51 of 53 fee datums on this page are verified against the agency's own published schedule or statute (2026-09-04); the rest are marked pending review in the Status column - portal-surcharge components no official page states, values the official source contradicts (held for a correction package), or sources that could not be reached.
Values were first corroborated across independent internal records; verified cells now also carry the agency's own published schedule or statute as their authority, which is what promotion to verified requires.
Cost position
Ranked 54 of 54 on first-year state
filing cost, at $1,040.00 against a national median
of $185.00.
Recurring annual cost $520.
See the full ranking.
Where Massachusetts sits among its neighbours in the first-year cost ranking (USD)Show all 54 jurisdictionsThe full ranking with Massachusetts highlighted (USD)
Registered-agent statutes, quoted verbatim
The one section on this page that clears the publication gate in full. 10 citations, verified, quoted from the official code with every elision marked.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 156D, § 5.01
◎Verified
Massachusetts Business Corporation Act · applies to
corporations
REGISTERED OFFICE AND REGISTERED AGENTEach corporation shall continuously maintain in the commonwealth: (1) a registered office that may, but need not be, the same as any of its places of business; and (2) a registered agent who may be any of the following individuals or entities whose business office is also the registered office of the corporation: (i) an individual, including the secretary or another officer of the corporation; (ii) a domestic corporation or not-for-profit domestic corporation; or (iii) a foreign corporation or not-for-profit foreign corporation qualified to do business in this commonwealth.
Massachusetts Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Office and agent for service of process in commonwealthEach limited liability company shall have and maintain in the commonwealth: (1) an office, which may but need not be a place of its business in the commonwealth at which shall be kept the records required by section nine to be maintained; and (2) a resident agent for service of process on the limited liability company, which agent must be an individual resident of the commonwealth, a domestic corporation, or a foreign corporation authorized to do business in the commonwealth.
Massachusetts Business Corporation Act · applies to
corp
ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION(a) The articles of organization shall set forth: (1) a corporate name for the corporation that satisfies the requirements of section 4.01; (2) the number of shares the corporation is authorized to issue, and any required description of additional classes or series of shares, in conformity with section 6.01; and (3) the name and address of each incorporator. [...] (d) The form on which articles of organization are filed shall also include the following supplemental information, which is not to be considered a part of the articles: (1) the street address of the initial registered office of the corporation; [...]
Massachusetts Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Certificate of organizationSection 12. (a) In order to form a limited liability company, one or more authorized persons must execute a certificate of organization. The certificate of organization shall be filed in the office of the state secretary and set forth: (1) the name of the limited liability company; (2) the address of the office in the commonwealth required to be maintained by section five; [...] (b) A limited liability company is formed at the time of the filing of the initial certificate of organization in the office of the state secretary or at any later date specified in the certificate of organization if, in either case, there has been substantial compliance with the requirements of this section. [...]
Massachusetts Business Corporation Act · applies to
corp
ANNUAL REPORT FOR SECRETARY OF STATE(a) Each domestic corporation, and each foreign corporation authorized to transact business in the commonwealth, shall deliver to the secretary of state for filing an annual report that sets forth: (1) the name of the corporation and the state or country under whose law it is incorporated; (2) the address of its registered office and the name of its registered agent at that office in the commonwealth; (3) the address of its principal office; [...] (c) The annual report shall be delivered to the secretary of state within 21/2 months after the end of the fiscal year of the corporation.
Massachusetts Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
(c) All limited liability companies formed under this chapter shall also file an annual report with the state secretary setting forth the information required in subsection (a). (d) The fee for the filing of the certificate of organization required by subsection (a) shall be five hundred dollars. The fee for the filing of the annual report required by subsection (c) shall be five hundred dollars. Such fees shall be paid to the state secretary at the time the certificate of organization or the annual report is filed.
Massachusetts Business Corporation Act · applies to
corp
GROUNDS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE DISSOLUTIONThe secretary of state may commence a proceeding under section 14.21 to dissolve a corporation administratively if: (a) the corporation has failed to comply with the provisions of law requiring the filing of reports with the secretary of state or the filing of any tax returns or the payment of any taxes under chapter 62C or chapter 63 of the General Laws for 2 or more consecutive years; or (b) the secretary of state is satisfied that the corporation has become inactive and that its dissolution would be in the public interest.
