New Jersey production research

New Jersey Casting Agencies and Casting Resources

Four different kinds of business get called “a casting agency”, and confusing them is how performers lose money. This page separates them, and shows you how to check whether a New Jersey business is licensed before you hand over anything.

Information checked August 10, 2026

The single most useful thing on this page

New Jersey licenses talent agencies, and you can check a licence yourself, free, before you pay anyone.

The Division of Consumer Affairs’ Regulated Business Section states in its own words that it licenses athletic and booking agencies, career consulting or counseling services, headhunters, temporary health care agencies, nursing registries and home health care agencies, prepaid computer job-matching services, modeling and talent agencies, ticket resellers and health spas.

So a business procuring work for performers for compensation in New Jersey sits inside a licensed category. Ask which licence it holds, then verify it. That one step filters out a great deal.

Four things people call “casting”

These are genuinely different businesses with different obligations, different people paying them, and different reasons to be cautious.

Casting director

Works for the production. Hired by a producer to find the right performer for a role, run auditions and make recommendations.

Paid by: the production.

They do not represent you and do not take a commission from your fee. A casting director asking a performer for money is the wrong shape.

Talent agency

Works for the performer. Represents you over time, submits you for work and negotiates on your behalf.

Paid by: commission on work you actually book.

This is the category New Jersey regulates as “Entertainment Agencies/Agents”. Ask about the licence.

Background casting

Works for the production, at volume. Books extras and background performers, often hundreds at a time, and increasingly handles the payroll too.

Paid by: the production.

Registering as a background performer is normally free. Being asked to pay to register is worth questioning.

Management, schools and services

Everything else that markets to performers: managers, coaching, headshot packages, workshops, paid submission platforms.

Paid by: usually you.

Some are legitimate and useful. The risk is a business that presents itself as casting while actually selling you a service.

How to check a New Jersey licence

This is the part most casting pages leave out, and it is the part that protects you.

Who regulates it

Two official sources say the same thing in different words, and together they settle it.

The Division of Consumer Affairs’ Regulated Business Section states that it licenses, among other things, modeling and talent agencies, athletic and booking agencies, career consulting or counseling services, headhunters and prepaid computer job-matching services.

Separately, the State’s business guidance for employment and personnel services lists the regulated categories as career consulting firms, career counseling firms and agents, consulting firms (headhunters), consulting and temp agencies, employment agencies and agents, entertainment agencies and agents, job listing services, nurses registry, resume services and agents, and temporary help service firms.

A talent or entertainment agency operating in New Jersey therefore sits inside a licensed category, not outside one.

Check the licence yourself, in a few minutes

New Jersey runs a free, public, real-time licence verification system. It describes itself as having access to the most current professional licence information, and it offers a Business Search as well as a person search, because some licences are issued in a company’s name rather than an individual’s.

DCA Licence Verification System, Business Search, for a company name
The Division has also moved some Regulated Business Section categories to a newer portal, where you choose “Verify a License or Registration”. If a business does not appear in one system, try the other before drawing any conclusion.

A name not appearing is not proof of anything by itself. Records can sit under a parent company, a trading name or a different spelling. Treat a blank result as a reason to ask the Division, not as a verdict on the business.

Ask a person, if you want certainty

The Regulated Business Section is the specific unit that licenses modeling and talent agencies, and it publishes a direct route:

Regulated Business Section, P.O. Box 45028, Newark, NJ 07101
(973) 504-6370
General consumer enquiries: askconsumeraffairs@dca.lps.state.nj.us

Read the rules yourself if you want the detail: the Employment and Personnel Services Law and the personnel services regulations at N.J.A.C. 13:45B.

Three questions worth asking, in writing

1. Which New Jersey licence does your business hold for procuring work for performers?
2. Who pays you: me, or the production?
3. What exactly am I paying for before I book any work?

A legitimate operator will answer all three without friction. Reluctance is the signal.

What New Jersey rules actually give you

These are not tips. They are provisions of N.J.A.C. 13:45B, Subchapter 6, the rules governing entertainment agencies, read directly on August 10, 2026. If a business is operating as an entertainment agency in New Jersey, these apply to it.

The rules follow you, even if the agency is out of state

Subchapter 6 applies to agencies located in New Jersey, to agencies wherever located that place performing artists in positions located in New Jersey, and to anyone who solicits New Jersey residents by mail, newspaper, magazine, telephone, radio, TV, poster, billboard, any other media, or in person.

