Many types of businesses need to be licensed by the Cambridge License Commission before they are able to conduct business within the City of Cambridge. Find out whether you need a license/permit from us:

Whenever you apply for a license/permit, the Board of License Commissioners may hold a hearing to decide whether the license will be granted. The Board holds meetings, which are open to the public, every month, check the hearing schedule to find out when the next hearing is. Learn more about our hearings below.

Violation hearings can be based on a complaint received, a CAD or police incident report, or an inspection conducted by the Cambridge Police or a License Commission Investigator or designee.  Hearings are open to the public, and any person testifying as to the matter must do so under oath.  Any person cited for a violation hearing may present evidence through witness testimony, photographs, videos, documents, etc.  The Board decides cases based on the evidence presented to it at the hearing and may take into account any previous complaints and/or disciplinary action. 

License Commission file viewing hours* are as follows:

Monday:  9:00am - 7:30pm.

Tuesday through Thursday from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Friday from 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Public records fees are as follows**:

Copies - first 50 pages are free.

$.05/page for black and white 8.5" x 11" 

$.20/page for black and white legal size

$.30/page for color 8.5" x 11"

$.40/page for color legal size

The time spent by the License Commission staff to find, segregation, file, archive, and redact will be billed if more than two (2) hours.

* Please note that many of our files contain information that is not public and that must be redacted by law.  Therefore, even if you seek to view a file during our "viewing hours," depending on the size of the file, contents therein and whether the proper staff person to remove the non-public information is available, you may have to make an appointment for a later day or time to view the file. 

** This is not a comprehensive list of all applicable fees.  No fees will be charged until an estimate has been provided to the requester.

The Cambridge License Commission does not issue all types of licenses. The following are examples of licenses which are issued by other departments or state agencies. For a more comprehensive list, please see the state Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation website.

Department of Public Health

The Cambridge License Commission holds General Public Hearing at least twice monthly. At the General Public Hearing we hold hearings for license violations, hearings for businesses who are petitioning for a license, permits for one-day licenses and administrative matters.  

Search our Public Calendar for License Commission hearings. Agenda will be posted no later than 48 hours prior to a hearing.
Scheduled items are tentative prior to posting of an official Agenda or Hearing Notice. Refer to the posted Agenda for a full list of scheduled items.
Please check the agenda for the time and location of particular meetings.

Please note: All One-Day Application must be submitted to the Commission by the Thursday two weeks preceding the event. Applications can be dropped off, emailed or faxed. The application must be filled out completely, and bear the applicant’s signature and that of the Police Commissioner’s or designee when submitted. 
We'll let you know when to expect the hearing when you apply.

• Only witnesses and victims can testify at violation hearings.
• Anyone can testify at a business petition hearing, whether you support or are against the cause.

• in person at the hearing
• via email to license@cambridgema.gov
• via fax to (617) 349-6148, or
• by mail to:

Cambridge License Commission
831 Massachusetts Avenue, 1st Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139

You can file a complaint against any establishment licensed by this office or any establishment that should be licensed by this office but may have opened without proper licensing. Contact our office staff at (617) 349-6140 for a complaint form or download a complaint form and mail it back to our office. Once it is received by our office, it will be reviewed by our Executive Director and assigned to an investigator. Our investigator will contact you.