that runs its own telemarketing campaign in New Jersey must register as a telemarketer. Registration is annual, with a disclosure statement and a fee that the Division's rule (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-1.4) sets at $150, $500 or $2,000 depending on how many calls the telemarketer can place at the same time. The rules also bar unsolicited sales calls to numbers identified as mobile phones. Penalties run up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for each later one.

The Division's exemptions are narrower than the federal ones. A call is allowed if you have written permission, or if the person is an "existing customer": someone who still owes you payments on merchandise, or who has a written contract with an obligation to perform. A customer you have served on a continuing basis can be called about that service, but the call must not relate to expanded services, upgrades or other services unless they are directly related to the service already provided (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.4). Sellers and telemarketers must keep in-house lists of existing customers who asked not to be called. Business-to-business numbers are not covered. Texts are a federal issue; see our TCPA guide. The Division's courtesy copy of the rule shows a last revision date of March 2017 and the Division's FAQ carries no revision date, so confirm the current figures with the Division before you register or fund a campaign.

Recording calls is one-party in New Jersey

Under N.J.S.A. 2A:156A-4(d), a private person may record a wire, electronic or oral communication if they are a party to it, or a participant consented beforehand, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal, tortious or other injurious act. Recording your own customer calls is lawful. Callers from all-party states may be covered by their own state's rule, so many New Jersey shops play an announcement anyway. The call recording guide and the 50-state table.

The state privacy act and small websites

The New Jersey Data Privacy Act took effect on the 365th day after enactment on January 16, 2024, which is mid-January 2025. Under P.L. 2023, c.266 it applies to controllers that do business in New Jersey or target its residents and, in a calendar year, control or process the personal data of at least 100,000 consumers (leaving out data used only to complete a payment), or at least 25,000 consumers while earning revenue or a discount from selling personal data. There is no revenue floor, but a neighborhood contractor will rarely reach those counts. If you do, the act requires a clear privacy notice, an email address or online way to exercise rights, and honoring a universal opt-out signal if you sell data or run targeted ads. The Attorney General alone enforces it and there is no private lawsuit.

Sales tax on invoices and online payments

New Jersey's rate is 6.625 percent and it reaches many services other states leave alone. The Division of Taxation's Sales Tax Guide (S&U-4) lists carpet and janitorial cleaning, landscaping, lawn mowing, snow removal, window washing, pest control treatment (inspection alone is exempt) and appliance repairs as taxable. The contractors bulletin (S&U-3) treats repainting and power washing the exterior of a house as taxable maintenance, while work that creates an exempt capital improvement, such as a new roof, siding, fence or deck, is billed without tax once the owner gives you a completed Form ST-8. S&U-3 lists planting shrubs and trees and seeding or sodding a new lawn as taxable capital improvements, so much landscaping work stays taxable. Show tax as a separate line, so your online invoice and payment page need a tax field that can be turned off per job. File Form ST-50 quarterly. The sales tax table compares other states.

What this means for your setup

• Website: registration number and the Division's consumer number where the rules require them, an e-signature contract step for jobs over $500, a checkout page that states any card surcharge amount, and an invoice with a separate tax line.
• Business phone line: one-party consent means you can record, but an announcement protects you with out-of-state callers. Do not set up an outbound campaign without checking the telemarketer registration first. See our phone systems service.
• AI receptionist: if it takes card payments by voice, it must state any surcharge amount before processing. See AI reception.
• Email and customer list: tag customers with a written contract still being performed, since those are the people the Division's rules let you call, and record do-not-call requests in your CRM.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules and fees change; confirm with the Division of Consumer Affairs, the Division of Taxation or a New Jersey attorney. Our New Jersey startup guide covers formation and registration.

Frequently asked questions