Filming in Carteret, New Jersey
Carteret is certified Film Ready and publishes no filming ordinance — but its codified code stops at December 30, 2020, and Carteret certified in August 2025. A 2025 ordinance could not appear there even if it exists.
This is the weakest absence on the site, and the most likely to be resolved by one phone call. Carteret is also the only one of these towns with a dedicated film inbox.
Read this page carefully, because the honest answer here is narrower than it looks. We did not find a filming ordinance for Carteret. We also cannot have found one, because the only published version of the Borough’s code predates its Film Ready certification by nearly five years. Those are different statements and the difference matters.
Information checked September 22, 2026
- County
- Middlesex County
- Film Ready status
- Film Ready certified locality. Confirmed on the State’s published certified-localities list, read in full September 22, 2026.
- Published filming ordinance
- None found as of September 22, 2026
- Who to contact
- The clerk’s office
- Why this absence is weak
- The codified code includes legislation only through 12-30-2020, while Carteret certified in August 2025. A 2025 ordinance could not appear there even if it exists
- Carteret Stages
- Described in official sources as proposed or forthcoming. Not open, operating or bookable on anything we have read
- Permit fee
- Not published. Ask the clerk’s office
- Lead time
- Not published. Ask the clerk’s office
- Insurance
- Not published. Ask the clerk’s office
- What this page is not
- It is not a finding that filming is unregulated here. Street closures, parking, noise and police staffing are governed by other chapters, and the municipality is certified, which implies a process exists
- Date of this finding
- September 22, 2026
An absent ordinance is not permission. We could not find a published filming ordinance. That is a statement about what is published, not a statement that you may film without asking.
Street closures, parking, noise, obstruction of the sidewalk and police staffing are regulated in every New Jersey municipality, filming chapter or not. And this municipality is State-certified as Film Ready, which means the Commission was satisfied there is a process. Call the clerk.
What we found, and did not find
Exactly where we looked in Carteret, and on what date
We publish the search rather than just the conclusion, so you can judge it and so we can be corrected.
| Where we looked | What we found |
|---|---|
| eCode360 CA1020, the codified Borough code | “Includes legislation adopted through 12-30-2020.” No Filming chapter |
| Full chapter list, read end to end | Nearest are Ch. 105 Circuses, Carnivals and Other Entertainment and Ch. 126 Entertainment, Public. Neither is a film permit |
| eCode360’s New Laws register | No entries |
| The Law Ledger | No entries |
| The State certified-localities list, read in full | Carteret is certified, in the August 2025 cohort |
Put those two facts together. The Borough certified in August 2025; its published code contains nothing adopted after December 2020, and its uncodified-laws register is empty. An ordinance adopted in 2025 would appear in neither place. The absence here is an artifact of stale publication, and it is not evidence that no ordinance exists.
Certified, and still nothing online
How a town can be certified and still have no ordinance online
Film Ready certification is a determination by the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission, made on material a municipality submits to it: a designated liaison, a permit process, and an inventory of locations. It is not a publication requirement.
So nothing obliges a municipality to put the resulting ordinance on its own website, or to file it with a commercial code host like eCode360 or Municode. Small clerk’s offices in particular sometimes adopt an ordinance, file the signed copy, and never get it codified. The document exists; it simply is not on the internet.
Which means the most likely explanation here is a publication gap rather than an absence of process — and that the clerk’s office can almost certainly hand you the document over the counter or by email.
A dedicated film inbox, which tells you something
Carteret publishes a film-specific email address, film@carteret.net, and a film telephone number. Among the municipalities on this site with nothing published, it is the only one that does.
A dedicated inbox implies somebody owns the process, which in turn implies there is a process to own. That is inference rather than evidence, and we are labeling it as such — but it is the reason we would start here rather than with the Clerk.
Carteret Stages
What is and is not confirmed
Carteret Stages appears in official sources as a proposed or forthcoming facility.
We are not describing it as open, operating or bookable, because nothing we have read supports that. If you are planning around stage space in Carteret, confirm its status directly before you commit to it.
What to ask when you call
Five questions, in this order. They are the same five that the published ordinances elsewhere on this site answer, and asking them in one call is faster than discovering them one at a time.
