City of Boston Business Certificate

Failure to register a business is punishable by a fine of not more than $300.00 each month that a business is not registered.

Effective July 1, 2018, all businesses in the City of Boston that are not registered with the Office of the City Clerk (“Clerk’s Office”) as required by Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 110, Section 5 will be assessed a fine of up to $300.00 per month that a business remains unregistered with the Clerk’s Office.

Read here what do you need for application.

Fees

The filing fee is $65. If you are not a Massachusetts resident but you want to conduct business in the state, you need to pay an additional $35.

File in person

• We accept cash, credit cards, pinless debit cards, and checks or money orders made payable to the City of Boston.
• If you use a credit card or pinless debit card, there is a non-refundable service fee of 2.5% of the total payment, with a $1 minimum. This fee is paid to the card processor and not kept by the City.
• Please note: if your debit card requires you to enter your pin to process a payment, you CANNOT use it to pay your fee.

Applying by mail

• If you send your payment by mail, please include a check or money order made payable to the City of Boston.