Can you drill a well without a permit in New Jersey?

Exempt — no permit or water right. No allocation permit for a household well below ~70 gpm even inside the Water Supply Critical Areas; the critical-area cutbacks applied to large public purveyors, not domestic wells. A NJDEP well-construction permit is still required (50,000 gpd threshold in the Highlands Preservation Area).

Which New Jersey counties have groundwater restrictions?

9 New Jersey counties sit in a managed, over-appropriated, adjudicated, or critically overdrafted groundwater basin — including Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County. Each county profile cites the specific basin and rule.

New Jersey · off-grid water rights

Water rights in New Jersey

Whether a new off-grid home can legally get its own water in New Jersey: the state well and water-rights rules, then the 9 counties where a specific groundwater basin adds a catch — each cited to the state water agency.

New Jersey water rules

Household well
Exempt — no permit or water right
No allocation permit for a household well below ~70 gpm even inside the Water Supply Critical Areas; the critical-area cutbacks applied to large public purveyors, not domestic wells. A NJDEP well-construction permit is still required (50,000 gpd threshold in the Highlands Preservation Area).
Limit: < 100,000 gal/day (~70 gpm)
NJDEP — Water Allocation ↗
Greywater reuse
none
No residential greywater provision; treated as wastewater.
Greywater Action / EPA REUSExplorer ↗
Rainwater harvesting
encouraged
Legal; rain-barrel rebate programs.
NCSL ↗
Water rights
regulated riparian
Permit/registration over 100,000 gpd; agriculture exempt (registration).
National Agricultural Law Center ↗

9 constrained counties in New Jersey

Over-appropriatedAtlantic CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)44
Over-appropriatedBurlington CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)38
Over-appropriatedCamden CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)29
Over-appropriatedCumberland CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)44
Over-appropriatedGloucester CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)38
Over-appropriatedOcean CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)37
Over-appropriatedSalem CountyWater Supply Critical Area 2 (Potomac-Raritan-Magothy)43
Actively managedMiddlesex CountyWater Supply Critical Area 128
Actively managedMonmouth CountyWater Supply Critical Area 129

The Bolthole Index Letter

One email a week: the best counties to live off-grid, rule changes that matter, and New Jersey water-rule changes as basins close. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Keep exploring New Jersey

See the full New Jersey county ranking, compare states on the water-rights hub, or read how water access is scored. Physical water is dimmed — never erased — where a county sits in one of these basins, household-first.

General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.