Pet care | New Jersey | Licensing updates
New Jersey Considers Groomer Licensing, School Regulation, and Cameras
New Jersey S387 and S462 could reshape professional grooming and animal-care facilities, but both measures remain proposals rather than current law.
- Label S387 and S462 as proposed legislation in all student and business communications.
- Schools should map how written testing, practical testing, instructor licensure, and school approval could affect curricula.
- Businesses can assess camera coverage, storage, privacy, incident records, cages, water, and drying practices without claiming the bills are effective.
- Recheck official bill histories before making purchasing or enrollment decisions.
Published: 2026-09-01 · Reviewed: 2026-09-01
Official context
New Jersey S387 is proposed legislation that would create individual pet-groomer licensing, including minimum age and character standards and a Board-approved written examination plus practical demonstration. It would also license grooming schools, require programs to be taught by licensed groomers, register grooming businesses, and establish insurance, animal-housing, water, sanitation, incident-record, camera, and 60-day video-retention provisions. S462 is a separate proposal for continuous cameras in animal-care areas at grooming businesses, daycare and boarding facilities, pet shops, shelters, and pounds, with recordings retained for at least 30 days.
What this means
Neither bill is current law. S387 would prohibit drying cages and generally require separate cages for animals not being groomed; S462 would require footage access for specified government or law-enforcement investigations and proposes civil penalties up to $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for later offenses, with each day potentially separate. The different 60-day and 30-day retention periods would need to be reconciled or applied as enacted if both bills advanced. Groomers and schools should monitor official action without advertising a New Jersey groomer license or exam that does not yet exist.
Official sources
- https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2026/S0500/387_I1.PDF
- https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2026/S0500/462_I1.PDF
- https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/S387
- https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/S462
Licensing & Industry Updates is an educational summary of official public communications. It is not legal advice, and filing decisions should be checked against the current board page or rule text.