The new gubernatorial administration in New Jersey has brought new guidelines, priorities, and expectations for local permitting. In the days following her inauguration, Governor Mikie Sherrill issued Executive Order No. 5, a sweeping directive aimed at modernizing and digitizing permitting across New Jersey. EO-5 emphasizes standardizing processes, reducing approval delays, increasing transparency, and improving coordination across agencies, while also directing the state to examine how AI can be used to streamline regulatory review.

While the order is directed at the state government level, its impact will also be felt in town halls and city and county offices. As the state sharpens its focus on turnaround times, reporting, and cross-agency coordination, local governments will face growing pressure to modernize permitting workflows, especially those still relying on manual or paper-based systems.

Regardless of the system your municipality or county relies on today, EO-5 has practical implications for New Jersey communities, making it essential to understand the key elements of this new policy.

Overview of Executive Order No. 5

The directive outlines a broad modernization agenda designed to reshape how permitting functions across New Jersey. At a high level, it centers on five interconnected priorities at the state level:

• Digitization of permitting processes: Moving away from paper-based and fragmented workflows, towards structured digital systems. This includes providing online visibility with public-facing permit status dashboards.
• Reducing approval delays: Identifying bottlenecks, clarifying what constitutes a complete application, increasing completeness reviews, and establishing clearer “shot clock” processing timeframes.
• Improving interdepartmental coordination: Encouraging stronger collaboration across agencies, including better coordination between subcode officials, planning and zoning boards, and related departments.
• Increasing transparency and accountability: Expanding status tracking, reporting, and measurable turnaround times that make permitting performance both visible and public.
• Driving statewide consistency: Standardizing permit types, approval steps, documentation expectations, and timelines to create more uniform practices across jurisdictions.

These priorities underscore how important permitting progress is as a component of the economic development strategy of New Jersey and real progress is already underway. The administration has announced the development of a real-time permitting dashboard that will allow applicants to track the status of their permits and help state agencies identify bottlenecks. Additionally, the Governor has directed state agencies to inventory all permits and approvals to assess outdated or duplicative requirements — another concrete step toward streamlining review processes.

With clear directives and rapid implementation at the state level, local counties and municipalities should expect increased alignment, higher visibility into permitting performance, and rising expectations around modernization. Notably, these changes come at a time when many communities are already facing increasing permit requests without changes in staffing. With demand growing even as resources remain constrained, New Jersey municipalities need to stay ahead of the curve.

What This Means for New Jersey Communities

Executive Order No. 5 is directed at state agencies and does not require immediate action at the municipal level. EO-5 does imply, however, that local governments will need to adopt changes soon.  The order specifically calls for the  state to “work with local governments to integrate and streamline local permitting processes and state permitting processes where possible,” encourages participation in the statewide “Permitting Dashboard,” and directs the state to “identify and propose legislative fixes” to improve efficiency and accountability.

EO-5 signals a clear state-level focus on improved performance, transparency, coordination, and exploration of emerging technologies like AI. As these priorities evolve, local governments will also feel pressure to modernize workflows and align with statewide expectations.

There are two key areas where municipalities should prepare to feel the greatest impact: day-to-day operations and executive-level leadership strategy.

Operational Implications

For many local communities, EO-5 will heighten expectations around how permitting is managed day to day, including:

• Pressure to move off paper-based workflows as digital tracking and standardized processes become the norm for state agencies.
• Greater need for reliable tracking and reporting on application status, review stages, and approval timelines
• Increased visibility into turnaround times, making bottlenecks easier to identify and harder to ignore.
• Potential state oversight or reporting requirements as statewide dashboards and metrics evolve.
• Exploration and adoption of AI and emerging technologies to streamline reviews, automate routine checks, and improve efficiency, while maintaining public safety and environmental protections.
  

In short, local permitting operations may become more data-driven, more transparent, and more closely aligned with state-level performance goals.

