Town guide

Filming in Hightstown, New Jersey

A production guide to Hightstown’s filming law, which is not a chapter but Article 4-14 inside the Borough’s General Licensing chapter, adopted in August 2025 and amended that October. Three things set it apart: the fees are stated rather than capped, the fee table spells out who authorises a county or state road closure, and a licensed electrician is mandatory rather than discretionary.

Hightstown is a Film Ready certified locality in Mercer County. It is a Borough of about one square mile entirely surrounded by East Windsor Township, and the two are not interchangeable for permit purposes.

Everything below is read from the enacted text of Article 4-14. Where the article cross-references a rate in another part of the Borough Code we say so and do not invent the number, and where a word appears to be missing we quote the section as enacted.

Information checked August 26, 2026

Checked Aug 26 2026

County: Mercer County
Not to be confused with: East Windsor Township, which entirely surrounds this Borough. They are separate municipalities and a permit from one has no effect in the other
Film Ready status: Film Ready certified locality. Hightstown appears on the NJ Motion Picture & Television Commission’s current certified-localities list, checked August 26, 2026. Certification does not guarantee approval, property access or location availability
Controlling law: Borough Code Chapter 4 “General Licensing”, Article 4-14 “Filming”, § 4-14-1 to § 4-14-11, added August 18, 2025 by Ord. No. 2025-11 and amended October 20, 2025 by Ord. No. 2025-16. There is no chapter called “Filming”
Municipal starting point: Office of the Municipal Clerk
Borough Clerk: Peggy Riggio, RMC/CMR, Borough Clerk, Purchasing Agent and Registrar · 609-490-5100 ext. 628 · priggio@hightstownborough.com
Borough contact: 156 Bank Street, Hightstown, NJ 08520 · 609-490-5100 · fax 609-371-0267
Decision-maker: The Borough Administrator approves, refuses and waives. No Borough page we could open names the current Administrator, so ask by title
Application: A form approved by the Municipal Clerk, applied for and obtained from that office during normal business hours. No downloadable form is published
Standard lead time: Four or more business days before the requested shooting date. Hightstown counts business days in both the filing rule and the fee bands
Fee schedule status: These are stated fees, not ceilings. The § 4-14-10 column is headed simply “Fee”, unlike the capped tables in Garwood and Newton
Basic filming application: $100, one time, with four or more business days’ advance notice
Expedited filming application: $250, one time, with three or fewer business days’ advance notice, and only with authorization from the Chief of Police
Nonprofit and student films: $25, one time, no daily rate required
Daily filming on public property: $150 per day for a film or television project budgeted under $20 million; $500 per day for one budgeted over $20 million
Daily filming on private property: No fee charged by the municipality
Municipal road closure: $1,000 per day
County road closure: Authorization must be obtained directly from Mercer County, and the fee is set by Mercer County
State road closure: Authorization must be obtained directly from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the fee is set by NJDOT
Police and fire: The Borough’s standard hourly rates for police and fire, under an agreed public safety plan. The off-duty police cost runs through Borough Code § 2-19-19; no rate is published in this article
Dressed businesses and background properties: Negotiated directly between the production company and the private business or residence. The Borough does not set or collect these
Major motion picture threshold: A budget of at least $20,000,000, or recurrent weekly television series programming, or financing or distribution by a listed studio. The list names A24 and Lionsgate alongside Netflix Studios, Amazon MGM Studios, Peacock, HBO, Hulu and Skydance
Insurance: A certificate of insurance naming the Borough of Hightstown as an additional insured: general liability $1,000,000 per occurrence with $2,000,000 aggregate; medical expenses $5,000 any one person; damage to rented premises $100,000; plus evidence of auto liability and workers’ compensation
Off-duty police: Conditional on the Chief of Police requiring them, under the agreed public safety plan
Licensed electrician: Mandatory. Where existing electrical power lines are to be used, an on-site licensed electrician shall be required if the production company does not have one on staff
Filming hours: Not stated. Article 4-14 contains no hours provision. That is an absence in the ordinance, not permission to film at any hour
Neighbour notice: Written notice at least three days before the requested shooting date to affected businesses, merchants or residents, who may file objections that become part of your application
Appeals: To the Borough Council, filed with the Borough Clerk within 10 days, hearing within 30 days. If the Council does not act in time the Administrator’s decision is deemed reversed and a permit is to be issued
Penalties: Fine up to $2,000, up to 90 days in jail, or up to 90 days of community service, or any combination. Each day is a separate violation
Last verified: August 26, 2026

Hightstown does have a filming ordinance. It is not where you would look

Where the law actually lives

There is no chapter of the Hightstown Borough Code called “Filming”.

