Business license · Massachusetts

Does Your LLC Need a Business License in Massachusetts?

The short answer. We have not confirmed whether Massachusetts requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the Massachusetts Secretary of State and the state's revenue department. Your local government may also require a license for certain activities.

Massachusetts Business License at a Glance

General state business license	Not confirmed
City or county licenses	Local governments license some activities (see Local licenses)
Trade and professional licenses	Massachusetts Division of Occupational Licensure

Read from the government sources listed at the foot of this page, last checked September 30, 2026. See the sources.

Does Massachusetts Require a State Business License?

We have not confirmed whether Massachusetts requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the Massachusetts Secretary of State and the state's revenue department.

City and County Business Licenses

Massachusetts law lets the licensing authorities of cities and towns license certain activities, such as innholders and common victuallers (businesses that serve food). Mass.gov tells new businesses to check with the licensing boards in their city or town to see whether they need a license to operate.

Where Massachusetts points businesses for local requirements.

Professional and Trade Licenses

Massachusetts licenses regulated trades and professions mainly through the Division of Occupational Licensure, which oversees 26 boards of registration and the Office of Public Safety and Inspections. Together they license more than 500,000 individuals, businesses and schools in over 100 trades and professions. Look up Massachusetts license requirements.

Our verified guides for specific trades in this state:

See trade and business license requirements by state for every trade we cover.

Worth Knowing in Massachusetts

A Massachusetts business certificate (often called a DBA), filed with the city or town clerk when a business operates under a name other than its legal name, is not a business license. It makes a public record of the owner's name and address.

Other Massachusetts Registrations to Check

Massachusetts articles of organization, the filing that creates the LLC itself.
Massachusetts Sales and Use Tax Registration Certificate, for a business that sells taxable goods or services.
Massachusetts resale certificate, to buy inventory for resale without paying tax on it.
How to get an EIN, the federal tax ID most LLCs need to open a bank account or hire.

Frequently Asked Questions

: We have not confirmed whether Massachusetts requires a general state business license, so do not assume it does not; check with the Massachusetts Secretary of State and the state's revenue department.
: Massachusetts law lets the licensing authorities of cities and towns license certain activities, such as innholders and common victuallers (businesses that serve food). Mass.gov tells new businesses to check with the licensing boards in their city or town to see whether they need a license to operate.
: Massachusetts licenses regulated trades and professions mainly through the Division of Occupational Licensure, which oversees 26 boards of registration and the Office of Public Safety and Inspections. Together they license more than 500,000 individuals, businesses and schools in over 100 trades and professions.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. It reports what each state's law and agencies say about a general state business license, with the sources this page cites. It cannot tell you which licenses your own business needs: that turns on what the business does, where it operates, and what its city or county requires, and fees and exemptions change between our reviews. Confirm your own position with the state agency named on this page, the city or county where the business is located, and any state board that licenses your trade before you open.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Massachusetts sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so.

malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section2M.G.L. c. 140, s. 2, Innholders and common victuallers; licenses
malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section1M.G.L. c. 140, s. 1, Licensing authorities defined
mass.gov/info-details/starting-a-business-in-massachusettsMass.gov, Starting a business in Massachusetts
mass.gov/info-details/business-certificates-dba-in-massachusettsMass.gov, Business certificates (DBA) in Massachusetts
malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter110/Section5M.G.L. c. 110, s. 5, Certificate of person conducting business under any title other than real name
mass.gov/orgs/division-of-occupational-licensureMass.gov, Division of Occupational Licensure
malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter13/Section8M.G.L. c. 13, s. 8, Division of occupational licensure

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Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.