Filming in Hopewell Township, New Jersey

Which Hopewell this is

Confirm the county on any document you receive. If a form, fee schedule or contact does not say Mercer, it is probably not this municipality.

Documented location character

The Township’s own America 250 material places Hopewell Township in the story of the Revolution: it records the connection to General Washington’s 1776 crossing of the Delaware River, and the march of the Continental Army through central New Jersey, including areas now part of the Township, toward the Battle of Trenton.

Township pages identify Titusville on the Delaware as the village where the Municipal Building and Woolsey Park sit, both on Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, and reference preserved farmland in the valley, including a land-trust farm preserve on Lambertville-Hopewell Road.

Current source set

Hopewell Township is a recently certified municipality, and its film framework is new enough that the operating documents have not all caught up with the law.

• Ordinance No. 26-1872, “An Ordinance Adopting New Jersey’s Film Ready Program”, which creates Chapter 23, Film Ready Program and adds § 3-28 (penalties) and § 10-13 (fees) to the Township Code. Read in full for this guide.
• The Township’s INTRO 3-16-26 notice, recording introduction and passage on first reading at the March 16, 2026 meeting.
• The Township’s Adopted Titles 4-13-26 notice, which states that at the regular meeting held Monday, April 13, 2026 the listed ordinances were read a second time and adopted, Ordinance No. 26-1872 among them.
• Resolution 25-385 of October 21, 2025, establishing intent to seek Film Ready certification and adopting a Code of Conduct. That resolution predates the ordinance and is not the operative permit law.
• The Township Committee minutes of May 4, 2026, recording the Mayor announcing that the Township has been officially certified Film Ready by the State.

A Township site search on September 3, 2026 found no film permit application, no fee worksheet, no insurance instruction sheet, no notice template and no dedicated film page. Ask the Clerk for the current approved form and for written confirmation of the adopted text and its effective date before you rely on any figure below. Because the chapter is recent, also ask whether the online Township Code has since absorbed Chapter 23, and work from the ordinance until it has.

Film Ready status

Hopewell Township appears on the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission’s certified-localities list, verified September 3, 2026, where the entry is written “Hopewell Township (Mercer)”.

The Township’s own record agrees. The May 4, 2026 Township Committee minutes record the Mayor announcing that Hopewell Township has been officially certified Film Ready by the State, three weeks after the ordinance was adopted.

Certification describes municipal process readiness. It does not guarantee a permit, does not shorten the four-business-day filing floor, and does not reach County, State, federal, school, land-trust or private property inside the Township. Note also that the Fire District here is a separate taxing authority with its own board, and the ordinance gives it a role of its own.

No checked Township page names a film liaison or film permit representative. § 23-2 routes everything through the Municipal Clerk. Ask the Township to confirm the designated roles in writing.

When a permit is required

§ 23-2A requires a permit to film on public property, and on private property where the filming involves the use of public property for the operation, placement or storage of vehicles or equipment, including any temporary structure, barricade or device intended to restrict or block off pedestrian or vehicular traffic.

Note the wording. Several New Jersey ordinances written on the same State template say “temporary storage”. Hopewell Township’s text says storage, without the qualifier, which reads more broadly rather than less.

The permit must set out the approved location and the approved duration by specific reference to day or dates, and must be readily available for inspection by Township officials at all times at the filming site. Applications go to the office of the Municipal Clerk during normal business hours, on a form approved by the Clerk, with the fee set by the fee schedule.

§ 23-1 defines filming as still or motion pictures on film, videotape or a similar recording medium, for commercial or educational purposes intended for viewing on television, in theatres, on a major linear broadcast network or streaming platform, or for institutional uses. The chapter does not reach the filming of news stories within the municipality.

Application and timing

• Standard route: § 23-3A says no permit will be issued unless applied for at least four or more business days before the requested shooting date.
• Waiver: the Township Administrator may waive the four-day period where, in the Administrator’s judgment, the applicant has obtained all related approvals and adjacent property owners or tenants do not need to be notified. Both conditions are written together.
• Weather: if filming does not take place on the permitted dates because of inclement weather or other good cause, the Clerk may issue a new permit for other dates at the applicant’s request, with no additional fee.