The filming law is Article 4-14, buried inside Chapter 4, General Licensing, Part 1, Business Licensing, between Cannabis Licensing and a reserved article. Nothing in the code’s chapter listing hints at it.

Anyone scanning Hightstown’s thirty-one chapter titles for a filming ordinance will conclude the Borough does not have one. It does, it was adopted on August 18, 2025 by Ordinance 2025-11, and it was already amended on October 20, 2025 by Ordinance 2025-16.

Hightstown Borough is not East Windsor Township

Hightstown is a Borough of roughly one square mile, entirely surrounded by East Windsor Township. They are separate municipalities with separate governments, separate clerks and separate police departments.

A Hightstown film permit has no effect in East Windsor, and an East Windsor permit has none in Hightstown. If your location is anywhere near the edge of town, confirm which municipality the property actually sits in before you file. Postal addresses in this part of Mercer County are not a reliable guide to municipal boundaries.

How to begin

Filming in Hightstown runs through the office of the Municipal Clerk, but the decisions belong to the Borough Administrator. Section 4-14-2B requires the application to be on a form the Clerk approves, made and obtained at that office during normal business hours, with the § 4-14-10 fee attached.

Peggy Riggio, RMC/CMR, Borough Clerk, Purchasing Agent and Registrar · 609-490-5100 ext. 628 · priggio@hightstownborough.com
Borough of Hightstown, 156 Bank Street, Hightstown, NJ 08520 · 609-490-5100 · fax 609-371-0267

We could not confirm a current Borough Administrator by name from any Borough page we were able to open, and the Borough’s own phone-numbers page lists no Administrator line. Article 4-14 puts the Administrator at every discretionary point, so ask for that office by title when you call the Clerk.

Filing. Section 4-14-3A, as amended in October 2025, provides that no permit will be issued by the Municipal Clerk unless applied for “at least four more business days prior to the requested shooting date”. The word “or” appears to be missing; the fee table in § 4-14-10 sets the ordinary band at four or more business days, which is how the requirement reads in practice. We quote both rather than correcting either.

The Borough Administrator may waive the four-day period where, in his judgment, the applicant has obtained all related approvals and adjacent property owners or tenants do not need to be notified.

Business days, consistently. Hightstown counts business days in both the filing rule and the fee bands. That is better than it sounds: Newton counts business days in its filing rule and plain days in its fee table, so the two can disagree. Hightstown’s do not.

What triggers a permit. Section 4-14-2A reaches filming on public property and filming on private property where the filming involves the use of public property for the operation, placement or temporary storage of vehicles or equipment, including any temporary structure, barricade or device intended to restrict or block off pedestrian or vehicular traffic. The permit sets out the approved location and duration by day or dates, and must be readily available for inspection by Borough officials at all times at the site.

If the weather turns, § 4-14-2C lets the Municipal Clerk issue a new permit for other dates at your request, subject to full compliance with everything else, and no additional fee is paid.

Fees, and the only fee table in this batch that tells you whose road it is

Read the column heading. Hightstown’s § 4-14-10 column is headed simply “Fee”. Garwood and Newton use the same model table with the heading “Fee (not to exceed)”, which makes every figure in those towns a ceiling. In Hightstown they are stated charges.

Category	Fee
Basic filming application, one time, with four or more business days’ advance notice of the first day of filming	$100
Expedited basic filming application, one time, with three or fewer business days’ advance notice, with authorization from the Chief of Police	$250
Basic filming permit for nonprofits, including student films, one time, no daily rate required	$25
Daily filming on public property, budget under $20 million	$150 per day
Daily filming on public property, budget over $20 million	$500 per day
Daily filming on private property	No fee charged by the municipality
Off-duty police and fire inspections, under the agreed public safety plan	The municipality’s standard hourly rates for police and fire
Municipal road closure	$1,000 per day
County road closure. Authorization must be obtained directly from Mercer County	Fee is set by Mercer County
State road closure. Authorization must be obtained directly from the New Jersey Department of Transportation	Fee is set by NJDOT
Properties in the background of, or used in, a shot	Negotiated between the production company and the private business or residence
Daily prep of a business being “dressed”	Negotiated between the production company and the private business
Daily filming of a business that is “dressed”	Negotiated between the production company and the private business

Section 4-14-10, inconvenience fees

Hightstown is the only town in this batch that puts the jurisdiction question inside its fee schedule.

Most municipal filming ordinances quietly assume every road is theirs. Hightstown’s table states, in the fee schedule itself, that a county road closure requires authorization directly from Mercer County and a state road closure requires authorization directly from NJDOT, with each fee set by that authority rather than by the Borough.

