Cambridge License Commission
About
The Cambridge License Commission issues licenses and permits for a long list of regulated businesses and activities and enforces the rules that govern them. Its oversight covers alcohol sales and service, restaurants, hotels and lodging houses, indoor and outdoor entertainment, hackney drivers and vehicles, parking lots and garages, flammables and peddlers. It also licenses fortune tellers, secondhand goods stores, the letting and sale of motor vehicles and commercial leaf blower operators.
The goal is to make sure licensed businesses operate safely and serve the common good. Inspectors and hackney officers check operating practices and bring cases to disciplinary hearings when needed. The department also enforces the city’s Noise Control Ordinance and manages the Consumers’ Council and the Pole and Conduit Commission. Applications are submitted through the city’s online permitting, licensing and renewal system.
What to Know
- The board has three members: the License Commission chair, the Fire Chief and the Police Commissioner.
- Board meetings are held remotely on Zoom, with public webinar links posted for each meeting.
- Audio recordings and approved minutes of meetings are posted in an online library.
- One-day licenses for alcohol and/or entertainment are also issued.
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