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

c. 140, Section 54, for anyone acting as a scrap metal processor, or a collector of, dealer in, or keeper of a shop for purchasing, selling, or bartering junk, scrap metal, old metals, or secondhand articles. Applications go on a form the chief prescribes and must state the licensee's name, the nature of the business, and the building or location where it will operate. The fee is $100, though societies, associations, or corporations organized solely for religious or charitable purposes pay nothing, and licenses cannot be transferred without the chief's consent.

Every license expires the following May 1 unless revoked sooner. Section 7A(e) is the operational core: licensees must keep a bound book with consecutively numbered, unerasable pages recording, for every transaction, the seller's name, date of birth, and residence; the date and time of the transaction; the price paid; a description of the article including type, approximate weight, and quantity; the license plate and issuing state of any vehicle used to bring the item in; and a written statement that the seller lawfully possesses the item.

The licensee must also keep a legible copy of the seller's photo ID, retain all records for three years, and keep the book on the premises open to police inspection whenever the business is open. The chief of police or a designee may enter the premises to examine articles, books, or inventory during business hours, and the chief may grant a written exemption from the recordkeeping requirement for a particular transaction on request.