This is the single most common way productions get caught out in New Jersey. A borough of one square mile can easily have a county route and a state highway running through it, and a Borough permit does not reach either. Identify the road authority for every block you intend to affect before you file.

The expedited fee has a gatekeeper. The $250 band applies with three or fewer business days’ notice and with authorization from the Chief of Police. In every other town in this batch the expedited fee is an administrative matter. Here it needs the Chief. If you are filing late, that call happens first.

Section 4-14-9 sits on top of every fee. In addition to any other fees or costs, you reimburse the Borough for any lost revenue, such as repairs to public property or other revenue the Borough was prevented from earning because of filming.

Insurance written as a certificate, not as a formula

Most New Jersey filming ordinances state insurance as bodily-injury and property-damage limits, which are the terms of an older policy form. Section 4-14-3B asks instead for a certificate of insurance naming the Borough of Hightstown as an additional insured, with limits set out the way a modern general liability declarations page sets them out.

Coverage	Minimum
General liability	$1,000,000 per occurrence with $2,000,000 aggregate
Medical expenses, any one person	$5,000
Damage to rented premises	$100,000
Automobile liability	Evidence of coverage required
Workers’ compensation	Evidence of coverage required

The line productions overlook

Damage to rented premises at $100,000. That sublimit exists on almost every commercial general liability policy, but it is usually invisible until something goes wrong in a space you have taken over for the day.

If your shoot involves a rented storefront, hall, studio space or apartment, ask your broker to confirm that sublimit is at least $100,000 before you send the certificate. It is often issued at a lower default, and a certificate that fails the ordinance will hold up the permit.

The $5,000 medical expenses line is the other declarations-page item here. Both are cheap to confirm and expensive to discover late.

Section 4-14-3B(3) adds a written agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the municipality from any and all liability, expense, claim or damages resulting from the use of public lands. There is no bond or cash deposit in this article.

Police, the electrician, and inspections

Off-duty police are conditional. Section 4-14-3B(4) requires the hiring of off-duty officers if required by the Chief of Police, according to the agreed public safety plan, for the times indicated on the permit. That is the same structure as Garwood and Newton, and the opposite of Roseland and Pompton Lakes, where an officer is a flat precondition.

Section 4-14-5B goes further than most: it is the Chief of Police, not the Borough generally, who reserves the right to require one or more on-site off-duty officers where the production may impede the proper flow of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, according to the agreed public safety plan. The cost is borne by the applicant under Hightstown Borough Code § 2-19-19, at the Borough’s standard hourly rate. That cross-reference is the place to ask for a number; we did not read § 2-19-19 this pass and publish no figure.

Section 4-14-5B

The licensed electrician is mandatory in Hightstown, not discretionary.

Section 4-14-5B: where existing electrical power lines are to be utilized by the production, an on-site licensed electrician shall be required if the production company does not have a licensed electrician on staff.

Every other filming chapter in this batch says the electrician may be similarly required. Hightstown says shall. If you are tying into house power or any existing line and you do not carry a licensed electrician, budget one.

Inspection is not conditional either. Section 4-14-8 says the applicant shall permit the Fire Prevention Bureau and other Borough inspectors to inspect the site and the equipment to be used, and shall comply with all safety instructions they issue. Several neighbouring chapters qualify this with “if deemed necessary”. This one does not.

Copies of the approved permit go to the Police and Fire Departments before filming and to the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission at njfilm@njeda.gov, an address the ordinance itself supplies.

Hours, notice, refusal and appeals

What the ordinance does not say

Article 4-14 contains no filming-hours provision.

There is no residential window, no wrap time, no weekend rule and no night-scene clause in any of the eleven sections.

That is an absence in the ordinance. It is not permission to film at any hour. Section 4-14-4A still requires the permit holder to minimise inconvenience or discomfort to adjoining property owners and, to the extent practicable, to abate noise and park vehicles off the public streets, and § 4-14-7(D) makes the proposed hours for filming one of the factors the Administrator weighs on any waiver.

Neighbour notice. Where the production will directly involve or affect any businesses, merchants or residents, § 4-14-4B requires written notice at least three days before the requested shooting date, telling them that objections may be filed with the Municipal Clerk. Those objections form part of your application. Proof of service is due to the Clerk “within two days of the requested shooting date” without the section saying before or after, the same ambiguity we have now recorded in five New Jersey towns. Filing early is the safe reading.

Refusal has an extra ground here. Under § 4-14-5A the Borough Administrator may refuse to approve a permit, based on information from the Police Department or another Borough agency, where filming would violate any law or ordinance, unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of adjoining properties, unreasonably impede traffic or pedestrians, endanger public health, safety or welfare, or otherwise create substantial operational or logistical concerns for the Borough. That last limb does not appear in the neighbouring ordinances and is considerably broader than the rest.

