Methadone Clinics in New Jersey: 42 Licensed Opioid Treatment Programs, by County

What a methadone clinic is

In New Jersey, a methadone clinic is a licensed opioid treatment program (OTP), and for ongoing treatment it is the only place methadone for addiction comes from. A pharmacy cannot fill methadone for addiction, and a regular doctor cannot prescribe it for that purpose.

Buprenorphine (Suboxone, Sublocade) is the opposite case: any practitioner whose DEA registration covers Schedule III can prescribe it. Many OTPs offer both. In our list, 34 of the 42 programs list buprenorphine and 25 list naltrexone (Vivitrol), on their own website or FindTreatment.gov. A program that does not list a medication may still offer it, so ask.

ASAM’s opioid use disorder guideline says withdrawal management on its own, without ongoing treatment, is not a treatment for opioid use disorder and is not recommended. Methadone at an OTP is ongoing treatment. It is a full agonist, so it does not cause precipitated withdrawal, and ASAM’s 2023 clinical considerations say people using fentanyl should be offered all forms of opioid agonist treatment. That makes methadone an option when a buprenorphine start is hard.

Daily visits, take-homes and the 2024 federal rules

The federal rules for OTPs, 42 CFR Part 8, were rewritten in 2024. Admission now rests on a clinician’s individual assessment rather than a required one-year history of addiction. Take-home doses depend on clinical judgment and time in treatment: in the first 14 days, a clinician can allow up to 7 days of take-homes for someone judged able to manage them safely.

Those are federal limits. Each program sets its own policy within them, so two clinics in the same county can answer the take-home question differently. If you work days or live far from the nearest clinic, the take-home policy can matter as much as the distance. Ask the program how often you would need to come in at first.

Licensed methadone clinics by county

In the state license search, SAMHSA’s directory and FindTreatment.gov, we found no outpatient methadone clinic in Bergen, Hunterdon, and Salem counties. Residents there would need a program in a neighboring county; choose a nearby county in the list above to see the closest options.

Getting a first appointment

1. Call a program directly. Ask whether it is taking new patients, what days it does intake, what to bring, and whether it takes your insurance.
2. Call the IME Addictions Access Center at 1-844-276-2777 if you have NJ FamilyCare or no insurance. It answers 24/7, screens you and refers you to treatment.
3. Call ReachNJ at 1-844-732-2465. This is the state’s referral line. A trained specialist answers 24/7 and refers you to a local provider regardless of insurance or ability to pay.

If you are in opioid withdrawal today and no intake slot is open, an emergency department can start buprenorphine. Our hospital detox guide covers what to ask for there.

Paying for methadone treatment

NJ FamilyCare (Medicaid)

40 of the 42 programs accept Medicaid according to their own website or FindTreatment.gov. NJ FamilyCare covers buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. For most NJ FamilyCare members, the state still pays opioid treatment programs directly, so ask the program, not the health plan, about methadone. Opioid treatment programs are scheduled to move into the health plans in January 2027.

Commercial insurance

Fully insured New Jersey plans and the State Health Benefits and School Employees’ plans cannot require prior authorization for the first 180 days per plan year of in-network treatment your own physician, psychologist or psychiatrist finds medically necessary. Self-funded employer plans, Medicare and Medicaid are not covered by that rule. The same law, P.L.2017, c.28, also bars fully insured New Jersey plans and the State Health Benefits and School Employees’ plans from requiring prior authorization during the first 180 days of each plan year for outpatient prescription drugs that treat substance use disorder, buprenorphine included, when your own physician, psychologist or psychiatrist finds them medically necessary. Which commercial plans a program takes varies, so ask the program before intake.

Medicare

Medicare Part B pays enrolled opioid treatment programs a bundled payment that covers FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder, their dispensing and administration, counseling and related services. CMS says Medicare Advantage members and people with both Medicare and Medicaid get OTP services too. Ask whether the program you choose is enrolled in Medicare.

No insurance

Call the IME at 1-844-276-2777. Its financial screening checks whether you can get state-funded treatment. Several programs in the list say on their websites that they offer a sliding scale or help with NJ FamilyCare applications; ask when you call. Our guide to what detox costs in New Jersey walks through each way to pay.

How this list was built

We started from every New Jersey entry in SAMHSA’s Opioid Treatment Program Directory, which lists programs certified to dispense methadone and buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. We matched each one to the state’s NJSAMS license search, which shows whether a program’s New Jersey license includes opioid treatment program services. The NJ Department of Health issues those licenses, under N.J.A.C. 8:43K (subchapter 8 covers opioid treatment programs), in effect since April 6, 2026. We then matched each program to its FindTreatment.gov record for payment types and medications, and checked its own website for its phone number, medications and payers. Where a website would not load or could not be found, the card says so.

Left out, and why:

• Detox and residential programs that hold an OTP certification so they can use methadone or buprenorphine during their own stays. They are not walk-in methadone clinics. Most are in our directory of licensed detox programs.
• The VA New Jersey Health Care System’s opioid treatment program in East Orange, a federal facility outside state licensing that serves eligible veterans. Veterans can ask the VA about it.
• Doctors’ offices that prescribe buprenorphine. They are not OTPs and hold no OTP license.

Phone numbers are each program’s local line from its own website where it shows one. Where it does not, the number comes from the state license or SAMHSA, and the card says so. If a listing is wrong or a program has closed, tell us and we will check it.