Massachusetts Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Administrative dissolution; notice; wind up and liquidation of affairsSection 70. (a) The state secretary may commence a proceeding to dissolve a limited liability company if: (1) the limited liability company has failed for 2 consecutive years to comply with the laws requiring the filing of annual reports; or (2) he is satisfied that the limited liability company has become inactive and its dissolution would be in the public interest. [...] If, within 90 days after the notice, the limited liability company fails to correct each ground for dissolution or fails to demonstrate to the reasonable satisfaction of the state secretary that each ground determined by the state secretary does not exist, the state secretary shall administratively dissolve the limited liability company.
Massachusetts Business Corporation Act · applies to
corp
CORPORATE NAME(a) A corporate name: (1) shall contain the word ''corporation, ''incorporated,'' ''company,'' or ''limited'' or the abbreviation ''corp.,'' ''inc., or ltd.,'' or words or abbreviations of like import in another language; and (2) may not contain language stating or implying that the corporation is organized for a purpose other than that permitted by section 3.01. and its articles of organization. (b) Except as authorized by subsections (c) and (d), a corporate name may not be the same as, or so similar that it is likely to be mistaken for: (1) the corporate name or trade name of a corporation organized, authorized to transact business or otherwise lawfully conducting business in the commonwealth; [...]
Massachusetts Limited Liability Company Act · applies to
LLCs
Name of limited liability companySection 3. The name of each limited liability company as set forth in its certificate of organization: (1) shall contain the words ''limited liability company'', ''limited company'', or the abbreviation ''L.L.C.'', ''L.C.'', ''LLC'' or ''LC''; (2) may contain the name of a member or manager; and (3) may not be the same as, or deceptively similar to the name of any corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company reserved or organized under the laws of the commonwealth or licensed or registered as a foreign corporation, foreign limited partnership or foreign limited liability company in the commonwealth, except with the written consent of said corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company previously filed with the state secretary.
For foreign corporations: if the resident agent cannot be found after diligent search at the address on file, or refuses to act (or the corporation never filed its § 15.03 certificate), the corporation is deemed to have appointed the secretary of state as its attorney for service of processService of processFormal delivery of lawsuits and legal notices.Read the full entry →; the SOS forwards process by mail and the plaintiff pays a $10 fee. Foreign LLCs have a parallel mechanism (c. 156C § 54(b)). For DOMESTIC corporations, § 5.04(b) defers to the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure, outside this corpus.
No Court Access. A foreign corporation transacting business without filing the § 15.03 certificate (which includes appointing a registered agent with written consent) cannot maintain a proceeding in any Massachusetts court until the certificate is delivered and filed.
Civil Penalty. A foreign LLC doing business without registering (registration includes appointing a resident agent under §§ 48 and 51) is fined up to $500 for each year of the failure and cannot maintain actions in Massachusetts courts while the failure continues.
Reinstatement Fee. Reinstatement after administrative dissolution requires an application plus a DOR certificate that all corporate excise taxes and penalties are paid; the secretary of state may condition reinstatement on 'the payment of reasonable fees' (no statutory dollar amount).
Dollar amounts named in the registered-agent statutes
What
Amount
Status
Fee paid by the plaintiff to the secretary of state when serving process on the SOS as a foreign corporation's deemed attorney (taxed in costs if plaintiff prevails)
$10
○Pending review
Maximum annual fine for a foreign LLC doing business in the commonwealth without registering
$500 per year
○Pending review
9 statutory citations and their supporting verbatim quotations sit behind this section in the record and are withheld from public display until the review pass lands, because a citation presented as authority is a verification claimed. Statutory references appearing inside the summaries above are part of the recorded text rather than an authority claim, and they are not rendered as citations, linked, or emitted in this page's structured data. How the gate works.
Governance rules
7 governance rules are recorded for Massachusetts - the organizational and annual meetings, action by written consent, and whether bylaws or an operating agreement are mandatory. Each verified rule links to the statutory text it was verified against, quoted verbatim below.
Organizational meeting required · applies to
corporations ·
yes
If no organizational meeting of the incorporators is held, the initial directors named in the articles of organization shall hold an organizational meeting... at which by-laws shall be adopted and a president, treasurer and secretary shall be elected.
Action by written consent allowed · applies to
corporations ·
yes
may be taken without a meeting if the action is taken either: (1) by all shareholders entitled to vote on the action; or (2) to the extent permitted by the articles of organization, by shareholders having not less than the minimum number of votes
Operating agreement required · applies to
LLCs ·
no
''Operating agreement'', any written or oral agreement of the members as to the affairs of a limited liability company and the conduct of its business.
