Middletown Township Building Permit: What Plans to Print, and at What Size

By Eli Gewirtzman, Owner

If you’re adding on, building a new home, or putting in a pool, shed, fence or deck in Middletown, the first stop is the Zoning Office, not the construction office. The township’s Zoning page says “a development permit application granting zoning approval is required prior to obtaining construction permits.”

This guide summarizes what Middletown’s own forms and department pages say about the plans you need and how they must be drawn, plus the state construction code rule on plan copies and the Monmouth County checklist for projects that need county review. Middletown’s own documents don’t state a number of copies or a sheet size, so always confirm both with the township before you print.

How the process flows in Middletown

Based on the township’s Zoning page and its Application for Development Permit, the order is:

Prepare. Get your survey, plans and application ready.
Development permit (zoning). File the development permit application with the Zoning Office. The form lists a $75 non-refundable fee for residential applications and $150 for commercial.
Grading plan review, if needed. The application says a grading plan goes to the Township Engineer’s Office for a new single-family or two-family dwelling, and for a new accessory building or an addition over 500 square feet. The Zoning page adds that grading plans must be prepared by a licensed civil engineer.
Construction permit. After zoning approval, you apply to Building & Inspection for construction permits. The application notes that if other agencies’ approvals are checked off, building permits won’t be issued until those approvals are received.

So for larger projects you’re printing for up to three offices, not one.

What the development permit application needs

According to the information page of the development permit application, an application includes:

A statement of use. The use, or intended use, of the building, structure or land.
Drawings to scale. “Elevations, floor plans and/or other details drawn to scale of the building or structures to be erected.”
A survey or site plan to scale. “A survey and/or site plan, drawn to scale, showing all proposed and/or existing buildings, structures, signs, parking areas, setbacks, and yard distances.”
Floor plans for additions. The front of the form says floor plans must be provided if the application is for an addition.
Prior approvals. A copy of any Planning Board or Board of Adjustment resolution of approval.
Related applications. Tree removal, historic district and floodplain applications where they apply.

The application also asks you to certify that “the survey provided is accurate and shows all structures located on the site.”

The size rule: drawn to scale

Middletown’s documents don’t name a sheet size such as 11×17 or 24×36. What they say, again and again, is “drawn to scale,” for floor plans, elevations, surveys and site plans.

What this means for printing: print each sheet at the size it was drawn, at 100% scale. A sheet shrunk to fit smaller paper is no longer to scale. If you’re unsure what size the office will accept, ask before you print.

What to include, by project type

Middletown doesn’t list copy counts, so this table shows what each project needs to show, not how many copies.

Project	What the township asks you to show	Copies / size stated?
Addition	Exact location, size and height of the addition; total lot coverage including all existing structures, driveway and accessory structures; floor plans	Not stated
Pool	Exact location, size and height of the pool; pool filter location; type of fence proposed	Not stated
Shed	Exact location, size and height of the shed	Not stated
Fence	Height, type and location of the fence shown on a property survey; existing retaining walls with their height	Not stated
Sign	A rendering showing the height, width and length of the sign; free-standing signs also need the property survey showing the location	Not stated
Mother-daughter conversion	A property survey and floor plans, including a floor plan showing free-flowing access inside	Not stated
New 1-2 family home, or an addition or accessory structure over 500 sq ft	A grading plan to the Township Engineer’s Office (see below)	Not stated

The fence and mother-daughter rows also match the township’s Fence Requirements and Mother-Daughter Dwelling handouts.

Grading plan review

The township’s Grading Plan Review Application asks for:

A signed and sealed grading plan with topography and details, plus a signed and sealed letter from the Professional Engineer listing the plans and sheet dates, stating that the submittal is the official set for the project.
A PDF of the pool plan and/or architectural plans (foundation, elevations and floor plans).
Supporting documents, such as drainage calculations and other agency approvals.
A PDF of the as-built topographic survey at the end of the project.

The township’s fillable version of the same form lists each of these items as an emailed PDF. The checklist also says the grading plan must be titled “Grading Plan” and prepared by a NJ Licensed Professional Engineer, and that the survey information must be prepared by a NJ Licensed Land Surveyor. The form asks you to allow at least three to four weeks for review. Ask the Engineering office whether they want paper copies, a PDF, or both.

What New Jersey’s construction code says about plan copies

Construction permits in every New Jersey town follow the state Uniform Construction Code (N.J.A.C. 5:23-2, published by the NJ Department of Community Affairs):

Paper submissions: a construction permit application submitted on paper must include no fewer than two copies of the plans, drawn to scale.
Released plans: the construction official stamps both released sets. One set stays with the township, and the other must be kept at the building site for inspections.
Electronic submissions: if your permit is handled electronically, you still need a physical copy of the released plans at the work site, sealed and wet signed by the design professional.

