11 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page, and what the Census counts of bars in Massachusetts say.
11 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 6Set up the business. Now: Certificate of organization (LLC) and the annual report
0 of 11 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Members keep a dated, noted plan for each saved location in the workspace.
1Set up the business0 of 3
File online through the Corporations Division. The certificate names a resident agent with a Massachusetts street address and at least one manager or authorized person. Massachusetts is one of the most expensive states to form and keep an LLC in; a missed annual report leads to administrative dissolution and a $100 reinstatement fee on top of the reports owed.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed whenever the business trades under any name other than the owner’s legal name or the LLC’s registered name. The owners sign in front of the clerk or a notary, and the certificate is filed in every town where the business keeps an office. The certificate is a registration, not a license to operate.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Needed to hire, to open a business bank account and for the MassTaxConnect registration. Issued at once online.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Register online before the first sale. Retail sales carry the 6.25% sales tax and the registration certificate must be displayed. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops and bakeries selling prepared food collect the 6.25% meals tax plus the 0.75% local option meals excise in the cities and towns that have adopted it, all filed on the same return. Withholding is registered on the same account once you hire.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Massachusetts issues no general business license and most towns have no mercantile license either. The city or town is still the licensing authority for the trade-specific licenses: the common victualler license for anywhere that serves food at tables, liquor, lodging, entertainment, kennels and the Sunday and holiday openings. Boston runs these through its Licensing Board and Inspectional Services Department. Ask the clerk before signing the lease.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Confirm the zoning allows your use before signing; a change of use or any build-out needs a building permit and inspections, and the certificate of occupancy comes after the final inspections. The board of health, the licensing authority and the liquor license all ask for it, and a restaurant also needs the fire department’s sign-off.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Get the permits for your kind of businessOpens after step 3
Submit the plan review with the menu, floor plan and equipment list to the board of health before building out or converting a space, pass the pre-opening inspection, then post the permit. Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream shops are all food establishments under the code. Boston issues the permit through Inspectional Services after the certificate of occupancy and the fire inspection.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Every food establishment has on staff a certified food protection manager from an accredited program, and that same person must hold the Massachusetts allergen awareness certificate. The board of health asks for copies of both with the permit application, and the approved allergen poster must be displayed in the employee work area. The person in charge must be able to show food safety knowledge at every inspection.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Any place that cooks or serves food to be eaten on the premises, with seating, needs a common victualler license from the local licensing authority before opening, on top of the board of health permit. Most towns route the application past the building, fire, health and police departments and the treasurer first. A take-out-only counter with no seats usually does not need one; a liquor license always comes with one.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Alcohol permitsOpens after step 4
The local authority publishes notice, holds a public hearing and votes; the ABCC then approves the license after its own review of the owners and the premises. Section 12 requires liquor liability insurance of $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence before the license issues. The license comes with a common victualler license and the premises must serve food. Boston sits outside the section 17 formula under its own cap. A license cannot be held until the certificate of occupancy and the food permit are in hand.
Fee
Members
Renewal
Members
Official page
Members
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Before the first hireOpens after step 5
Workers’ compensation insurance is required for every employer with any employee, even one part-time worker, and must be posted; the Department of Industrial Accidents issues stop work orders and daily fines to uninsured businesses. Report each new hire to the Department of Revenue within 14 days of the start date. Massachusetts also has an earned sick time law that applies from the first hire.
The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the bars already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
The full reportWhether the rules allow a bar at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
No account. The bar check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
Corporations Division LLC pages and filing fee schedule; 950 CMR 112.00; M.G.L. c. 156C; M.G.L. c. 110, section 5; town clerk business certificate pages (Milford, Middleton and Norfolk $50, Boylston and Southborough $40, Rochester $20); IRS EIN page; Department of Revenue MassTaxConnect registration pages; M.G.L. c. 64H and c. 64L; Massachusetts General Laws c. 140 (local licenses); city licensing pages (Cambridge License Commission, Boston Licensing Board); Board of Building Regulations and Standards (780 CMR); M.G.L. c. 40A (zoning); municipal zoning bylaws and ordinances; 105 CMR 590.000 (Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food Establishments, adopting the FDA Food Code); municipal board of health permit pages (Milford, Kingston, Provincetown); 105 CMR 590.011 (C)(3)(a); Department of Public Health food allergen awareness guidance (M.G.L. c. 140, section 6B); M.G.L. c. 140, sections 2 to 9; municipal common victualler pages (Cambridge, Barnstable, Littleton, Andover, Gardner); M.G.L. c. 138, sections 12 and 17; ABCC new retail license application and FAQ; Boston Licensing Board retail license page; Chelmsford and Lexington fee tables; Department of Unemployment Assistance employer contribution pages (2026 rates, $15,000 wage base); Department of Family and Medical Leave contribution pages (M.G.L. c. 175M); Department of Industrial Accidents workers’ compensation requirements; 830 CMR 62E.2.1 (new hires); U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023; U.S. Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.
Questions about opening here.
11 items, in order: certificate of organization (llc) and the annual report, business certificate (dba), employer identification number (ein), masstaxconnect registration: sales and use tax, meals tax, withholding, local licensing: no state business license and zoning approval, building permit and certificate of occupancy, and 5 more.
Secretary of the Commonwealth, The city or town clerk where the business has its office, Internal Revenue Service, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Your city or town’s licensing authority and Your city or town building department, and 4 more.
With certificate of organization (llc) and the annual report (Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division), then business certificate (dba). The steps run structure, tax, space, permits, alcohol and employer, in that order.
Yes, to sell it: section 12 restaurant license: all alcoholic beverages, or wines and malt beverages. The local license usually comes first.
Each item's fee, renewal cycle and official page are shown to members, as the agency published them on the date checked. Cities and counties add their own fees.
How to open a bar in Massachusetts (2026) | DoorWorthy