An operating agreement which grants members a right to vote may set forth provisions relating to notice of the time, place or purpose of any meeting... action by consent without a meeting
Action by written consent allowed · applies to
LLCs ·
see the rule
If an operating agreement does not provide for the voting rights of members, the decision of members who own more than fifty percent of the unreturned contributions to the limited liability company... shall be controlling.
City/Town Clerk of EVERY city or town where an office of the business is located (M.G.L. c.110 s.5). No state-level DBA and no county filing - Massachusetts counties play no role
State fee
n/a - no state filing; fees are set locally (statutory floor in M.G.L. c.262 s.34(20) is $1, but cities charge much more, e.g. Boston $65, Somerville $60)
Term
4 years from date of issue (statewide, set by M.G.L. c.110 s.5)
Renewal
Must be renewed every 4 years for as long as the business is conducted, at the same local fee (Boston: $65 renewal)
Publication
Not required. None
Online filing
Not available
The regime
Massachusetts has no statewide DBA registry. Any person conducting business under any title other than the person's real name, whether individually or as a partnership, must file a business certificate with the clerk of every city or town where an office of the business is situated, executed under oath by each person named as conducting the business.
Where it is filed
The city or town clerk - the certificate is filed in the office of the clerk of every city or town where an office of the person or partnership is situated, and the clerk keeps an index of certificates in force. A business with offices in multiple municipalities files in each one.
A certificate is in force and effect for four years from the date of issue.
Name restrictions
An individual, unincorporated association, or partnership may not use 'corporation' or 'incorporated' (or any abbreviation) or any word or phrase suggesting it is a corporation. Separate restrictions bar sellers from using words implying U.S. government ownership ('Army,' 'Navy,' 'Government,' 'Post Exchange,' etc.) and bar use of 'Massachusetts State Fair' without the commissioner of agriculture's written consent.
No state filing. Fees are set by each city or town (statutory floor $1 under M.G.L. c. 262, § 34(20); Boston charges $65 and Somerville $60, for example).
Exclusiverights: (ch. 110, §§ 4A-6 do not address whether filing grants exclusive rights to the name)
Actname: (ch. 110 is captioned 'Labels, Trade Marks, Names and Registration Thereof'; § 5 itself carries no act name)
County filing offices and fees
4 county records held for Massachusetts
County
Fee
Detail
Status
Boston (city; Suffolk County)
65 new or renewal + 35 surcharge for non-Massachusetts residents; address change 50
$65 filing; additional $35 for non-Massachusetts residents; card/pinless debit service fee 2.5% ($1 minimum); a separate $50 fee is listed on the page for anoth
Business Certificate, New or Adding an Owner $60.00; Business Certificate, Change or Termination $0.00; Certified Copy, Vital Record or Other Document $15.00 (F
◎Verified
Worcester (city; Worcester County)
50 filing (new or renewal); discontinuance or withdrawal 20
Filing $50; certified copy $12 in person / $14 by mail; discontinuance or withdrawal $20; valid four years.
◎Verified
Springfield (city; Hampden County)
50 filing; business discontinuances and changes 40
Filing $50.00; certified copy $20.00; Business Discontinuances and Changes $40.00; valid four years (M.G.L. c.110).
◎Verified
Common questions
Where do I file a DBA (business certificate) in Massachusetts?
With the clerk of every city or town where an office of the business is situated - Massachusetts uses municipal filings, not a statewide DBA registry. The certificate must state the full name and residence of each person conducting the business, the business location, and the title used, and it is executed under oath (Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110, § 5).
How long does a Massachusetts business certificate last?
Four years from the date of issue. It must be renewed every four years for as long as the business is conducted, and it lapses and becomes void unless renewed (ch. 110, § 5).
What happens if I do business under another name without filing?
The statute punishes violations with a fine of not more than $300 for each month during which the violation continues (ch. 110, § 5).
Does my corporation or LLC need a Massachusetts business certificate?
Not while it does business under its true name: ch. 110, § 6 exempts a corporation doing business under its true corporate name and an LLC or LLP doing business under its true name that has registered or qualified with the state secretary. The exemption is tied to using the true name, so operating under a different title falls back under the § 5 certificate requirement.
