This dataset includes about 50 thousands businesses filed certificates with the City Clerk's Office of Boston.
Boston businesses need to get a certificate through the City Clerk's office and to renew it every four years.
Each business is registered with certificate number, business name, owner name, issue date, expiration date, business type, business location, etc.
Dataset Information
Subject
Business and Economy
Jurisdiction
City of Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Data Provider
City Clerk's Office of the City of Boston
Source
data.boston.gov
Dataset Details
Business owners need to file a certificate every four years with their city clerk. Boston businesses need to get a certificate through the City Clerk's Office and renew the certificate every four years.
If the business certificate is associated with a legally established corporation, the certificate must be signed by one of the listed officers or directors of the corporation, as filed with the Massachusetts Secretary of State's Office, or any other state jurisdiction.
A food truck vendor needs a valid health permit, fire permit, Hawkers and Peddlers License, commissary kitchen agreement or letter, and Certificate of Liability Insurance.
Short-term rental housing must have a registration number from Inspectional Services.
A daycare business must have a state-issued daycare provider license.
A livery business needs registrations for all cars used in the business, insurance binders, two utility bills, Massachusetts licenses for all drivers, the lease where the business is operating, and livery plates issued by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
A home improvement contractor or construction supervisor needs a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration issued by the Mass. Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
A Construction Supervisor (CS) needs a valid license issued by the Mass. Office of Public Safety and Inspections.
A real estate broker needs Real Estate Brokers License issued by the Commonwealth to register business in Boston. A real estate salesperson cannot file a business registration. A salesperson cannot operate their own real estate business until they complete the requirements and pass the state exam for a Real Estate Brokers License.
A restaurant must have the Certificate of Inspection, the current lease agreement, and the liquor license if selling any type of liquor.
This dataset includes current registered businesses in Boston.
The information includes registration number, business name, business location, owner name and location, issue date, expiration date, business type, etc.
The City of Boston's Open Data to Open Knowledge project, which is funded by the Knight Foundation through a partnership with the Department of Innovation and Technology and the Boston Public Library, is moving to a new open data platform. Analyze Boston is the City of Boston's open data hub to find facts, figures, and maps related to lives within the city.
Statistics
The most common business types of Boston busineses are Restaurant (4.99%), Online Retail (2.02%), Retail (1.77%),
Consulting (1.64%), Real Estate (1.46%), Short Term Rental (1.45%) and Hair Salon (1.26%).
While a majority of businesses are located in Boston (49.20%), there are also significant number of businesses in the following cites:
Dorchester (14.70%), Roxbury (6.00%), East Boston (4.43%), Jamaica Plain (3.75%), Hyde Park (3.16%), Mattapan (3.09%), and Roslindale (3.03%).
The total number of registered businesses noticeably decreased in recent years, especially in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic; it dropped by about 30% in 2020.
In 2022, the number of businesses gets recovered, largely attributed to new market opportunities created by the pandemic.
We expect to see more businesses being licensed in the upcoming years.