Filming in New Jersey? Start with the town.
New Jersey does not issue one statewide film permit. Requirements are handled locally. Find verified fees, lead times, insurance requirements, contacts and official forms for 51 municipalities.
Researched from official municipal sources and clearly dated.
New Jersey Film Locations is an independent research resource created by BLL Films. It is not affiliated with the State of New Jersey or the NJ Motion Picture & Television Commission.
Where are you in your production?
Four situations. Pick the one you are actually in, or start here for the whole picture.
I need a location
Start from categories rather than towns, then narrow by municipality.
Route BI have a location, need permits
Requirements, fees and lead times are set town by town. Look yours up.
Route CI need crew, equipment or space
Rental houses, stages and expendables, with short drives between them.
Route DI need help planning
Hand it to BLL Films: location research, municipal coordination, crew and logistics.
I’m Sam, and I actually run this site. If a page ever reads like nobody’s home, email me and I’ll fix it. More about me & how this works
New Jersey’s growing Film Ready network. One map.
Every Film Ready municipality and county in our verified map data. Red dots are Film Ready municipalities, squares are Film Ready counties. Numbered gold markers have a full production guide, with verified municipal contacts and a “last checked” date.
Base map: NordNordWest via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 · Film Ready municipality · Film Ready county · 1 Numbered full town guide
- Selected guides on the map
- Selected guides on the map. These are numbered municipalities with a full production guide; most are Film Ready certified, and the Fort Monmouth entry is a multi-jurisdiction area where Oceanport holds the certification rather than the site itself. The map is not the complete list, so use the full index below for all guides. Verified August 8, 2026.
- Sparta Township
- Fair Lawn
- Ridgefield Park
- West Orange
- Guttenberg
- Newark
- Maplewood
- Jersey City
- Union Township
- Clinton
- Plainfield
- Rahway
- Highland Park
- Franklin Township
- Keyport
- East Brunswick
- Lambertville
- Shrewsbury Borough
- Fort Monmouth & Monmouth CountyOceanport is Film Ready · studio campus under construction
- Robbinsville
- Hamilton Township
- Additional town guides
- Bayonnenot Film Ready
- Patersonnot Film Ready
- Montclairnot Film Ready
- More Film Ready communities
- Atlantic City2025
- New Brunswick2026
- Westwood2024
- Sparta2025
- Phillipsburg2026
- See the full Film Ready directory →
One state. More looks than you think.
Urban streets, industrial corridors, historic downtowns, suburbs, farms, forests and beaches, all within reach of one of the world’s largest production centers.
Hudson WaterfrontJersey City skyline
North JerseyPaterson Great Falls
Central JerseyPrinceton
Liberty State ParkCRRNJ Terminal
The ShoreAsbury Park
South JerseyCape May
Interim photography via Wikimedia Commons under free licenses, being replaced with original BLL Films photography (author and full license on each file page): Jersey City skyline · Great Falls · Princeton (Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0) · CRRNJ Terminal (Jim Russell) · Asbury Park · Cape May Lighthouse. The Jersey City skyline photo also appears as the hero backdrop.
Start with a look.
Organised the way a scout actually searches, each with a documented New Jersey example.
Industrial
Warehouses, factories, loading docks and large interiors. Paterson’s mill district and Great Falls have hosted The Sopranos, The Irishman and The Trial of the Chicago 7. Bayonne’s waterfront appeared in War of the Worlds. See examples & photos →
Homes & Estates
Suburban homes, historic properties and estates. Productions have used Mahwah’s Crocker Mansion (Garden State), the 250-acre Hartley Farms estate in New Vernon, and private historic homes in Madison and Montclair. See examples & photos →
Cities & Streets
Downtowns, brownstones and skylines. Jersey City’s Exchange Place and Paulus Hook have doubled for Manhattan in Joker, A Beautiful Mind and Men in Black. See examples & photos →
Offices & Corporate
Offices, conference rooms, campuses and laboratories. Jersey City’s Exchange Place towers and multi-era institutional campuses cover a range of corporate looks in a compact area. See examples & photos →
Coast & Nature
Beaches, marinas, forests and farms. Liberty State Park’s 1,212 acres appear in Men in Black and The Godfather. The Jersey Shore has hosted dozens of productions including Annie. See examples & photos →
Studios & Controlled Spaces
Large soundstages and production campuses down to cyc, virtual-production and small controlled studios. Major new campuses remain under construction. See examples & photos →
Planning a shoot in New Jersey? Ask us anything.
Not sure where to film, who issues the permit, or whether a location fits your crew? Send the question. If it needs a municipality or state agency, we’ll point you there.
Ask your filming questionNo obligation. Answers from working producers.
Answers for every stage of production.
Permits & municipalities
How local approvals work, plus the full Film Ready directory.
Read the permit guide Permit finderCrews, equipment & logistics
Staffing, equipment houses, post facilities and film offices.
Find crew & vendorsIncentives & tax credit
The 30–40% film credit in plain English, with official contacts.
Understand the creditProduction support from BLL Films.
Full-service production and local support across New Jersey, from early planning through final delivery.
Location scouting and feasibility
Local crew and equipment
Permitting and logistical coordination
Commercial, corporate and documentary production
Multi-location production management
Editing, color, sound and campaign deliverables
Production Notes: what’s happening in New Jersey.
Field reports on studio construction, incentive changes and new Film Ready towns, with sources.
Work in New Jersey film and television?
Join our private New Jersey crew network so productions can find qualified local professionals.
Free, read by a person, and never published as a public directory. The application takes about a minute on a phone. Joining does not guarantee work.
Think your property belongs on camera?
We are building a curated network of New Jersey homes, businesses and distinctive spaces open to production. Tell us about the property, send current photographs and note any restrictions. Submission does not guarantee acceptance or bookings.
Submit your locationSources
- NewsNew Jersey Monthly, Inside New Jersey’s Thriving Film and TV Industries
- OfficialFilmJC, Jersey City Office of Film & Television
- OfficialNJ DEP, Liberty State Park
- NewsVariety, Jersey’s Network of Soundstages Attracting Big Names
Location examples are drawn from public news and production coverage, last checked July 2026. They describe past use only, not current availability, ownership or willingness to host a shoot. Spot something outdated? Send a correction.