C corporations: 15th day of 4th month after taxable year end (Apr 15 calendar-year, Form 355/355U); S corporations: 15th day of 3rd month (Mar 15 calendar-year, Form 355S)
Stored as a delta against the federal baseline:
1 day this state closes that the
federal government does not, and 1 federal
holiday its filing office works through.
Massachusetts 2026 closure delta
Date
Day
Filing office
2026-04-20
Patriots' Day
Filing office closed
2026-07-03
Independence Day (Friday, July 3, 2026 federal observance)
OPEN - federal holiday not observed
Provenance - Massachusetts 2026 closures◎Verified
Citation withheld: this record did not clear the publication gate.
Massachusetts observed status strings and their verdict
Observed status
Verdict
Confidence
(BLANK)
Unresolved - do not automate on this
medium
A - ACTIVE
In good standing
high
ACTIVE
In good standing
high
ACTIVE - ANNUAL REPORT FILED
In good standing
high
ACTIVE / AR PD FROM 2023
In good standing
high
ADMIN DISSOLVED
Not in good standing
high
CANCELLATION
Not in good standing
high
CHARTER SURRENDER
Not in good standing
high
CONSOLIDATION
Not in good standing
medium
CONVERSION
Not in good standing
medium
DATE OF CANCELLATION
Not in good standing
high
DATE OF CONVERSION
Not in good standing
medium
DATE OF INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION BY COURT ORDER OR BY THE SOC
Not in good standing
high
DATE OF VOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION
Not in good standing
high
DEFAULT
Not in good standing
high
DISSOLUTION
Not in good standing
high
DISSOLUTION BY COURT ORDER OR BY THE SOC
Not in good standing
high
DISSOLVED
Not in good standing
high
FILED
Unresolved - do not automate on this
low
FILED IN <YEAR>
Unresolved - do not automate on this
medium
INACTIVE
Not in good standing
high
INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION
Not in good standing
high
INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION BY COURT ORDER
Not in good standing
high
INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION BY COURT ORDER OR BY THE S
Not in good standing
high
INVOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION BY COURT ORDER OR BY THE SOC
Not in good standing
high
INVOLUNTARY REVOCATION
Not in good standing
high
MERGER
Not in good standing
medium
NOT FILED
Unresolved - do not automate on this
medium
NOT SOS FILED
Unresolved - do not automate on this
low
NOT YET FILED
Unresolved - do not automate on this
medium
REINSTATEMENT
Unresolved - do not automate on this
low
REPORT DELINQUENT
Not in good standing
high
REVIVED
In good standing
medium
REVOCATION
Not in good standing
high
REVOCATION BY SOC
Not in good standing
high
REVOCATION OF AUTHORITY
Not in good standing
high
REVOKED
Not in good standing
high
TERMINATION
Not in good standing
high
UNKNOWN
Unresolved - do not automate on this
medium
VOLUNTARY DISSOLUTION
Not in good standing
high
WITHDRAWAL
Not in good standing
high
WITHDRAWN
Not in good standing
high
Y
In good standing
medium
Restricted entity-name words
4 restricted entity-name word entries
are recorded for Massachusetts - 2 prohibited outright,
the rest requiring an agency's consent or licensure before the word may appear in a name.
Governing law: Mass. G.L. c. 156D, § 4.01 (corporations); c. 156C, § 3 (LLCs) - generic name rules; restricted words live in c. 167 § 37, c. 171 § 7, c. 157 § 8.
Massachusetts restricted entity-name words
Treatment
Word or phrase
Authority
Citation
Status
Prohibited
bank / banking / bankers (and foreign-language equivalents)
Mass. G.L. c. 167, § 37: no corporation, individual, partnership or association except authorized banking corporations 'shall transact business under any name or title which contains the words "bank", "banking", "bankers"... as descriptive of said business'
◎Verified
Prohibited
credit union
Mass. G.L. c. 171, § 7: no person, partnership, association or corporation except chartered credit unions (state, federal, or authorized out-of-state) shall 'transact business under any name or title containing the words "credit union"'
◎Verified
Restricted
co-operative / cooperative
Mass. G.L. c. 157, § 8: a person/entity transacting business for profit under a name containing 'co-operative' forfeits a daily penalty unless net earnings are distributed as permitted for co-operative corporations (or it is a c. 157A employee cooperative or a co-operative bank)
◎Verified
Restricted
Trust
Mass. G.L. c. 167, § 37: an entity that 'does a banking business or makes a business of receiving money on deposit' may not use a name containing 'trust' (or foreign-language equivalent) as descriptive of that business
● accepted · ○ not accepted · ? unknown or conditional (hover for the recorded condition). Channel data covers 54 jurisdictions (2026-08-15 wave). Source links render on verified rows only.
