Boston Common Victualler license for a new restaurant: steps and fees

Before a Boston restaurant can pour a coffee or plate a sandwich, it needs a license with an old-fashioned name: the Common Victualler license, or CV license. The Boston Licensing Board issues it, and the health department will not issue its food service permit until the CV license is in hand. Owners who treat it as a formality lose weeks to a hearing they did not plan for. Confirm every fee and date with the Licensing Board before you pay.

Who needs a Common Victualler license?

Any person or business that wants to sell food at a fixed location in Boston. That covers sit-down restaurants, cafes and takeout-only establishments where food is made to order. You do not need one to open a mobile cart or food truck, a bakery with no seating and no food made to order, which needs a food service permit instead, or a convenience store with no seating or where prepared food makes up 10 percent or less of annual revenue. Alcohol is separate: if you plan to serve it, or to let guests bring their own, you need an alcoholic beverages retail license or a BYOB permit.

What comes first?

You must have the CV license before you can apply for a Food Service Health Permit from the Inspectional Services Department. The city also lists permits to get first: a Certificate of Occupancy and, for larger rooms, a Place of Assembly Permit. And your license is issued for the address on the application, so check the zoning of your location before you sign a lease. Not every address in the city allows a food business.

When is a public hearing required?

You must attend a virtual public hearing before the board and take part in a community engagement process if your address does not already have, or was not previously licensed with, an approved CV license, if you intend to operate outside the hours previously approved, or if you intend to operate outside the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Your neighborhood liaison in the Office of Neighborhood Services tells you what kind of community process applies, such as flyering or a presentation to a civic group. Contact the liaison before you submit.

What documents do you need?

Every applicant provides the completed application, a signed copy of the lease in the business's name, a signed agreement to lease or a deed, a floor plan showing capacity, square footage, seating, egress, kitchen and storage, a personal information form for every owner, officer, manager and anyone with a financial interest, and a wage theft prevention form. A business that is not a sole proprietorship also submits its Secretary of State business entity summary, and the structure must match the application.

Why do applications get sent back?

Most applications that are sent back are returned over the lease. Check that the business name matches exactly, that the lease is between the business entity and the landlord and not a personal agreement, that the address on the lease matches the application, that the lease allows the hours, seating and outdoor space you are applying for, and that both parties have signed.

What does it cost?

A restaurant with seats pays a $100 base fee plus $1 per seat. A takeout-only business with no seats pays $100 plus a $110 takeout fee. If you hold an alcohol license tied to the CV license, you pay another fee based on its type. Do not pay until the Licensing Board staff ask you to, and note the 2.75 percent fee on credit and debit card payments, with no fee for electronic checks. The estimated timeline is two to three weeks, though a hearing adds several weeks.

What happens at the hearing?

The board holds virtual hearings typically twice a month on Wednesdays on Zoom. You or your representative gives a three-minute presentation covering the concept, the type of food, the size of the establishment, the hours, the experience of the owners and managers and the public need for the license at the location. The board votes the following Thursday, and applications that reach that stage are typically approved, subject to the board's final review. You then receive a notice of approval, pay the invoice and pick up the license in person at City Hall, Room 809.

How do you renew?

The license is valid for the calendar year on it and must be hung in a clear and visible spot. Renewal packages are mailed at the end of September, and renewal applications must be submitted online by October 31. The late fee is double the license fee, and paying online does not by itself renew the license until staff review the submission. Operating without a valid license can lead to enforcement, including suspension, revocation or denial of other licenses.

What should you do next?

Check the zoning of your address. Call your neighborhood liaison. Gather the lease, floor plan and forms. Submit the application, plan your three-minute presentation and book the health permit steps for the weeks after approval. Then read how Boston's outdoor dining program works if you want a patio.

More guides for your business:

• Boston outdoor dining program: patio rules for restaurants
• Boston food truck permit: health, fire and the city permit
• Boston liquor license quota and costs for restaurants

More in the US guides for food businesses.