How to start a pet sitting business in New Jersey (2026)

1Pet sitting demand in New Jersey

About 47% of New Jersey households own at least one pet. Newark Liberty is one of the busiest airports in the region, and New Jersey residents also fly out of JFK, LaGuardia and Philadelphia, so business trips and holiday travel create steady overnight work. Summer pulls families to Long Beach Island, Cape May and Ocean City for a week or more. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Burlington and Ocean counties adds military households who travel and deploy. Apartment cat owners in Jersey City and Hoboken are a reliable base for twice-daily drop-ins.

The biggest markets: Hoboken / Jersey City, North Jersey suburbs, Princeton / Central Jersey, Jersey Shore.

2Can you board pets at home in New Jersey?

Visits and overnights in the client's home need no state license and are not taxed. Boarding at your home is treated very differently. State health rules define a kennel as any establishment where the business of boarding dogs is carried on, and that includes daytime-only day care. There is no minimum number of dogs. Kennels need an annual municipal license, which expires June 30, after an inspection by the local health department. Your town's zoning decides whether a kennel is allowed in a residential area at all, and many towns, HOAs and condo associations say no. Boarding at your place is also subject to 6.625% sales tax.

3Set up your business in New Jersey

• File an LLC. $100 one-time filing with the NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES). It separates your personal assets from the business, which matters when you hold clients' keys.
• Recurring entity cost: $75/year, annual report fee paid to the NJ Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, due each year in the month your LLC was formed.
• Get an EIN from the IRS. It is free and takes about 10 minutes online.
• City or county business license: New Jersey has no statewide general business license, and many towns don't require one for a walking business, though some issue a mercantile license. Boarding and day care are different: any business that boards dogs, including daytime-only day care, is a kennel under state health rules and needs an annual municipal kennel license (expiring June 30) after a local health department inspection. Check zoning before you take dogs into your home.

New Jersey-specific: The Certificate of Formation fee was $125 until July 1, 2026, so older guides quote the higher number. After you form, you also file Form NJ-REG to register with the Division of Taxation. If you form a multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership with more than two owners, New Jersey charges a $150-per-owner partnership filing fee each year; a single-member LLC does not owe it.

4Taxes for New Jersey pet sitters

Sales tax: New Jersey splits pet services by where the dog is. In Letter Ruling LR 2013-1-SUT the Division of Taxation said dog sitting at the client's home is an exempt personal service, but boarding or day care at the provider's own facility is taxable because it is the safekeeping of the dog. Walks and drop-in visits at the client's home are generally treated the same way as at-home sitting and are not taxed. Grooming, bathing, nail trims and non-medical boarding are taxable at 6.625% (Publication ANJ-12). If you board, run day care or groom, register to collect sales tax, and confirm your exact setup with the Division or a NJ accountant.

State income tax: Progressive state income tax.

Other taxes worth knowing: New Jersey's graduated income tax tops out at 10.75%. Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships with more than two owners also owe a $150-per-owner annual partnership filing fee.

Official source: NJ Letter Ruling LR 2013-1-SUT (dog sitting, training and day care) →

5Insurance and bonding in New Jersey

Carry general liability with care, custody and control coverage for pets in your care, plus key and lockout coverage, since high-rise buildings in Jersey City and Hoboken often use fobs that are costly to replace. A bond helps win clients who hand you their keys for a week. At the Shore, nor'easters and coastal flooding can hit while owners are away, so agree in writing on an emergency plan and evacuation contact for every pet.

• General liability with care, custody and control covers harm to the pets in your care and damage in the client's home.
• Key and lockout coverage pays to rekey a home if you lose a client's key.
• A bond covers theft claims and is a cheap way to reassure new clients.

Workers' comp once you hire: New Jersey requires workers' compensation for every employer as soon as anyone other than the owner (or LLC members) does paid work for the business, including part-timers. There is no small-employer exemption. Failing to insure is a disorderly persons offense, a willful failure is a fourth-degree crime, and civil penalties run up to $5,000 for each additional 10-day period without coverage. NJ Division of Workers' Compensation: employer requirements →

6What to charge in New Jersey

Typical New Jersey bands for 2026:

• Drop-in visit (30 min): $22 to $35
• Overnight in the client's home: $80 to $125 per night
• Additional pet: +$5-10 per visit

Overnights and peak dates: Overnights in the client's home in New Jersey typically run $80 to $125 a night, highest in Hudson County and the North Jersey commuter towns. Peak dates are the Fourth of July and summer Shore weeks, Thanksgiving, and Christmas through New Year's. Charge a holiday rate and take deposits for those dates. If you board at your own place, add 6.625% sales tax on top of your price.

Check your numbers with the pet sitter rates calculator and the holiday rate calculator.

7Hiring sitters in New Jersey

New Jersey uses the ABC test (N.J.S.A. 43:21-19(i)(6)). A sitter is presumed to be your employee unless you can prove all three parts: you don't control how they work, the work is outside your usual business (or done outside all your places of business), and they run an independent business of their own. Walking dogs for a dog walking company fails part B for most setups, so treat helpers as W-2 employees.

Under New Jersey's misclassification law, the Department of Labor can fine you up to $250 per misclassified sitter for a first violation and up to $1,000 per sitter after that, award the worker up to 5% of their last 12 months of gross earnings, and issue a stop-work order. That is on top of back unemployment and disability contributions.

8FAQ