Contact the filing office
Verified against the agency's own contact page
2026-08-13 - office hours: Phone Room: Monday-Friday 8:45 am - 5:00 pm.
Source links render on verified rows only.
Corporations Division, One Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108
Courier / walk-in
Corporations Division, One Ashburton Place, 17th Floor, Boston, MA 02108
The Corporations Division direct line and corpinfo mailbox, not the 800 Citizen Information switchboard; one street address serves mail, courier, and walk-in (17th floor), and 617-624-3891 fax with a prepaid voucher is the fastest paper channel
Where to search Massachusetts's UCC (Article 9) financing statements, on what terms, and what the office charges to file one. Verified against the filing office's own pages 2026-09-11. UCC division contacts are listed with the other filing-office contacts above.
UCC records - Massachusetts◎Verified
Filing office
Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts - Corporations Division (UCC; the search page refers to 'Secretary Galvin's UCC Division')
Filing-office statute
M.G.L. c. 106, s. 9-501 (read at https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter106/Section9-501): 'the office of the state secretary, in all other cases'; fixture filings / as-extracted collateral / timber to be cut go to the office designated for recording a mortgage on the related real property; transmitting utilities file with the state secretary
online or paper; Online ('File a UCC 1, UCC 3, UCC 5 or UCC 11 online' at https://corp.sec.state.ma.us/uccfiling/UCC/uccmenu.aspx?FilingMethod=I); fax with a bar-coded Fax Voucher Coversheet ('Fax Filings are availabl
Filing expedite
Fax and electronic (online) filings carry a mandatory expedited service fee scaled to the order subtotal ($3.50 for a $20 UCC filing); fax filings are generally processed the same business day and in no event later than the following business day
UCC-3 amendments, as the office states the fees
Amendment to statement $20; continuation $20; partial release of collateral $20; termination statement $20; any other UCC-3 record (including assignment) $20 for up to two debtor names, plus $20 for each additional debtor name
Whether Massachusetts requires a general state-level business license, and on what terms. A "None" is a verified finding cited to the agency's own pages, not a gap. Which of the state's filings ask for an industry code is in the next section.
State business license - Massachusetts◎Verified
General state license
None - the state issues no general business license; licensing is occupation-specific and local
Which of Massachusetts's business filings ask the filer for an industry classification, and in what form. "No industry information" is a positive finding cited to the form. Where the state uses its own category list and the list was captured, it is expandable below. The NAICS and SIC reference lists are on their own page.
Industry code on Massachusetts filings, 7 of 7 rows verified
Filing
Entity scope
Asks for
Required
Where on the form
Source
Formation
domestic profit corporation
no industry information
not asked
Article VIII item e 'A brief description of the type of business in which the corporation intends to engage' (free text; supplemental information, not
Massachusetts has 14 county-equivalents: 14 countyies. Names and codes are the U.S. Census Bureau's (2020 national county codes); county seats and official sites are not yet published here.
All 14 county-equivalents
Massachusetts county-equivalents
Name
Type
FIPS
Note
Barnstable County
county
25001
Berkshire County
county
25003
no county government
Bristol County
county
25005
Dukes County
county
25007
Essex County
county
25009
no county government
Franklin County
county
25011
no county government
Hampden County
county
25013
no county government
Hampshire County
county
25015
no county government
Middlesex County
county
25017
no county government
Nantucket County
county
25019
no county government
Norfolk County
county
25021
Plymouth County
county
25023
Suffolk County
county
25025
no county government
Worcester County
county
25027
no county government
Other records held
Other records held for Massachusetts
Record
Value
Status
Change of registered agent
$25
○Pending review
Who must be named in public filings
CORP: heavy disclosure - annual report (c.156D s.16.22(a)(4), verified verbatim in corpus) must list names and business addresses of ALL directors, the s.8.40(a) officers, and CEO/CFO, plus authorized/issued share counts by class; all public. LLC: members are NOT publicly disclosed - certificate of organization and ann
○Pending review
These come from a research pass its own author graded CANDIDATES. They are shown because they are useful and withheld from every ranking on this site because they are not ratified.