Boardwalk Entertainer Permit

Ocean City requires entertainers to obtain a permit to perform on the boardwalk between May 1st and October 31st.  Please note that this ordinance has been revised, effective for the 2024 season and beyond.  Applications can be downloaded here.

Entertainers must print and complete the Boardwalk Entertainer Application and submit it with the $200 permit fee to the Community Services Department. We will not be accepting applications until April 1, 2025.  Permits for the 2025 season will not be issued until April 1, 2025.

Applications for permits can be mailed to City Hall, 861 Asbury Avenue, Ocean City, NJ 08226 for processing before May 23rd, 2025.  After May 23rd, permits and can be obtained at the Sports and Civic Center located off the boardwalk at 6th Street during the designated Boardwalk Entertainer check-in hours.  Entertainers are designated to check-in and sign up from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. nightly, with the exception of Tuesday and Thursday nights, when there are no hours.

The Boardwalk Entertain Program is governed by City ordinance 18-13 BOARDWALK ENTERTAINERS and it states, in summary, the following: 

  1. Permits are required for all performances between May 1stand October 31st shall take place only within the two designated entertainment zones listed below:
    1. Entertainment Zone 1 – 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th Streets.
    2. Entertainment Zone 2 – 12th, 13th and 14th Streets.
  2. An entertainer must fill out the entertainers application form and submit it to the Department of Community Services.  Applications for entertainers under the age of 18 years must be signed by both the entertainer and the entertainer’s legal guardian.
  3. Sound produced by an entertainer (or group of entertainers) shall not be audible 30 feet from the Boardwalk railing adjacent to which the entertainer(s) is/are performing. No electronic amplifiers are permitted for performances. An electronic instrument, such as a keyboard, is permitted provided that the music is not audible thirty (30') feet from the Boardwalk railing adjacent to which the entertainer is performing.
  4. The use of any sharp or dangerous weapons, with the exception of sword swallowers, is prohibited.
  5. Performances should be appropriate for a general audience and profanity is prohibited. Nudity is not permitted. Performances involving animals, paints, markers, pencils, charcoal, fire, drums, balloons or crayons are not permitted.
  6. The hat or other receptacle for donation collection must remain stationary. No sign requesting contributions shall exceed eight inches by eight inches in size.
  7. A Boardwalk Entertainer license shall entitle a performer to perform on the Boardwalk on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; and Sundays.  The right to perform is subject to other permitted uses which may take precedence over a street performer license.  Examples of other permitted uses include, but are not limited to, Special Events such as Family Night, Character Night, Mummers Night and parades.
  8. Entertainers are permitted to perform on the public Boardwalk at designated performance locations on designated days between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. 
  9. No entertainer(s) shall remain at any said location for more than 4 hours per forty-eight-hour period.
  10. Entertainers must check in prior to all performances. Check in will be located at a City facility designated by the Department of Community Services. Check in shall be no earlier than 6:00 p.m.  Entertainers will be assigned a performance location by a designee of the Community Services Department daily upon check in.
  11. The application must be verified before a notary public or other officer authorized to administer oaths.
  12. The fee is $200 per entertainer.  A group such as a band shall be required to pay one annual fee.  A group cannot exceed four (4) individuals.
  13. If a badge is lost, the Department of Community Services shall issue a replacement badge on payment by the licensee of a fee of $15.
  14. A street entertainer may not set any fee or require any donation for his or her performance; or suggest any minimum or maximum donation.

The complete city ordinance can be viewed here.  Please be advised that this application must be notarized before a permit can be issued.  The form does not need to be notarized in Ocean City, however the City of Ocean City can notarize this form (complimentary) during normal business hours, Monday-Friday, 8:45 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at City Hall by the City Clerk's Office.

Updated 2/8/2024