Leadership Implications

EO-5 elevates permitting beyond the building department to a strategic leadership issue. Municipalities should prepare for the following:

• Stronger coordination between IT and permitting departments as systems modernization becomes a priority.
• Budget planning for digital permitting and plan review systems may need to be prioritized earlier than expected.
• Change management across departments — from planning and zoning to inspections and engineering — will be critical to ensure consistent adoption of any new policies or technology
• Better community experience with clearer communication to residents and contractors regarding timelines, application status, and next steps. 

Given the current limitations of many local permitting systems, EO-5 presents municipal and county leaders with a chance to embrace this directive as a long-term modernization opportunity rather than a compliance obligation. 

Common Gaps in Current Permitting Processes and Where Existing Solutions Fall Short 

Many of the operational gaps EO-5 seeks to address at the state level will feel familiar to New Jersey municipalities that rely on manual processes, email chains, or legacy systems. In many communities, permitting still involves paper applications or emailed PDFs that require staff re-entry, disconnected systems across planning, zoning, engineering, and inspections, limited real-time status visibility for applicants, inconsistent plan review workflows with informal handoffs, and minimal reporting on approval timelines. These challenges are well acknowledged among local leaders, but hard to reconcile.

Historically, municipalities in New Jersey have had limited options when evaluating modernization. Simply moving forms online, though, does not meet the heightened expectations of EO-5, which calls for deeper coordination, measurable performance, and smarter use of technology.

That kind of modernization requires capabilities that most legacy systems are not designed to provide. This includes the ability to:

• Integrate permitting within broader community development workflows, creating one system for permitting, planning and zoning, code enforcement, and licensing
• Provide an AI-powered community assistant to help residents and contractors quickly find permitting documents and answer questions about local requirements and code
• Deliver automatic email and online notifications throughout the review and approval process
• Support fully customizable workflows that reflect how each municipality actually operates
• Enable flexible file submissions in whatever format is required, including email, portal uploads, or flat file transfers
• Leverage AI-powered AutoCheck capabilities to automatically catch issues early on and assist with faster, more consistent plan review
• Offer real-time insights and customizable reporting to provide visibility into permit volume, turnaround times, backlogs, inspections, and revenue without manual spreadsheets 

Modernization is no longer just about replacing paper; it requires smarter, more connected systems that align with EO-5’s call to incorporate advanced technology, including AI, into government workflows. GovWell provides software that’s fit for the heightened expectations of EO-5 and is built specifically for small and mid-sized communities. Its online applications, insight dashboards, AI-powered plan checks, and fully integrated workflows help modernize municipal and county permitting and planning in one comprehensive system.

As municipalities evaluate how to respond to the direction set by Executive Order 5, now is the time to assess systems and rethink how permitting can function more efficiently and transparently for the long term.

How New Jersey Municipalities Can Prepare For Executive Order No. 5 Now

The moment to modernize has arrived. Municipalities that take proactive steps now will be better positioned when formal reporting expectations, technology upgrades, or legislative updates come to pass

Here are the steps municipalities can take today to be better prepared tomorrow:

• Audit your current permitting workflow to understand how applications move from intake to final approval‍
• Map end-to-end approval timelines across departments to identify delays and unnecessary friction in the handoff process‍
• Identify bottlenecks that slow reviews or create inconsistent applicant experiences‍
• Evaluate digital permitting and plan review tools to determine whether existing systems can meet new expectations for transparency, coordination, and the integration of AI ‍
• Align leadership around modernization goals, ensuring IT, permitting, planning, and executive teams are working from a shared roadmap

Even a simple internal review can clarify where processes are working, and when modernization could meaningfully improve the permitting experience  for residents and contractors. 

The Opportunity Ahead

Executive Order No. 5 represents more than an administrative reform at the state level. For municipalities and counties across New Jersey, it presents an opportunity to improve the public experience, reduce internal friction, standardize processes, and build operational resilience.

As expectations around transparency, turnaround times, and coordination increase, municipalities that modernize thoughtfully will be better positioned to support development and serve residents effectively and on their own terms.

GovWell is here to support local communities across New Jersey. We’re closely tracking how municipalities across the state are responding to EO-5 and what modernization strategies are emerging. If your community is evaluating next steps, talk with our team to learn how smarter, AI-enabled permitting workflows can support your long-term goals.