Boston, MA Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)

Section 17-4, tracing to an 1839 ordinance and revised in 1961, licenses 'collectors of, or dealers in and keepers of shops for the purchase, sale or barter of, junk, old metals or second-hand articles' through the Police Commissioner under § 17-4.1, alongside the parallel state licensing authority in M.G.L. c. 140, § 54. Every licensed shopkeeper must keep a purchase log under § 17-4.2 recording a description of each item bought plus the seller's name, age and residence, and the date and hour of purchase; that book and the shop's merchandise must stay open to inspection by the Mayor, City Council, Police Commissioner or their designees at any time.

Section 17-4.3 requires a conspicuous sign at the shop bearing the keeper's name and occupation in large letters. The core consumer-protection rule sits in § 17-4.4: a secondhand-articles dealer cannot resell any item until at least 30 days after purchasing or receiving it, while a junk or old-metal dealer must hold an item at least one week before reselling it, a hold period meant to let stolen property surface before resale. Section 17-4.5 additionally bars displaying secondhand furniture or household effects in any open area around the shop.

The same chapter section separately licenses Weighers of Vessels and Ballast and measurers of wood, bark and grain, with fee schedules set under §§ 17-4.11–17-4.14.