Starting a service business in New Jersey

Form your business in New Jersey

New Jersey LLCs are formed with the Department of the Treasury's Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, either through its online Business Formation service or by mailing a Public Records Filing. You will need a business name, a description of the business, an address, and a registered agent with a New Jersey address. Two official fee figures exist, so read both. The DORES registry fee schedule lists the certificate of formation at $100 in October 2026, while the Division's Public Records Filing instructions list a basic filing fee of $125 for every domestic entity except nonprofits. Budget $125 and confirm the total on the payment screen. Once filed, you receive a Certificate of Formation showing a 10-digit Entity ID. Mail-in filings go to the Corp. Filing Unit in Trenton; over-the-counter expedited service (8.5 business hours) adds $25 for an LLC. Forming the LLC is not the end: every business also registers for state tax and employer purposes (Form NJ-REG), which the Division of Taxation asks you to complete at least 15 business days before you start.

Ongoing state filings

Every New Jersey LLC files an annual report with DORES. According to Business.NJ.gov, it is due by the last day of the month in which you formed the business, and the fee is $75 as listed on the DORES fee schedule in October 2026. The state places the burden on you even if no reminder arrives, and failure to file can lead to revocation. Sign up for the Division's annual report reminders when you form the company.

Using a business name (DBA)

New Jersey splits name registration by business type. Sole proprietors and general partnerships that operate under a trade name register it with the County Clerk in each county where the business operates, according to the New Jersey Business Action Center; county fees vary, so call the clerk. An LLC that wants to work under a second name files an alternate name registration with DORES, listed at $50 per name (renewal also $50) on the fee schedule in October 2026. Business.NJ.gov notes that "DBA" in New Jersey state filings refers only to out-of-state companies whose home-state name is taken.

Not sure whether you need an LLC at all? Read LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors, then get your free EIN from the IRS.

Licensing for service trades

New Jersey licenses the core building trades through boards in the Division of Consumer Affairs. The Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors licenses electrical contractors, registers journeyman electricians, and requires contractors to hold a business permit renewed every three years; the board has posted that, effective December 31, 2027, employees doing electrical contracting work must show licensure in one of four categories. The State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers licenses master plumbers, and the HVACR board licenses heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors, with renewals every two years for both. Beyond those, nearly every company that repairs, paints, remodels or installs on an existing home must register as a Home Improvement Contractor Business (see below). Towns enforce the construction code and may require their own permits or mercantile licenses, so check with the municipal clerk and construction official where you work.

• Division of Consumer Affairs: Home Improvement Contractor Business registration: Businesses that repair, renovate, paint, remodel or install on existing residential property, including landscaping, fences, driveways, roofing and siding
• NJ Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors (Division of Consumer Affairs): Electrical contractors (with a business permit), journeyman electricians and telecommunications wiring exemptions
• State Board of Examiners of Master Plumbers: Master plumbers
• State Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors: Heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors

Workers' compensation

The New Jersey Department of Labor requires coverage based on who performs paid services for the business. An LLC or partnership must be insured once any person other than the partners or LLC members works for it for pay. A sole proprietorship must be insured once anyone other than the owner does. A corporation must be insured once any individual, corporate officers included, performs paid services. Coverage comes from a policy with a mutual or stock carrier authorized to write insurance in New Jersey, or from self-insurance approved by the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance. Going without is a disorderly persons offense (a fourth-degree crime if willful), with penalties of up to $5,000 for the first ten days and up to $5,000 for each additional ten-day period, and the state cross-checks its records against the insurance rating bureau to find uninsured employers. Registered home improvement contractors must also prove workers' comp coverage to the Division of Consumer Affairs unless exempt.

More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.

Sales tax on services

New Jersey's rate is 6.625%, and unlike most states it reaches many routine home services. The Division of Taxation's Sales Tax Guide (S&U-4) lists carpet cleaning, janitorial cleaning, landscaping, lawn mowing, snow removal, window washing, pest control treatment and home repairs (other than residential heating systems) as taxable. Its Contractors bulletin (S&U-3) treats maintenance such as repainting and power washing the exterior of a house as taxable service, while work that results in an exempt capital improvement (a new roof, new siding, a new fence, a new deck) is billed without tax once the owner gives you a completed Form ST-8. Landscaping stays taxable even when it is a capital improvement. Register through Form NJ-REG, collect tax as a separate line on the invoice, and file Form ST-50 every quarter even when you collected nothing.

Recording business calls 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 or used to commit a criminal, tortious or other injurious act. That makes recording your own customer calls lawful under New Jersey law, but callers from all-party states may be covered by their own state's rules, so many New Jersey shops play a brief announcement anyway. Our call recording guide walks through the setup.

See our guide to recording business calls before you turn on call recording or an AI receptionist.

How the seasons shape the work

New Jersey crams a lot of service work into a small, crowded state. North Jersey and the Skylands get real snow seasons that keep plow and salt crews busy, while the Shore towns swing on the summer rental calendar, with turnover cleaning, power washing and storm cleanup after nor'easters and the occasional tropical system. Dense older housing stock in places like Bergen, Essex and Hudson counties keeps repair, painting and HVAC work steady all year, and commuter households tend to want scheduling and payment handled by text.

Home Improvement Contractor Business registration

The Contractors' Business Registration Act, amended by P.L. 2023, c.237, requires any business that sells or makes home improvements in New Jersey to register every year with the Division of Consumer Affairs, including sole proprietors, part-timers and subcontractors. According to the Division's HICB FAQ, you must file proof of commercial general liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence, workers' comp unless exempt, and "additional security" (a compliance bond, letter of credit or other approved security) of $10,000, $25,000 or $50,000 depending on contract size. Fees listed in October 2026: $110 initial, $90 renewal by March 31, $115 late, $140 reinstatement. Jobs over $500 need a written contract, and your registration number must appear on ads, business cards, vehicles and documents. Working unregistered can bring civil penalties of up to $10,000 for a first offense.

Getting your capital improvement paperwork right

If you install new fences, gutters, siding, roofs or decks, get the signed Form ST-8 before you send an untaxed bill, and keep it on file. The Division of Taxation says the contractor holds the ST-8 to document why no tax was charged, and it cannot be used for taxable capital improvements such as planting or sodding. Without it, you may owe the tax you did not collect.

Then set up the back end that gets you hired

The paperwork makes you legal. Customers still have to find you, reach you and pay you. Before your first job, set up a business phone number, email on your own domain, a Google Business Profile, a simple website, and a way to send quotes and take card payments. The launch checklist lays out the order.

New Jersey questions