There is no published application form. § 23-2B says applications are made on a form approved by the Municipal Clerk, so the form exists as a matter of law even though it is not on the website. Contact the Clerk’s office for the current version rather than adapting another municipality’s form, and ask whether email submission and electronic payment are accepted.

Published fee ceilings

§ 10-13 is headed “FEE (not to exceed)”. Every figure below is therefore a maximum the Township may charge, not a price it has quoted you. Ask for a written project-specific quote.

The last two rows are worth reading carefully. They confirm that background and dressed-business payments are private commercial arrangements between the production and the owner, not municipal charges, and that the Township does not set or collect them.

§ 23-9 adds reimbursement on top of the fees: the applicant reimburses the Township for lost revenue such as parking meter revenue, repairs to public property, or other revenue the Township was prevented from earning because of the filming. That is not capped. § 3-28 sets penalties of up to $2,000, up to 90 days in jail, or up to 90 days of community service, or a combination, with each day a separate violation.

Insurance, the Fire District and public safety

The limits are:

• Bodily injury to any one person: $500,000, and any occurrence in the aggregate: $1,000,000.
• Property damage for each occurrence: $300,000.
• A written agreement indemnifying and saving harmless the municipality and the local Fire District from any and all liability, expense, claim or damages resulting from the use of public lands.

Police are conditional here. § 23-3B(3) requires the hiring of an off-duty police officer if required by the Chief of Police, according to the agreed public safety plan, for the times indicated on the permit. § 23-5B lets the Chief require one or more on-site patrolmen where the production may impede the proper flow of traffic, again under the agreed public safety plan, at the applicant’s cost as a cost of production.

That is a real difference from neighbouring municipalities where an officer is mandatory on every public-property day. It is also a reason to open the public safety conversation early rather than late: the plan drives the requirement, and the requirement drives the cost, which § 10-13 leaves at the municipality’s standard hourly rates rather than publishing a number.

Where existing electrical power lines are to be used by the production, § 23-5B allows an on-site licensed electrician to be required if the production company does not have one on staff.

The ordinance sets no bond. That is not the same as a confirmation that no deposit will be requested, so ask.

Filming hours

§ 23-3D publishes hours, which many New Jersey filming ordinances do not.

• Filming is permitted 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (camera wrap), with crew wrap at 10:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday.
• Night filming restrictions apply only to a project with exterior filming.
• Exterior filming in residential zones outside those hours must be approved in the permit, granted in accordance with the § 23-7 waiver factors.

The chapter does not say how arrival, setup, strike and departure sit against those times, and it does not define the residential zones by name. An interior shoot is not expressly limited by the night restriction, but the permit still governs. Put your intended call, camera wrap and crew wrap in the application and ask for them to be written into the permit.

Notice to neighbours

§ 23-4A requires the permit holder to conduct filming so as to minimise inconvenience or discomfort to adjoining property owners, and, to the extent practicable, to abate noise and park production vehicles off the public streets.

§ 23-4B is the notice rule. Where the production will directly involve or affect businesses, merchants or residents, those parties must be given written notice at least three days before the requested shooting date and told that objections may be filed with the Municipal Clerk. Objections form part of the application and are considered in reviewing it.

There is also a sequencing point worth planning around: the standard filing floor is four business days, while neighbour notice is three days. If you file at the floor, notice has to go out almost immediately, and objections can land while the application is still being reviewed.

No notice template is published. Ask whether the Township has an approved letter format and what it must contain.

Refusal, waiver and appeal

§ 23-5A lets the Township Administrator refuse a permit on the basis of objective facts, after reviewing the application and a report on it from the Police Department, the Fire District and other Township agencies involved with the proposed site, where filming at that location or time would violate a law or ordinance, unreasonably interfere with the use and enjoyment of adjoining properties, unreasonably impede the free flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, or otherwise endanger public health, safety or welfare.

