Business Licensing & Operations in Haverhill, MA (2026)
6 verified business licensing & operations rules for Haverhill, Massachusetts, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
In the City of Haverhill, an adult use may operate only by special permit from the Board of Appeals and must sit at least 500 feet from any residential district and 1,000 feet from another adult use. The Zoning Ordinance also bars adult uses from the CBD and from the city's main access corridors, and admits no one under 21.
Haverhill Adult Use Spacing and Permit Rules
Significant RestrictionsHaverhill Zoning Ordinance § 7.9.4, § 7.9.5
§ 7.9.4. Location. ... 1. Adult uses may not be located less than 500 feet from any residential district or 1,000 feet from another adult use. 2. Such use shall not be permitted along primary access ways into the City along Washington Street, Groveland Street, Lincoln Avenue, Water Street, Main Street, Broadway, North Broadway, River Street, Kenoza Avenue, Monument Square, and Hilldale Avenue. ...
Tattoo & Body Modification
Haverhill requires any tattoo, piercing or other body art establishment to hold a permit from the Board of Health before opening. City Code § 11.0 defines body art to include piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding and scarification, but excludes medical procedures such as subdermal implants, which the ordinance says cannot be performed in a body art establishment.
Haverhill Body Art Establishment Permit
Significant RestrictionsHaverhill City Code § 11.0 (Zoning Definitions: Body Art, Body Art Establishment)
BODY ART The practice of physical adornment by permitted establishments and practitioners using, but not limited to, the following techniques: body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding, and scarification. This definition does not include practices that are considered medical procedures by the Board of Registration in Medicine in the Commonwealth, such as implants under the skin whi...
Secondhand Dealers
City Code § 167-1 requires a City Council license, issued by the City Clerk, to deal in junk, old metals or secondhand articles in Haverhill, with detailed recordkeeping, hours, and a graduated fine schedule for violations.
Haverhill Junk & Secondhand Dealer License
Significant RestrictionsHaverhill City Code §§ 167-1, 167-5, 167-9, 167-17
§ 167-1. License required. ... A. No person without a license granted by the City Council and issued by the City Clerk on application therefor shall: (1) Be a dealer in, or keeper of a shop for the purchase, sale or barter of junk, old metals or secondhand articles. (2) Go about picking up or collecting rags, paper, junk, old metal or other waste matter. ... ... § 167-5. Records of purchases re...
Pawnbrokers
Anyone operating as a pawnbroker, old-gold buyer or secondhand-goods dealer in Haverhill needs a City Council license under § 187-1, renewed every May 1. Fees run $100 a year for pawnbrokers and old-gold dealers and $50 for secondhand dealers, and the Council can revoke a license and impose escalating fines for violations.
Haverhill Pawnbroker and Secondhand Dealer License
Significant RestrictionsHaverhill City Code § 187-1
§ 187-1. License required. ... No person shall carry on the business of a pawnbroker or a person licensed to sell old gold or dealer to buy and sell secondhand articles or loan money in the manner and for the purposes specified and defined in § 76 of Chapter 140 of the General Laws and all additions thereto or amendments thereof, except as otherwise modified by law, without first obtaining a pa...
Auto Repair on Residential Property
In the City of Haverhill, commercial auto repair or service is flatly barred as a residential accessory use under Zoning Code § 3.2.3, and even an as-of-right home occupation may not store equipment or park commercial vehicles outside, closing off a home-based repair shop entirely.
Haverhill Home Auto Repair Ban
Heavy RestrictionsHaverhill City Code Ch. 255, § 3.2.3
§ 3.2.3. Residential Accessory Uses. ... The following provisions shall apply to residential accessory uses and structures in the residential districts: ... ... 2. Prohibited Accessory Uses. In the residential districts, the following accessory uses are prohibited: a. Kennels. b. Contractor's yard for the storage of building materials or equipment. c. The storage or keeping of commercial landsc...
Towing Companies
In the City of Haverhill, any company storing towed motor vehicles must hold a Massachusetts DPU towing license, obtain a separate License Commission license approved by the Mayor, Police Chief and Building Inspector, and run a fenced, screened storage yard for at least 25 vehicles.
Haverhill Towing Company Storage License
Significant RestrictionsHaverhill City Code §§ 242-5, 242-6, 242-8
§ 242-5. Applicability. ... Any individual, partnership, corporation, trust or other entity, (hereinafter called "company") engaged in the storage of towed motor vehicles of any kind whatsoever, whether for itself or for others in the course of its business, partially or wholly, shall be subject to the following rules and regulations. § 242-6. State licensing required. The company must be licen...