Appeals. Section 4-14-6 sends an appeal to the Borough Council. Written notice of appeal is filed with the Borough Clerk within 10 days of the Administrator’s decision, and the Council sets a hearing within 30 days. If the Council does not adopt its resolution within the time required, the Administrator’s decision is deemed reversed and a permit shall be issued in conformity with the application.

Penalties. A fine not exceeding $2,000, imprisonment in the county or municipal jail for up to 90 days, or a period of community service up to 90 days, or any combination, as the Municipal Court Judge determines. Each day a violation exists is a separate and distinct violation.

What we are not publishing for Hightstown

Stated plainly rather than guessed at:

A named Borough Administrator. The Administrator decides every discretionary question in Article 4-14, but no Borough page we could open names one.
The Borough’s standard hourly rate for off-duty police. Section 4-14-5B cross-references Borough Code § 2-19-19, which was not read this pass.
Any fire inspection charge.
Filming hours. Article 4-14 sets none, and we are not importing them from another municipality.
The Mercer County or NJDOT road closure fees. The Borough’s table says those are set by Mercer County and NJDOT respectively. Ask each authority directly.
A downloadable application. None is published.
A named Film Ready Liaison or Film Permit Representative. No official source names one.
Any location or its availability. Nothing on this page asserts that a Borough street, lake frontage, park, building or private property is available to film.

Article 4-14 reaches land within the Borough’s jurisdiction and control. Mercer County roads, State highways, East Windsor Township and privately held land each have their own controlling authority, and a Borough permit does not reach them. In a municipality this small that is a daily practical issue rather than a footnote.

Common questions

Does Hightstown, NJ have a film permit ordinance?

Yes, although it is easy to miss. There is no chapter of the Borough Code called "Filming". The law is Article 4-14 inside Chapter 4, General Licensing, added on August 18 2025 by Ordinance 2025-11 and amended on October 20 2025 by Ordinance 2025-16. Anyone scanning the chapter titles will conclude the Borough has no filming ordinance.

How much does a film permit cost in Hightstown?

The basic filming application is $100 with four or more business days' advance notice, or $250 expedited with three or fewer business days' notice and authorization from the Chief of Police. Nonprofit and student films are $25. Daily filming on public property is $150 per day for projects budgeted under $20 million and $500 per day for those over. Filming on private property carries no municipal fee. A municipal road closure is $1,000 per day. Unlike Garwood and Newton, Hightstown's fee column is headed simply "Fee", so these are stated charges rather than ceilings.

What insurance does Hightstown require for filming?

A certificate of insurance naming the Borough of Hightstown as an additional insured, with general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, medical expenses of $5,000 any one person, and damage to rented premises of $100,000, plus evidence of automobile liability and workers' compensation. The damage to rented premises sublimit is the one productions most often fail, since it is frequently issued at a lower default. Confirm it with your broker before you send the certificate.

Who do I contact about closing a road for filming in Hightstown?

It depends whose road it is, and the Borough's fee table says so explicitly. A municipal road closure is handled by the Borough at $1,000 per day. A county road closure requires authorization directly from Mercer County, at a fee Mercer County sets. A state road closure requires authorization directly from the New Jersey Department of Transportation, at a fee NJDOT sets. Identify the road authority for every block you intend to affect before you file with the Borough.

Do I need a licensed electrician to film in Hightstown?

If you are using existing electrical power lines and your production company does not have a licensed electrician on staff, yes. Section 4-14-5B says an on-site licensed electrician shall be required in that situation. Every other filming ordinance we have read in this part of New Jersey says an electrician may be required. Hightstown says shall, so budget one.

Is Hightstown the same as East Windsor for film permits?

No. Hightstown Borough is a separate municipality of about one square mile, entirely surrounded by East Windsor Township, with its own council, clerk and police department. A Hightstown permit has no effect in East Windsor and an East Windsor permit has none in Hightstown. Postal addresses in this part of Mercer County are not a reliable guide to municipal boundaries, so confirm which municipality your location actually sits in before you file.

Official sources

Checked August 26, 2026 against Article 4-14 of the Borough of Hightstown Code read in full through the eCode print view under code root HI1169, the Borough Clerk page, the Borough phone-numbers page and the State certified-localities list. No prior research existed for Hightstown in this project; this is a first full pass on the primary sources, and it confirms that the municipality is Hightstown Borough rather than East Windsor Township Report a correction or updated permit requirement.

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Reviewed by Sam Moskowitz, producer & director of photography

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.

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