Business Licensing & Operations in Massachusetts (2026)

Newton prohibits adult entertainment uses in every zoning district except by City Council special permit, and even then…

Boston's zoning code forbids adult bookstores and adult entertainment uses in every district citywide except within the…

Brockton confines adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters, adult paraphernalia and video stores, and nude…

Chelsea confines adult entertainment establishments to the Highway Business (BH) and Shopping Center (SC) districts and…

Fall River requires a Zoning Board of Appeals special permit for any adult use in districts that allow one, plus a…

Leominster confines adult entertainment and sexually oriented businesses to the Commercial district and keeps them at…

Lynn requires a Special Permit from the City Council before any adult bookstore, adult club, adult theater, adult video…

New Bedford allows adult entertainment establishments only by special permit from the City Council, and only within…

Quincy requires a special permit for adult uses and bars locating one within 1,500 feet of a residential district…

Revere confines every adult entertainment establishment, adult bookstore, adult video store, adult motion picture…

Springfield confines adult entertainment businesses to Business A, B and C districts by City Council Tier 3 Special…

Taunton confines adult entertainment businesses to Industrial Districts and requires a special permit from the…

Springfield requires anyone practicing massage or operating a bath, vapor, pool, or shower establishment for hire to…

Every massage establishment in Boston must hold an annual license from the Inspectional Services Department before…

Massage establishments licensed under Chapter 140, Section 51 of the Massachusetts General Laws must follow two…

Every tattoo, piercing or body-art studio in Chelsea needs a Board of Health establishment permit, and every…

Fall River confines tattoo and piercing (body art) businesses to the Commercial Mill District and requires a Zoning…

New Bedford requires a Zoning Board of Appeals special permit for any body art establishment, bars them from…

Quincy, Massachusetts (Norfolk County) requires a Health Department license for every tattoo or piercing practitioner…

Revere allows tattoo and body art establishments only in the TED district and only by special permit from the city…

Somerville requires every tattoo, piercing, and body art shop to hold a Board of Health establishment permit, plus a…

Springfield requires an annual $125 permit from Health and Human Services before any body art establishment may…

Lynn zones tattoo parlors and other body art studios as a 'Retail and personal services' use, permitted by right in…

Massachusetts heavily restricts vape retail under M.G.L. c. 270 § 28, banning flavored vape products statewide and…

Every Boston retailer selling tobacco products must hold a city "Permit for Location and Sales" from the Boston Public…

Selling tobacco products anywhere in Cambridge requires a tobacco sales permit from the Inspectional Services…

No one may sell tobacco products in Chelsea without an annual Tobacco Product Sales Permit from the Board of Health…

Fall River requires a City Board of Health permit to sell tobacco or nicotine delivery products, including…

Lynn's 2025 Zoning Ordinance treats vape and e-cigarette shops, plus smoke shops, hookah bars and cigar bars, as…

Newton requires every retailer selling tobacco or nicotine delivery products, including vape shops and e-cigarette…

Worcester requires every tobacco retailer, including sellers of electronic cigarettes and vaping products, to hold a…

Quincy, Massachusetts (Norfolk County) bars selling tobacco products over the counter or from vending machines without…

Any retailer selling tobacco or electronic cigarettes over the counter or through vending machines in Revere needs a…

Somerville retailers, including vape and e-cigarette sellers, need an annual Tobacco Product Sales Permit from the…

Every tobacco retailer in Springfield, Massachusetts needs a $100-a-year permit from the Health and Human Services…

Brockton requires secondhand dealers and collectors of precious metals, gems, electronics and other used goods to hold…

Anyone dealing in junk, old metals, or secondhand articles in Fall River, Massachusetts must hold a City Council…

Secondhand and junk shops in Lawrence need a city council license under state law before buying or selling used goods…

Anyone buying, selling or bartering junk, old metals, precious metals or secondhand articles in Leominster needs a city…

New Bedford limits junk, old-metals, and secondhand-article dealer licenses under section 15-38 to applicants who have…

Quincy, Massachusetts requires anyone who buys, sells or stores junk, old metal or secondhand articles to hold a Board…

