New Jersey Credit Card Surcharge Law
New Jersey credit card surcharge law allows surcharging, capped at your actual cost to process that card, no more. The rule is written into state statute, not just agency guidance, and it comes with a real disclosure standard: the customer sees the amount before they pay, not just a notice that a fee might apply.
New Jersey Allows Credit Card Surcharging
Capped at actual cost, written directly into state law.
New Jersey allows credit card surcharges, and it caps them the same way a handful of other states do: at your actual cost to process that specific credit card payment, with no fixed percentage set in the statute itself. Charge more than acceptance actually costs your store and you are outside the law, not just outside best practice.
That cap comes from P.L. 2023, c.146, signed August 18, 2023 and effective immediately. It replaced New Jersey's older, broader anti-surcharge statute with the actual-cost standard that governs today. As of July 2026 that law is active, enforced, and has not been struck down or paused by any court.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Status | Allowed with limits |
| Cap | Your actual processing cost |
| Where the rule lives | N.J.S.A. 56:8-156.1 and 56:8-156.2 (P.L. 2023, c.146) |
| Disclosure | The surcharge amount, shown before the customer pays |
New Jersey is one of 47 states where surcharging is legal. See the full table at credit card surcharge laws by state.
State Cap, Network Rules on Top
New Jersey's actual-cost ceiling and the card networks' own caps both apply at once.
-
Visa: 3% Cap
Visa caps credit card surcharges at 3 percent nationwide.
-
Mastercard: 4% Cap
Mastercard caps credit card surcharges at 4 percent nationwide.
-
Debit Never Surcharges
Debit, prepaid, and gift cards can never carry a surcharge, in New Jersey or anywhere else.
-
Disclosure Is Mandatory
The customer sees the surcharge amount before they pay, every channel, every time.
Measured Against Your Real Cost
New Jersey's ceiling is your actual cost to process the card, not a percentage written for every merchant to hit. Clearing the Visa or Mastercard cap does not automatically clear New Jersey's standard, because the state measures against what acceptance actually costs your dealership. Your merchant statement, not a flat rate, is where that number lives.
P.L. 2023, c.146, Enforced Today
This is a real law with real penalties behind it, not agency guidance.
New Jersey's surcharge rule lives at N.J.S.A. 56:8-156.1 and 56:8-156.2, enacted as P.L. 2023, c.146, signed August 18, 2023, and it took effect immediately, replacing New Jersey's older, broader anti-surcharge statute with the actual-cost standard that governs today. As of July 2026 nothing about that core rule has changed.
The state's Division of Consumer Affairs spells out what disclosure actually means, in an FAQ last updated March 2026. The surcharge amount has to be shown before the customer pays. A sign that only says a surcharge might apply does not cut it. In person, that means a sign at the door and another at the cashier window. Online and mobile checkout needs a clear on-screen notice before the customer pays. Telephone sales need a verbal notice before the card is run. The state does not mandate a particular sign or screen format, just that the amount is disclosed before the charge happens.
Enforcement runs through the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. A first violation carries civil penalties up to $10,000, and subsequent violations up to $20,000, on top of private lawsuits that can cost three times the actual damages. The Attorney General and the Division of Consumer Affairs have already issued warning letters to businesses that failed to disclose properly. This is a live, enforced statute, not a rule sitting unused on the books. It reaches credit cards only. Debit and gift cards sit outside it entirely.
Two Different Bills, Two Different Targets
Here is exactly where each one stands, and exactly what neither one is yet.
Two companion bills, S595 and A4807, would end credit card surcharging in New Jersey outright, while still letting businesses offer disclosed cash discounts and card minimums. S595 was introduced January 13, 2026 and referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. A4807, its Assembly companion, was introduced March 23, 2026 and sits at its first committee referral. Neither bill has had a committee vote as of July 2026.
Not Law Today
S595 and A4807 are both parked at their first committee referral, with no votes since. Neither has cleared a committee, neither has reached a floor vote, and neither changes anything about how you run a surcharge program in New Jersey right now. The actual-cost rule under P.L. 2023, c.146 still governs.
A separate bill, S4107, has moved further and targets something different. It passed the full Senate 40 to 0 on June 18, 2026 and now sits in an Assembly committee. S4107 would extend New Jersey's surcharge ban to debit and gift cards only. It does not touch the credit card rule at all. Debit, prepaid, and gift cards already never carry a surcharge under card network rules everywhere in the country, so S4107 would mainly write into state law what the networks already require. As of July 2026 it is still in committee, not signed, not in effect. We track the bills and the state, not your front desk.
What This Means at the Counter
The counter needs three things right, and none of them require a lawyer on standby.
New Jersey's cap is measured against what card acceptance actually costs your store, and your merchant statement is where that number lives. Debit never carries a surcharge, in New Jersey or anywhere else, no exceptions and no workarounds. The customer sees the amount before they pay: signs at the door and the cashier window, on screen for online sales and text-to-pay links, said out loud on phone payments. Card-not-present payments run through the program with the same required disclosure. Skip the vague notice and put a real number in front of the customer. We track the state, not your front desk.
Payments post straight to the repair order in CDK Drive, so the surcharge line shows up where your advisors already work. See the full mechanics on the surcharge program page, or walk through exactly what happens at the terminal on the how it works page.
Straight Answers on New Jersey Rules
Yes. New Jersey allows credit card surcharges under N.J.S.A. 56:8-156.1 and 56:8-156.2, enacted as P.L. 2023, c.146. The surcharge cannot exceed your actual cost of processing that card, and disclosure of the amount is required before the customer pays.
There is no fixed percentage written into New Jersey's statute. The cap is your actual cost of accepting the card. Visa's 3 percent ceiling and Mastercard's 4 percent ceiling still apply on top of that, as separate network rules.
The surcharge amount has to be shown before the customer pays, not just a notice that one might apply. In person that means a sign at the door and another at the cashier window. Online and mobile checkout needs a clear on-screen notice, and phone sales need a verbal notice before the card is run.
No. Debit, prepaid, and gift cards can never carry a surcharge, in New Jersey or any other state, under card network rules. A pending bill, S4107, would write that same ban into New Jersey state law for debit and gift cards, but it is not law yet.
Two bills, S595 and A4807, would end credit card surcharging in New Jersey outright. As of July 2026 both are parked in committee with no votes. It is not law today. For pricing and program questions beyond state law, see the FAQ page.
Straight Answers on New Jersey
Know Where Your Dealership Stands
Book a demo: your New Jersey rules, your cap, and how the program handles disclosure at your counter, walked through on a real repair order. 100+ franchise dealerships nationwide · 20 years in payments · Houston, TX.
Book a Demo