STATE LICENSE
RequiredMassachusetts Board of Building Regulatio…
OCABR's job chart lists structural carpentry, decks, structural flooring, sheetrock, exterior stairs, and sheds over 200 square feet on 1- and 2-family lots as requiring a CSL, HIC registration, and a building permit. The CSL for framing is the Unrestricted license (buildings under 35,000 cubic feet) or the One- and Two-Family license, both earned with three years of experience in the past ten years and a PSI exam on the 10th-edition code.
A licensed supervisor or licensed designee must be on site to approve regulated work, and the supervisor's name, license number, and category go on the building permit. Unrestricted CSLs complete 12 hours of continuing education every two years; one- and two-family CSLs complete 10.
The state sets the license floor; the county or city permit office controls filing, inspections, and local rules wherever the job site sits.
780 CMR is a single statewide building code (M.G.L. c. 143, § 94); local building commissioners enforce it, issue permits, and record the supervising CSL holder and HIC registration on each permit. Municipalities may also adopt DOER's stretch or specialized energy codes (225 CMR 22.00/23.00), so check the town before pricing energy work. There is no separate local contractor license for building work in the state framework, but the BBRS advises checking with the local building official for additional requirements.
The local offices section below names the exact permit desk for every Massachusetts county on file.
Each row names the issuing authority, cost, timeline, citation, and status behind the requirement — verified against the official source.
Published fees from the issuing authorities, as of October 2026. Local permit fees vary by project and jurisdiction — the basis is stated where a flat number does not exist.
If the named CSL holder stops supervising, work must stop until a successor is recorded with the building department (780 CMR 110.R5.2.12).
Decks need a CSL, HIC, and permit; sheds need them above 200 sq ft on 1-2 family lots (120 sq ft elsewhere), per OCABR's chart.
The BBRS does not recognize out-of-state contractor licenses.
A practical sequence for a new framing contractor in Massachusetts. Actual agency processing times are noted in the ledger above.
Each item names the issuing authority, cycle, and citation.
Statutory consequences with their citations — not estimates, not “commonly cited” guesses.
Knowingly, willfully, or negligently performing residential contracting on an owner-occupied 1–4 unit home without a certificate of registration — or after it lapses, is suspended, or is revoked.
Supervising regulated construction without the required CSL violates 780 CMR, which is the state building code; practice on an expired CSL is expressly prohibited (780 CMR 110.R5.2.5).
Inside city limits, the city office listed here issues the permit; the county office serves unincorporated areas. Every office links to its official page.
| County · City | Permit office | Portal |
|---|---|---|
| Hampden County Springfield (consolidated gov.) | City of Springfield Department of Code Enforcement — Building Division ↗ | Springfield Building Permit Lookups (OpenGov) ↗ |
| Suffolk County Boston (consolidated gov.) | City of Boston Inspectional Services Department (ISD) ↗ | ISD Online Permits and Licenses ↗ |
Every fact in this file was checked against these official sources on October 2026.
Pending verification: Initial CSL license fee and PSI exam fee — mass.gov lists only the $100 renewal fee; c. 142A, § 11 ties the HIC fee to the CSL fee, which suggests but does not confirm a $150 initial CSL fee · OCABR's HIC/CSL/permit job chart is labeled 'general guidance only'; the building official decides whether a specific job needs a permit or CSL
General information, not legal advice. Always confirm requirements, deadlines, and forms with the issuing authority before filing or contracting.
Store licenses, permits, policies, and renewal dates in one place.