City building department · New Jersey
Atlantic City building department
Permits, inspections, and official contacts for Atlantic City Division of Construction.
Verified Checked against 10 official sources
Contacts & online services
- Phone
- (609) 347-5660 construction; (609) 347-5290 licensing & inspection
- Office
- 1301 Bacharach Boulevard, 1st Floor, Suite 101, Atlantic City, NJ 08401
Get directions (opens in a new tab) - Serves
- Atlantic City · Atlantic County
- Online services
- None found · see department website
Check your address first. Atlantic City Division of Construction handles building permits for property inside Atlantic City city limits. Property outside city limits is usually served by Atlantic County or another municipality, even when the mailing address says Atlantic City.
On this page
Atlantic City’s Construction Division issues construction permits, inspects work in progress, and issues the Certificate of Occupancy or Certificate of Approval when a project is finished and compliant. It is part of the city’s Licensing & Inspection Department, alongside:
- Code Enforcement
- Landlord Tenant Affairs
- the Mercantile Division
- Residential Parking
The Construction office is at City Hall, 1301 Bacharach Boulevard, 1st Floor, Suite 101, phone (609) 347-5660. Atlantic County government does not issue construction permits for city properties.
When the state reviews the plans instead
For most projects, the city does the plan review itself. The Construction page lists project types whose plans must go to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Bureau of Construction Project Review for review and release:
- Casino hotels
- Electrical generating stations and substations, including nuclear
- Incineration and solid-waste disposal plants
- Public mausoleums, vaults, crypts and other structures that hold human remains
- Premanufactured systems for Class I and Class II structures, except those approved by a licensed in-plant inspection agency. This includes their on-site installation where the local agency is not a Class I or Class II agency.
Once DCA issues a partial or full release, the city issues the permits and does the inspections. This matters in Atlantic City more than in most towns, because casino hotel plans are reviewed by the state, not at City Hall.
The division has prepared a plan review application guide. It covers:
- step-by-step submittal instructions
- project-type definitions
- checklists for complete and partial filings
- fee calculation worksheets
- office addresses and phone numbers
The Construction page describes the guide but does not link a downloadable copy.
Zoning and occupancy forms online
Construction permits are not filed online. Several related applications are, through the city’s GovPilot forms listed on the Online Forms page:
- Certificate of Land Use Compliance / Zoning Permit Application
- Occupancy Permit application
- Fire Safety Permit, plus the Smoke Detector application (a smoke certificate affidavit is also posted)
- Street Opening/Closing Permit and Dumpster Permit
- Landlord Registration, Rooming House application, Short Term Rental application and Lead Certification
Zoning Board and Planning Board
The Department of Planning & Development, at 5th Floor, Suite 506, (609) 347-5404, enforces the land use ordinances and staffs these boards:
- the Planning Board
- the Zoning Board of Adjustment
- the Historic Preservation Commission
- the Shade Tree Committee
- the Green Team
The Zoning Board instructions (revised June 15, 2019) say to file the package with the Board Secretary, City Hall Suite 508. The package includes:
- one original application
- at least one original set of signed and sealed plans
- three complete sets of the package in total
- digital copies of all documents
Payment comes as two separate checks, one for application fees and one for escrow, payable to the City of Atlantic City. Applications are not accepted without payment.
For applications that need public notice, send the block and lot numbers and a $10 check for the certified list of property owners within 200 feet. The list is furnished within 7 days. The board tells you in writing within 45 days about any deficiencies in your package. Questions go to the Division of Planning at (609) 347-5403.
Directory
| Office | Location (1301 Bacharach Blvd) | Phone |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 1st Floor, Suite 101 | (609) 347-5660 |
| Licensing & Inspection (Director’s office) | 5th Floor, Suite 502 | (609) 347-5290 |
| Planning & Development | 5th Floor, Suite 506 | (609) 347-5404 |
| Fire Prevention | 1st Floor, Suite 130 | (609) 347-5595 |
| Code Enforcement | n/a | (609) 347-6450 |
| Environmental Health | n/a | (609) 347-5671 |
Codes in effect
The Construction page notes that the UCC (N.J.A.C. 5:23) has been the single mandatory statewide code since January 1, 1977. The DCA’s current model-code list carries an adoption date of August 17, 2026:
- IBC and IRC 2024, NJ editions
- National Standard Plumbing Code 2024
- NEC 2023
- IMC and IFGC 2024
- IECC 2024 and ASHRAE 90.1-2022 for energy
Planning a project?
These guides explain the national model-code rules most departments start from. Atlantic City Division of Construction decides what applies in Atlantic City, so use them to prepare your questions.
More New Jersey building departments
Not the right office? If your property is outside Atlantic City city limits, one of these may handle it.
Sources
- acnj.gov — Construction
- acnj.gov — Licensing and inspection
- acnj.gov — Planning and development
- acnj.gov — Forms
- acnj.gov — Directory
- acnj.gov — Get Page Contact Info
- acnj.gov — Zoning Board of Adjustment Instructions Application
- main.govpilot.com — C9548bf7 358 Zoning Permit Application atlanticcity
- main.govpilot.com — Efeba3a1 0cd Occupancy Permit Application atlanticcity
- nj.gov — Current.shtml