- Is there an adopted filming ordinance, and can I have a copy? Ask for the ordinance number and the adoption date. If it exists, that is your governing document and everything else follows from it.
- What does a permit cost, and is there a daily fee? Get both figures. A basic fee with an unmentioned daily rate on top is the most common budgeting surprise in this State.
- How far ahead do you need the application? And separately: how long does approval actually take. Those are different questions and the answers often differ by a week or more.
- What insurance limits, and who is the named insured? Get the exact wording, because your broker needs it verbatim rather than paraphrased.
- Do I need an off-duty police officer, and how do I book one? This is usually the longest-lead item on any small-town shoot.
Ask for the answers by email. A written answer from the clerk’s office is worth more on a shoot day than a clear memory of a phone call.
If the clerk does not answer
If the clerk’s office does not answer, OPRA will
New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act gives you a statutory response clock, and it works perfectly well for this. A request that names the four documents is usually enough:
“Under the Open Public Records Act, I request: (1) the ordinance, resolution or adopted code of conduct governing commercial filming, including its number and adoption date; (2) the current film permit application; (3) the current schedule of film permit fees and municipal service charges; (4) the name and title of the designated Film Ready liaison. If any item does not exist, please state that in writing.”
That last sentence is the one that matters. A written “no such record exists” is itself a sourced, dated fact you can rely on and build a schedule around, which is a great deal more than an absence somebody observed on a website.
If we have this wrong, we want to know
This page reports an absence, and an absence is the hardest thing to report honestly: it can be disproved by a single document we did not find. If a filming ordinance exists here — published, unpublished, adopted last month or a decade ago — we would rather replace this page with a proper guide.
The finding is dated September 22, 2026. Treat it as a snapshot. If you obtain the ordinance from the clerk, or if the municipality publishes one, tell us and we will rewrite this page around the document.
Common questions
Does Carteret, NJ require a film permit?
Almost certainly yes, but the municipality does not publish the rules. We searched its codified code and its uncodified-laws register on September 22, 2026 and found no filming chapter. Carteret is nonetheless certified Film Ready by the State, which means the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission was satisfied that a process and a liaison exist. Contact the clerk's office and ask for the filming ordinance and the permit application.
How much does a film permit cost in Carteret, NJ?
We do not know, and we are not going to guess. No fee schedule is published in the municipal code or on the municipal website as of September 22, 2026. Neighboring Middlesex County municipalities publish figures — New Brunswick charges $100 a day — but nothing published by Carteret tells you it follows them. Ask the clerk's office for the fee and whether a daily rate applies on top, and get the answer in writing.
Is Carteret Film Ready certified?
Yes. Carteret appears on the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission's published certified-localities list, which we read in full on September 22, 2026. Certification means the Commission was satisfied there is a designated liaison, a permit process and a location inventory. It does not require the municipality to publish the ordinance online, which is the most likely explanation for the gap.
Can I film in Carteret without a permit?
Do not assume so. An ordinance we cannot find is not permission. Street closures, parking, sidewalk obstruction, noise and police staffing are regulated in every New Jersey municipality whether or not there is a filming chapter, and this municipality is State-certified, which implies a filming process exists. Call the clerk's office before you commit to a location. A single phone call is cheaper than a crew standing on a street it has no right to be on.
Official sources
- OfficialNJ Motion Picture & Television Commission, Film Ready certified localities
- MunicipalCarteret Borough Code on eCode360
Checked September 22, 2026 against the official municipal sources listed above. Report a correction or updated permit requirement.
Planning a production in New Jersey?
BLL Films provides production support for interviews, commercials, branded content, documentary work and other productions across New Jersey. We can help translate a creative brief into a practical crew, equipment and location plan.
Ask about your New Jersey productionBLL Films may provide crew, equipment or production services when requested.
This guide is researched and reviewed by Sam Moskowitz, a New Jersey-based producer and DP who runs BLL Films. Sam’s production and cinematography credits include work for Netflix, History Channel, Hulu, the NFL and Google. Every changing fact on this page carries a verification date; see how this site is researched for the full process.
More town production guides
Comparing municipalities? See every Film Ready town in New Jersey, or search a specific town’s published permit, fee and contact details in the New Jersey Film Permit Finder.