BPU defined a commercial building as a building with a tax assessment classification of Class 4A (Commercial) and Class 4C (Residential).  BPU estimated the square footage using three datasets: i) State's Tax Assessment Database, MOD-IV, ii) Microsoft Satellite Footprint data, and iii) NJ Geographic Information Network LIDAR (3-dimensional) data.  Please note that condos and co-ops are not covered, while state-owned buildings are covered.

If your property is a single parcel of a multiple parcel building, such as a mall or professional office, the building or facility operator is responsible for completing the benchmarking submission. While your parcel may be less than 25,000 square feet, the building as a whole is greater than 25,000 square feet. If you received a benchmarking notice, please forward it to your building or facility operator.

To check if your building is covered by the law, please download and search the Covered Buildings Spreadsheet.

Exemptions

Building owners or operators may apply for and may be eligible for an exemption from the benchmarking requirement under the following conditions:

• New Buildings – New buildings must be operational for a full calendar year before a building owner is required to benchmark that Covered Building.  The New Jersey tax assessment database, MOD-IV, will be used to qualify new buildings as operational for purposes of benchmarking. A commercial building will not be added to the Covered Buildings list until the second year after the year-built, as listed in the MOD-IV database.

• Demolitions – Recently- or soon-to-be-demolished buildings may be removed from the Covered Buildings list, provided that the building owner submits a certificate of approval for demolition.

• Unoccupied – If a building is unoccupied for a full year (365 days), the building owner may receive an exemption, provided that the building owner submits an affidavit or certification of non-occupancy. 

• Foreclosure or Bankruptcy – If an action for foreclosure or bankruptcy has been filed during a particular reporting year, the building owner may apply to receive an exemption for the given reporting year.

• Other Conditions – Certain other situations for good cause may be removed from the Covered Buildings list (e.g., the building’s size falls below the threshold, there is an error in the Covered Buildings list, or an unregulated utility does not apply the 4/50 rule and provide aggregated building-level data and refuses to provide individual data even with tenant consent), and after providing appropriate evidence justifying such removal.

Property Sales: Building owners, if your building was sold before 2023, please submit an exemption request. If you sold the building or made an addition during 2023, you must still benchmark and submit data by the submission deadline for the given program year.

To apply for an exemption, please follow these steps:

1. Gather appropriate evidence for the exemption in the form of a pdf.

• Complete an Exemption Request Form.

1. Click on the "Submit Ticket" button when the form is completed.