Backyard chicken rules by town in New Jersey
Every New Jersey town sets its own rules for backyard chickens: how many hens you can keep, whether roosters are allowed, whether you need a permit, and how far the coop has to sit from the property line. We've looked them up town by town, straight from each municipal code: all 564 municipalities in all 21 counties, each with the ordinance cited. Find yours below.
Keeping ducks too? Many towns' chicken rules cover them and some don't: duck rules by town.
Find your town on the NJ chicken-law map
Search your town or filter by status. Green is allowed, amber is allowed with conditions, red isn't allowed, gray means the code doesn't say. Tap any town for the full rules and the ordinance.
Towns that changed their rules recently
Ordinances move. These 12 towns adopted or amended their backyard chicken rules most recently, going by the ordinance itself.
- Hampton (Sussex County), May 2026: allowed with conditions
- Wharton (Morris County), May 2026: allowed with conditions
- Alpha (Warren County), May 2026: not allowed
- Mullica (Atlantic County), May 2026: allowed with conditions
- Englishtown (Monmouth County), March 2026: allowed with conditions
- Fanwood (Union County), Nov 2025: allowed with conditions
- Stafford (Ocean County), Nov 2025: allowed with conditions
- Westville (Gloucester County), Nov 2025: allowed with conditions
- Belleville (Essex County), Oct 2025: allowed
- Florence (Burlington County), Oct 2025: allowed with conditions
- Wall (Monmouth County), Sept 2025: allowed with conditions
- Magnolia (Camden County), Sept 2025: not allowed
What's typical across New Jersey
Most New Jersey towns allow backyard hens with some conditions, but the details vary a lot. Across the 564 towns we've mapped, roosters are prohibited in 235 and a permit or license is required in 173. Hen limits are commonly 4 to 12 and often scale with lot size, and coops usually have to sit 10 to 25 feet from property lines, with a larger distance from a neighbor's home.
- Roosters are the most common restriction, banned in most towns over noise.
- Permits range from a small annual license to a zoning permit for the coop.
- Hen counts are often tied to lot size, so more land usually means more birds.
- Setbacks keep the coop off the property line and away from neighbors' windows.
- Rural and large-lot towns often handle chickens through farm or agricultural zoning rather than a backyard-hen rule.
Your town's exact rules are what matter, so find it in the list below.
Towns that ban chickens outright
A handful of NJ towns prohibit backyard chickens entirely. If yours is here, we build for plenty of neighbors nearby.
Towns that clearly allow backyard hens
These towns permit backyard hens by right or with a simple license, no acreage or agricultural hurdle.
Atlantic County
23 towns, 12 allow hens, 8 do not
Bergen County
70 towns, 33 allow hens, 26 do not
Burlington County
40 towns, 26 allow hens, 6 do not
Camden County
36 towns, 27 allow hens, 7 do not
Cape May County
16 towns, 5 allow hens, 4 do not
Cumberland County
14 towns, 11 allow hens, 3 do not
Essex County
22 towns, 13 allow hens, 7 do not
Gloucester County
24 towns, 21 allow hens, 2 do not
Hudson County
12 towns, 5 allow hens, 2 do not
Hunterdon County
26 towns, 23 allow hens
Mercer County
12 towns, 7 allow hens, 3 do not
Middlesex County
25 towns, 11 allow hens, 3 do not
Monmouth County
53 towns, 24 allow hens, 16 do not
Morris County
39 towns, 34 allow hens, 5 do not
Ocean County
33 towns, 14 allow hens, 5 do not
Passaic County
16 towns, 11 allow hens, 4 do not
Salem County
15 towns, 13 allow hens, 2 do not
Somerset County
21 towns, 15 allow hens, 2 do not
Sussex County
24 towns, 21 allow hens
Union County
21 towns, 4 allow hens, 13 do not
Warren County
22 towns, 20 allow hens, 1 do not
Rules are drawn from each town's municipal code and cited on the town's page. Ordinances change, so always confirm with your town before building.
New Jersey backyard chicken questions
Can you keep backyard chickens in New Jersey?
Usually yes, but it depends on your town. Across the 564 NJ towns we've mapped, most allow backyard hens with conditions like a permit, a hen limit, or setbacks; 25 allow them freely; and 119 ban them outright. Always check your specific town before you build.
Do you need a permit to keep chickens in NJ?
In many towns, yes. Of the 564 New Jersey towns we've researched, 173 require a permit or license before you can keep hens, while others allow them by right. Check your town's rule on the map above.
Are roosters allowed in New Jersey?
Often not. Roosters are prohibited in 235 of the 564 NJ towns we mapped, usually because of noise, even in towns that allow hens. You do not need a rooster for eggs.
How many chickens can you have in NJ?
It varies by town and usually scales with lot size. Limits are commonly 4 to 12 hens, though rural and large-lot towns often allow more. Find your town's exact limit on the map above.
Which NJ towns don't allow backyard chickens?
119 of the towns we've mapped ban backyard chickens outright, including Denville Township, Washington Township (Morris), Bridgewater Township, Colts Neck Township, Westfield. If your town is one of them we build for plenty of neighbors nearby, and ordinances do change over time.
New to backyard chickens?
Once you've checked your town, grab our free starter kit: how many hens, what size coop, predator-proofing, and NJ winter care, all in one quick PDF.
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