Middletown’s permit portal instructions repeat the job-site rule: “all job set plans must be kept at the building site for every inspection.”

If your project also needs Monmouth County review

The county’s Development Review Committee reviews subdivisions and site plans affecting county roads and drainage facilities or county-owned property, per its Development Review page. A deck, shed or fence permit on its own isn’t a site plan or subdivision. Applications that do need county review follow the county’s Development Regulations. Volume I was amended on May 28, 2026, and took effect August 1, 2026. The Addendum B-3 Submission Checklist in the adopted regulations asks for:

Plans: two complete sets of the site plan or subdivision plat, signed and sealed.
Application: the original plus one copy, signed and dated.
Digital copy: plans and documents by email, or on a USB flash drive.
Reports, where required: one copy each of the stormwater report, the traffic report and the drainage area map to the nearest downstream county bridge or culvert.

The same page adds that stormwater analyses must include full-sized drainage area maps drawn to scale. These county sets are in addition to whatever Middletown’s own boards ask for.

Who draws the plans

The Building & Inspection page says:

Major projects. A New Jersey licensed architect is recommended. Major projects may need floor plans drawn to scale, sections, elevations and details.
Minor projects. Decks and small additions can be drawn by a homeowner. For routine projects such as decks and retaining walls, the Construction Inspection Office has standard specifications that, along with a plot plan or survey showing your project, “are accepted as the required plans.”
Engineer required. Some projects need plans by a New Jersey licensed engineer, such as an in-ground pool, grading plans, and retaining walls more than 4 feet high.

A simple printing plan for a Middletown permit

Get the final PDFs. Ask your architect, engineer or surveyor for the signed and sealed files.
Ask for the count. Middletown’s documents don’t state how many copies to bring, so call the Zoning Office and the construction office before you print. For a paper construction permit submission, plan on at least the two sets the state code requires.
Keep it to scale. Print every sheet at its original size, at 100%. Don’t shrink it.
Plan for the job set. Keep a released set at the building site for inspections, plus any copies you want for your own records.

To order prints: at Print My Plans you upload the PDF, choose the size, and check out. Checkout sizes are 18×24, 24×36, 30×42, 36×46 and 36×48, so we print full-size sheets. For any other size, email support@printmyplans.com before you order.

Price: $1.95/sheet for black and white, $3.75/sheet for color.
Shipping: Order by 3 PM ET, ships same day, arrives as soon as the next day.
First order: use code WELCOME20 at checkout for 20% off your first order.

Local details are on our Monmouth County plan printing page. For how to put together a submission set, see permit set printing. Engineers preparing county submissions can see civil engineering plan printing.

FAQ

How many copies of my plans does Middletown ask for?

The township’s development permit application, Zoning page and Building & Inspection page don’t state a number of copies. For a paper construction permit submission, New Jersey’s construction code requires at least two copies of the plans. Confirm the current count with the Zoning Office and the construction office before you print.

What size do my plans have to be?

The township doesn’t name a sheet size. Its development permit application asks for floor plans, elevations, surveys and site plans “drawn to scale.” Print at the original size and don’t reduce.

Do I need zoning approval before a construction permit?

Yes. The township’s Zoning page says a development permit application granting zoning approval is required before you can get construction permits.

When do I need a grading plan?

The development permit application says a grading plan goes to the Township Engineer’s Office for a new single-family or two-family home, and for a new accessory building or an addition over 500 square feet. It must be prepared by a licensed engineer.

How many sets does Monmouth County want for site plan review?

Under the county’s regulations effective August 1, 2026, the Addendum B-3 checklist asks for two complete signed and sealed sets of the site plan or subdivision plat, the original application plus one copy, and a digital copy. County review applies to subdivisions and site plans affecting county roads, drainage facilities or county property.

Can I draw my own deck plans?

The Building & Inspection page says minor projects such as decks and small additions can be drawn by a homeowner, and the township’s standard deck specs plus a plot plan or survey are accepted as the required plans.

Before you submit

Requirements can change, and the township may ask for more. The grading application warns that an incomplete application will not be accepted and may result in a permit denial. Call the Zoning Office at 732-615-2279 (the number on the development permit application), or check the current forms on the township’s Forms & Applications page, before you print the final count.

This article summarizes public township, county and state documents for convenience and is not legal or code advice.

Comparing Middletown with Howell or Manalapan? Every township we have researched is on one page: NJ permit plan requirements by town.