§ 23-7 lets the Administrator waive any requirement of the chapter where that can be done without endangering public health, safety and welfare. The stated factors are traffic congestion at the location, the applicant’s ability to remove vehicles and equipment from public streets or other public property, the extent of any requested restriction on public streets or parking facilities, the nature of the filming including whether it is indoors or outdoors and the proposed hours, the effect on adjoining and nearby owners and occupants, and the Township’s prior experience with the applicant. This is the route for exterior night work in residential zones.

§ 23-6 sets the appeal. A person aggrieved by a decision denying or revoking a permit, or requesting relief, may appeal to the Township Committee by filing a written notice of appeal with the Administrator within 10 days of the decision. The Committee sets a hearing within 30 days of filing and decides by resolution at its first regular meeting after the hearing, unless the appellant agrees in writing to a later date. If no resolution is adopted in time, the Administrator’s decision is deemed reversed and a permit issues in conformity with the application, or the relief is deemed denied.

§ 23-8 requires copies of the approved permit to go to the Police and Fire Departments before filming and to the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission at njfilm@njeda.gov. The Fire Prevention Bureau and other Township inspectors may inspect the site and the equipment, and their safety instructions must be followed.

Who controls the location?

A Hopewell Township permit reaches Township public property. It does not reach the following:

Documented productions

No completed production credit for Hopewell Township was located in the official sources checked for this guide. The Township is newly certified, and the absence of a credit is a statement about the record, not about the municipality’s suitability.

Do not infer a Hopewell Township shoot from a Mercer County reference, from a Washington Crossing credit, which is more likely to be the State park, or from anything attributed to Hopewell Borough.

Practical production planning

A working sequence for Hopewell Township, based only on the checked sources:

• Confirm the county on every document. Mercer, not Cumberland, and Township, not Borough.
• Establish jurisdiction before you file. The most photogenic ground near Titusville is State park, river corridor or preserved farmland, none of which a Township permit reaches.
• Call the Municipal Clerk for the current approved application form, since none is published, and ask for written confirmation of the adopted ordinance text and its effective date.
• File at least four business days out, and ask which day count the fee table uses, because the chapter and the fee schedule count differently.
• Ask for a written fee quote. Every figure in § 10-13 is a ceiling, and a budget at exactly $20,000,000 is not priced at all.
• Open the public safety plan conversation early. Police are conditional on the Chief of Police here, and the cost is at standard hourly rates that are not published.
• Bind insurance naming both the Township and Hopewell Fire District No. 1, and get the exact wording for both before binding.
• Serve neighbour notice at least three days out and ask the Clerk for the exact proof-of-service due date rather than guessing which way the two-day clause runs.
• Schedule to a 9:00 p.m. camera wrap and a 10:00 p.m. crew wrap, and treat exterior night work in residential zones as a waiver application rather than a scheduling choice.
• Ask what § 23-9 reimbursement is likely to cover for your streets, and when it is billed.

Common questions

Is Hopewell Township a Film Ready certified community?

Yes. The Township appears on the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission’s current certified-localities list as “Hopewell Township (Mercer)”, verified September 3, 2026. The Township adopted Ordinance No. 26-1872 on April 13, 2026 after first reading on March 16, 2026, and the Mayor announced official State certification at the May 4, 2026 Township Committee meeting. Certification does not guarantee a permit and does not reach County, State, federal, school, land-trust or private property.

Which Hopewell is this?

Hopewell Township in Mercer County, whose Municipal Building is at 201 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville. It is not Hopewell Township in Cumberland County, a separate government at 590 Shiloh Pike, Bridgeton whose 2026 ordinances are unrelated and which surfaces first in general web searches. It is also not Hopewell Borough, a separate Mercer County municipality with its own governing body.

How far ahead do I have to apply for a Hopewell Township film permit?

