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PDC Sales & Redemptions
How to Buy a PDC Certificate
How to Redeem a PDC Certificate

How to Buy a PDC Certificate

Finding a Willing Seller. There are several ways for buyers to locate a willing seller. Possibly the best way, however, is to focus on certificate owners who have already expressed an interest in selling PDCs. The PDC Bank maintains a registry of people who have severed PDCs and received a PDC Certificate. These people are not only interested in selling their PDCs but the sale itself can be completed very quickly since the precise number of PDCs has been established and the severance process has been completed. A list of interested sellers can be found by clicking here.  The Bank also maintains information on recent sales prices of PDCs, which may be useful in negotiating and completing a sale. To view recent sales prices, click here.

Completing a Purchase.  To complete a purchase, the buyer and seller agree to terms and document the transaction through a written contract or bill of sale.  A sample sales agreement can be found by clicking here.

Please be sure Owner's Signature is completed on front of Certificate. Unsigned certificates will not be accepted by PDC Bank for sale or redemption.

The left-hand column on the reverse side of the original PDC certificate (entitled "Sale, Conveyance or Transfer of Pinelands Development Credits") must be completed and signed by both the buyer and the seller.

  • Item #5, "Interest Secured," will be the percentage of the face value of the PDC Certificate being sold.  For example, 100% would be entered if the entire amount of PDCs is being sold, 50% if half the PDCs are being sold, etc.
  • Item #6, "Consideration," will be the amount of the sale.

The Certificate must then be returned to the PDC Bank within 10 business days. Upon receipt, the PDC Bank will issue a new certificate to the new owner of the PDCs. If some, but not all, of the rights shown on the front of the certificate are purchased, the PDC Bank will issue new certificates to the buyer and seller identifying the number of rights each owns.

Options.  Prior to completing a sale, a buyer may wish to enter into an option to purchase PDCs. Such an arrangement may be structured to permit the buyer to defer purchase costs until he or she needs to redeem the rights. Remember that an option represents an interest in the PDCs and must be reported to the Bank within 10 days. The Bank will issue a new PDC certificate in the name of the current owner but the existence of the option will also be noted. This helps to protect the holder of the option from a subsequent transfer without his or her agreement.

Joint Ventures and Other Partnership Arrangements. Payment for a sale may take many forms other than a cash transaction. Buyers and sellers may agree, for example, on an arrangement where the seller receives proceeds from the development on which the PDCs are to be redeemed. Those types of arrangements can be freely negotiated between the parties but, when complete, must be reported to the PDC Bank As is the case when the ownership interest in PDCs changes, the Bank will issue a new certificate which identifies the shared interest held by each of the parties.

Please keep in mind that the original PDC Certificate must be used for all transactions.

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How to Redeem a PDC Certificate

PDCs are redeemed when a project that uses PDCs receives final municipal approval. For subdivisions and site plans, this is when the final subdivision or final site plan is approved by the municipal Planning Board. For projects that don't need subdivision or site plan approval, PDCs are redeemed when the municipal zoning or building permit is issued.

Upon receiving final approval, the developer must complete the right-hand column (entitled "Redemption of Pinelands Development Credits") on the reverse side of the original PDC Certificate and obtain the signature of the appropriate municipal official.  In many cases, this will be the municipal zoning officer, planning board secretary, planning and zoning administrator or community development director. It can also be the township administrator or the municipal clerk. The land use office (planning, zoning, building permits), administrator, or the municipal clerk in the municipality where you plan to use the PDCs can provide this information.

Once the rear panel has been filled out and signed, the developer must return the original PDC Certificate to the PDC Bank. This must be done within 10 days of receiving the municipal approval. If some, but not all, of the rights shown on the front of the certificate are being redeemed, the PDC Bank will issue a new certificate for the difference.

The developer must also send a copy of the PDC Certificate, along with notice of the final municipal approval, to the Pinelands Commission at P.O. Box 359, New Lisbon, NJ, 08064.

To protect applicants, the Bank will not formally redeem the PDCs until the municipal approval has been reviewed by the Pinelands Commission and allowed to take effect. The Bank will then officially notify the applicant and the municipal official who signed the PDC Certificate. At that time, the PDCs are considered to have been redeemed. They may never be used again. 

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