So “we’re based in New York” is not, by itself, an answer to a question about New Jersey obligations. 13:45B-6.1(b)

You are entitled to see the licence and the fees

The agency’s licence must be displayed prominently, where it can be easily seen and read by anyone visiting. 13:45B-6.4(a)
An individual agent’s licence must be displayed so it is readily visible and legible to people doing business with them. 13:45B-6.4(b)
The agency’s schedule of fees must be posted, along with a certified abstract of the Act, and full copies must be available for review by any job seeker. 13:45B-6.4(c)

If you are standing in an office and cannot see a licence or a fee schedule, you are entitled to ask why.

Contracts, photographs and the one-third rule

This is the part that matters most if anyone is selling you pictures.

You must be given a copy of any contract you sign with the agency. 13:45B-6.5(a)
The agency must file its contract forms with the Regulated Business Section, and those forms must meet New Jersey’s plain language standards. 13:45B-6.5(b)
If the contract includes products such as photographs or a photographic publication, it must state the exact quantity, quality and cost of the items and the date of delivery or publication. 13:45B-6.5(d)
If delivery or publication is more than 60 days after the contract date, the agency may collect no more than one-third of any fee, charge or commission for those products before delivery. 13:45B-6.5(e)
If the agency misses the delivery date in the contract, you are entitled to a full refund of what you paid for that product or service. You can waive that right, but only by acknowledging and waiving it in writing. 13:45B-6.5(f)

Read that last pair together, because it is the most useful thing on this page. A demand for the full cost of a photo package up front, for delivery months away, with no stated quantity or delivery date, runs against three separate provisions at once. You do not have to argue about whether it is fair. You can ask which rule permits it.

Showcases have their own rules

If a performer’s services are offered to the public at a set time and place, and whoever is offering them will take a fee or commission when the performer books, that is an entertainment showcase and it needs a special permit. Only licensed booking or entertainment agencies may offer it, and the permit is required whether performers appear in person or their services are presented electronically. 13:45B-3(d)(1)

Where services are presented electronically in a prospective employer’s home, no permit is required, but the presentation must display the entertainment agency’s name, address and licence number, plus the Section’s name and address, on screen for at least 20 seconds, or supply the same information in writing. 13:45B-3(d)(2)

Bonding

Booking and entertainment agencies are required to obtain a bond. 13:45B-6.3

We are not stating the bond amount here, because the figure sits in a cross-referenced rule we have not read in full. Ask the Regulated Business Section if the number matters to you.

Rule numbers and wording are taken from the Division’s published chapter, whose footer gives a last revision date of 6/12/2018, read August 10, 2026. Regulations change. This is a plain-English summary for production planning, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the rule text. If money is genuinely at stake, read the chapter or take advice.

Scam awareness, without the paranoia

Most people working in casting are doing an honest job. These are patterns worth pausing on, not accusations against anyone.

Payment before work exists. Fees to audition, to be “registered” so you can be seen, or to stay on a list. The money should flow toward the performer.
Mandatory photos through one specific vendor. Wanting good headshots is normal. Requiring you to buy them from a named supplier is a different business model.
Guaranteed work or guaranteed representation. Nobody can promise a booking. Casting is a decision made by other people.
Pressure to sign or pay the same day. Urgency is the oldest technique there is. A real opportunity survives you taking it away to read.
No verifiable business identity. No street address, no company name you can look up, communication only through a messaging app.
Requests for sensitive documents up front. Bank details, a Social Security number or identity documents before any engagement exists. Legitimate payroll paperwork comes after you are booked, through the production or its payroll company.
A photo package demanded in full, up front. Where delivery is more than 60 days out, New Jersey’s rules cap what an entertainment agency may collect before delivery at one-third. See the section above.

If a minor is involved, the rules are stricter and they are not optional. New Jersey changed its theatrical permit process for performers under 18 on August 1, 2026. See our New Jersey child actor work permits guide and the Commission’s child labor page.

Verified casting resources

Listed because it could be verified against its own published information on August 10, 2026, not because it paid to be here. Nothing on this page is sponsored.