Section 23-3A says no permit will be issued unless applied for at least four or more business days before the requested shooting date. The Township Administrator may waive that period where the applicant has obtained all related approvals and adjacent owners or tenants do not need to be notified. The fee schedule bands advance notice in plain days rather than business days, so ask the Clerk which count applies to your fee.

How much is a Hopewell Township film permit?

Section 10-13 is headed “Fee (not to exceed)”, so every figure is a ceiling rather than a quoted price. The ceilings are $100 basic with four or more days advance notice, $250 expedited with three or fewer, $25 for nonprofits including student films, and daily public-property filming of $150 where the budget is under $20mm or $500 where it is over. Filming on private property carries no municipal fee. Street closures are up to $5,000 per day. Ask the Township for a written project-specific quote.

What happens if the budget is exactly $20,000,000?

The fee table does not price it. The daily rows read only “under $20mm” and “over $20mm”. Separately, Section 23-1 defines a major motion picture to include any film budgeted at least $20,000,000. Obtain a written fee classification from the Township rather than reading one provision across the other.

What are Hopewell Township’s filming hours?

Section 23-3D permits filming from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. camera wrap, with crew wrap at 10:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday. Night filming restrictions apply only to a project with exterior filming, and exterior filming in residential zones outside those hours has to be approved in the permit under the Section 23-7 waiver factors. The chapter does not say how setup, strike and departure sit against those times.

Who has to be named on the insurance certificate?

Two bodies. Section 23-3B requires proof of insurance to be supplied to the municipality and to Hopewell Fire District No. 1, and the written indemnity must save harmless the municipality and the local Fire District. The limits are $500,000 bodily injury to any one person, $1,000,000 in the aggregate for any occurrence, and $300,000 property damage for each occurrence. The Fire District is a separate authority, so ask the Clerk for the exact certificate-holder and additional-insured wording for both entities before binding coverage.

Do I need an off-duty police officer in Hopewell Township?

Only if the Chief of Police requires one. Section 23-3B(3) makes the hiring of an off-duty officer conditional on the Chief requiring it according to the agreed public safety plan, and Section 23-5B lets the Chief require on-site patrolmen where the production may impede traffic. That is different from neighbouring towns where an officer is mandatory on every public-property day. The cost is charged at the municipality’s standard hourly rates for police and fire, which the ordinance does not state.

Is there a Hopewell Township film permit application I can download?

No. A Township site search on September 3, 2026 found the introduction and adoption notices, the 2025 intent resolution and the meeting minutes, but no application form, fee worksheet, insurance instruction or notice template. Section 23-2B says applications are made on a form approved by the Municipal Clerk, so the form exists as a matter of law. Contact the Clerk’s office at 609-737-0605 extension 6760 for the current version.

Official sources

• OfficialNJ Motion Picture & Television Commission, current Film Ready certified-localities list, entry “Hopewell Township (Mercer)”
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, notice of introduction and first reading of An Ordinance Adopting New Jersey’s Film Ready Program, March 16, 2026
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, Adopted Titles notice for the regular meeting of April 13, 2026, listing Ordinance No. 26-1872 among the ordinances read a second time and adopted
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, Resolution 25-385, Establishing Intent to Seek Film Ready NJ Certification and Adopting a Code of Conduct, October 21, 2025
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, Township Committee agendas and minutes, including the adopted text of Ordinance No. 26-1872 and the May 4, 2026 minutes recording State certification
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, Clerk, contacts, address and office hours
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, Administration
• OfficialTownship of Hopewell, 250th Anniversary of America, local history

Checked September 3, 2026 against the full text of Chapter 23, § 3-28 and § 10-13 as adopted by Ordinance No. 26-1872, the Township’s own introduction and adoption notices, Resolution 25-385, the May 4, 2026 Township Committee minutes, the Clerk and Administration pages, a Township site search for a film permit application, and the State certified-localities list. Report a correction or updated permit requirement.

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