Revere secondhand dealers and collectors need a license from the license commission and may not pay more than $40 cash…

Somerville requires anyone buying used goods for resale to hold a second hand dealer's license from the city council…

Springfield, MA requires a Police Department license before anyone can run a shop buying, selling, or bartering…

Taunton requires anyone who buys, sells or barters junk, old metal, coins, antiques or secondhand articles to hold a…

Boston requires a Police Commissioner license to buy, sell or deal in junk, old metals or secondhand articles under…

Cambridge requires anyone who deals in junk, old metals, secondhand goods or rags to hold an annual license from the…

Anyone who buys, barters or stores junk, old metal, rags or other secondhand articles in Chelsea needs a license from…

Newton requires anyone dealing in secondhand articles, old metals, or junk to hold a license from the chief of police…

Worcester requires a $100 chief-of-police license for anyone dealing in junk, scrap metal, old metals, or secondhand…

Somerville bans pawnbroking outright under City Code Sec. 8-60. No person may operate as a pawnbroker anywhere in the…

Fall River, Massachusetts requires anyone operating a pawnshop to hold a City Council license, keep a detailed…

Lawrence pawnbrokers need a city council license issued every three years for $300.00, plus a $300.00 bond under state…

Leominster pawnbrokers pay a $100 fee to the city clerk for their license under the Chapter 12 fee schedule, and since…

New Bedford's city council licenses pawnbrokers and can revoke a license at pleasure under section 15-33, which also…

Quincy, Massachusetts (Norfolk County) requires anyone operating a pawnbroking business to hold a license from the…

Revere caps pawnbroker licenses at one for every 10,000 residents and runs each license from May 1 to April 30. Every…

Springfield, MA pawnbrokers need a $200 Police Department license and a CORI background check before doing business.

Worcester caps pawnbroker licenses at six citywide, issued by the chief of police under state law (G.L. c. 140, §§…

A pawnbroker operating in Boston needs an annual license from the Police Commissioner, and the city sets that license…

Brockton caps pawnbroker loan interest at three percent per month, or thirty-six percent a year, under Sec. 11-300…

Cambridge pawnbrokers operate under a Board of License Commissioners license issued per state pawnbroking law, plus a…

Pawnbrokers and precious metals dealers in Chelsea must be licensed by the Licensing Commission under Code of…

Taunton requires anyone acting as a pawnbroker to hold an annual license from the Municipal Council, issued by the City…

Chelsea's zoning table flatly excludes motor vehicle repair, washing and waxing establishments from every residential…

Lynn's Zoning Ordinance flatly excludes autobody work, auto part sales, mobile mechanical repair and autobody repair…

Newton's home business exemption specifically refuses to cover repair shops: Zoning Ordinance Sec. 6.7.3.A excludes 'a…

Quincy's zoning ordinance flatly prohibits commercial auto repair or service as an accessory use in every residence…

Revere's zoning code puts vehicle repair on the short list of home occupations it prohibits outright. Section 17.44.030…

Somerville's Zoning Ordinance bans auto repair as a home-based business outright: §9.2.14.b lists 'auto or appliance…

Springfield, Massachusetts bans motor vehicle sales, rental, service, repair, painting and body work as home-based…

Brockton licenses motor vehicle repair and auto body shops only where the building inspector certifies the property…

Worcester requires an annual fire-chief license before anyone, including a homeowner, operates a garage, auto repair…

Leominster allows home occupations, including a home-based repair business, by right in residential districts under…

Only companies on the Brockton police chief's official tow list can perform police-requested tows, capped at ten…

New Bedford requires any motor vehicle repair shop, auto body shop, or towing service to hold a license from the…

Fall River, Massachusetts police may order any illegally parked vehicle towed under MGL c. 40, § 22D authority; the…

Quincy, Massachusetts requires towing companies to notify Quincy Police before any trespass tow from private property…

When Revere police order a vehicle towed from a public way under the city's tow-away authority, Revere Municipal Code §…

Somerville's Traffic Commission authorizes police-directed towing from public ways under M.G.L. c. 40, § 22D, capping…