Central Casting

Type: Background casting company, not a talent agency and not a representative
New Jersey relationship: Its own site states casting services in all 50 states, and it publishes a casting-services map
What it publicly says it does: Casts background actors for film and television, publishes open roles, and provides background casting and payroll services to productions
Corporate: Part of Entertainment Partners
Official site: centralcasting.com · casting services map
Information checked: August 10, 2026

Included because it is a clear example of the background casting category above: the production pays, the performer registers. Confirm current terms directly with the company. Its presence here is descriptive, not a recommendation, and we have no relationship with it.

Why this list is short, on purpose

Research surfaced several New Jersey and New York casting businesses. None of them was opened and verified against its own website in this pass, so none is published here.

Publishing a half-checked list, or a partial list with no stated method, would amount to an implicit ranking of businesses we had not examined. That is the opposite of useful. The list will grow as organisations are verified one at a time, each with a date.

Suggest a casting resource, or a correction

Run a casting business serving New Jersey?

Send your official website, your business location and a plain description of what you actually do. If you procure work for performers for compensation, tell us your New Jersey licence position.

Submit for editorial review

Something here wrong?

Tell us what and where. We will re-check it against primary sources and correct it, or explain why we read it differently.

Send a correction

Submission does not guarantee inclusion. Every entry is verified independently against primary sources before it appears, is judged on whether it is genuinely useful to a performer or producer, and is approved by an editor. We write our own descriptions. Editorial listings are never sold. If sponsored placement is ever offered on this page it will be visibly labelled and kept separate from the editorial entries, and there is none today.

Casting calls on this site

We are preparing a New Jersey casting board. It is not active and publishes no casting calls today, and it is kept out of search indexing until it carries genuine, current opportunities. We would rather show you nothing than pad it with listings that are stale or unverified.

Common questions

Do talent agencies in New Jersey need a licence?

Yes, the category is licensed. The Division of Consumer Affairs’ Regulated Business Section states that it licenses modeling and talent agencies among other regulated businesses, and the State’s employment and personnel services guidance separately lists “Entertainment Agencies/Agents” as a regulated category. Ask which licence a business holds before you sign anything.

How do I check whether a New Jersey talent agency is licensed?

New Jersey runs a free public licence verification system with a Business Search option, because some licences are issued in a company’s name rather than a person’s. The Division has also moved some Regulated Business Section categories to a newer portal, so try both before drawing a conclusion. A blank result is a reason to call the Regulated Business Section on 973-504-6370, not a verdict on the business.

Can a New Jersey talent agency make me pay for photographs up front?

New Jersey’s rules limit it. If a contract includes products such as photographs, it must state the exact quantity, quality and cost and the delivery date. Where delivery or publication is more than 60 days after the contract date, the agency may collect no more than one-third of any fee for those products before delivery. If it misses the contract delivery date you are entitled to a full refund, which you can waive only in writing. See N.J.A.C. 13:45B-6.5.

Do New Jersey rules apply to an agency based in New York?

They can. Subchapter 6 applies to entertainment agencies located in New Jersey, to agencies wherever located that place performing artists in positions located in New Jersey, and to anyone who solicits New Jersey residents by any media or in person. Being based elsewhere is not by itself an answer to a question about New Jersey obligations.

What is the difference between a casting director and a talent agent?

A casting director works for the production. They are hired to find the right performer for a role, and they do not represent you or take a commission from your fee. A talent agent works for you, submits you for work over time and is paid a commission when you are booked. The two are not interchangeable, and a casting director cannot be your agent on the same project.

Should I ever pay a fee to be considered for a role?

Be very careful. A legitimate casting director is paid by the production, not by performers. Charges for auditions, for “registration” to be seen, or for mandatory photos through a specific vendor are the patterns most worth questioning. If money is being asked for before any work exists, stop and check the licence position first.

Does New Jersey Film Locations run a casting service?

No. This site is an independent research resource published by BLL Films. We do not represent performers, we do not cast projects for third parties, and we take no fee from anyone seeking work.

Are there casting calls listed on this site right now?

No. The casting board is prepared but not yet active and publishes no casting calls today. It is deliberately excluded from search indexing until it carries genuine, current opportunities.

Casting a production in New Jersey?

BLL Films produces in New Jersey and can help structure the casting, crew and production plan around your brief, your dates and your budget. We do not represent performers and take no fee from anyone seeking work.

Talk to BLL Films about your production

BLL Films may provide crew, equipment or production services when requested.

Sources

This page explains how the categories work and where to check a licence. It is not legal advice, and it is not an endorsement of any business. Confirm any licence position directly with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs before you rely on it.