Boston, MA Business Licensing & Operations: Pawnbrokers (2026)
Key Facts
- License fee
- $100 annually
- Issuing authority
- Boston Police Commissioner
- Statutory basis
- M.G.L. c. 140, § 70
- Section
- Boston Code of Ordinances § 18-1.16(V)
- Last amended
- Ord. 1985 c. 4, § 60
Summary
A pawnbroker operating in Boston needs an annual license from the Police Commissioner, and the city sets that license at $100 in its own fee code. Boston Code of Ordinances § 18-1.16(V) fixes the fee under the authority of Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140, Section 70, the state pawnbroker-licensing statute.
Pawnbroker's license. The fee for a pawnbroker's license granted by the Police Commissioner under M.G.L. Chapter 140, Section 70 shall be $100.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-2: Current through Ordinance 2025 C. 14, passed 11-5-2025).
Full Breakdown
L. " The provision traces to Ord. 1976 c. 11 and was last amended by Ord. 1985 c. 4, § 60. Unlike the massage-establishment and plumbing-permit entries in the same fee schedule, which route through the Inspectional Services Department, this license is issued directly by the Police Commissioner, reflecting Boston's pattern of placing pawnbroker oversight with police rather than building or health inspectors: the same office that separately administers dog licensing and other public-safety-adjacent permits elsewhere in this code. L. Chapter 140, Section 70 itself rather than from city ordinance text.
Boston's own contribution here is narrow but concrete: it names the Police Commissioner as the local licensing authority and sets the dollar amount the city charges to issue and renew that license each year.
Violations & Fines
Section 18-1.16(V) fixes only the $100 annual fee and names the Police Commissioner as issuing authority; it does not print a separate fine schedule for operating without the license. Because the license is issued and renewed by the Police Commissioner under M.G.L. c. 140, § 70, an unlicensed pawnbroker is a police licensing matter handled through that office rather than a distinct penalty clause in this fee chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does Boston's code set pawnbroker operating rules like hold periods?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boston
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