Prepare to Serve Food and Drink
While your space is under construction, you can apply for most of the licenses you need to serve food to the public. Starting early can save you weeks of waiting.
Get the permits and certifications every restaurant in Boston needs to open, including the Common Victualler License and Food Service Permit.
Get a Common Victualler License
Timeline: 2-6 weeks for processing, longer if you need a Board hearing.
The Common Victualler License (CV) is a food service license that lets you operate a restaurant or food service establishment in Boston. “Victualler” is an old word for a food seller.
You must get this license before you can open to the public or receive a food permit from Inspectional Services (ISD).
Apply online, or at the Licensing Board in City Hall. Renew every year by the end of October.
Check Your Address's Licensing History
Common Victualler licenses, and alcohol licenses, are tied to a brick-and-mortar address, not just a business. Check your building's permit history.
If your address doesn’t already have a Common Victualler License, you’ll need to attend a public hearing. Contact your neighborhood liaison to schedule a meeting to let others in the neighborhood know about your plans. If your business address already has a Licensing Board-approved food establishment, you may not have to hold a hearing.
Businesses that don't need a CV license
You don’t need a CV if you’re opening one of these kinds of food businesses:
- Mobile carts and buses
- Food trucks
- Bakeries with no seating
- Convenience stores with no seating, or where the amount of money made from prepared foods isn't more than 10 percent of the annual revenue
Get a Food Service Permit
Timeline: Several months for plan review and inspections.
You need to apply for a permit and pass an inspection before you can serve food to the public. We inspect food service businesses at least once a year, but usually twice per year.
If your restaurant is under construction, you can still start the process to get a food service permit. First we need to review your plans and then you can get the permit.
Food Service Permit Details
The food service permit requires:
- A Certificate of Occupancy for all restaurants
- A Certificate of Inspection for all establishments that have 50 or more seats, or if alcohol is served
- Common Victualler License
- Food Protection Manager Certificate
- Allergen Certificate
- Signed lease agreement
- Worker’s Compensation Insurance Affidavit
If all of your paperwork is in order, we will set up an inspection before you open. The health inspector will tell you if you need to fix anything and sign off on your application if you're approved.
The health inspection is a final check on food safety and cleanliness practices. Completing this checklist doesn’t guarantee you’ll pass inspection, but it can help you prepare.
After the first inspection, ISD will inspect your business according to a risk based inspection program.
The health inspector will tell you if you need to fix anything and pass your inspection if you’re approved.
Safety
- Person in charge (PIC), knowledgeable, monitors food safety risks and takes corrective actions
- PIC available all operational hours
- Employees trained in their duties and responsibilities
- Employee illness policy to inform in a verifiable manner requirement to report
- Separate hand wash sinks accessible and supplied for food preparation, dispensing and warewash areas, in addition to the restrooms
- Food contact surfaces properly designed, maintained, installed
- Adequate equipment for cooking, holding food hot and cold, and to properly cool
- Non-food contact surfaces properly designed, maintained, installed
- Proper storage of clean and soiled pots and pans
- High-temperature sanitizing dish machine or adequate three compartment sink with drainboards, sanitizing solution, and appropriate test kit
Plumbing and Waste Disposal
- Properly plumbed potable (drinking) water and wastewater systems. No waste water back up; proper backflow devices installed.
- Adequate number of refuse containers; clean, covered, adequate storage area
- Food preparation sink provided for washing fruits and vegetables
- Mop sink provided
Physical Facilities
- Clean and organized, no active construction ongoing
- Employee lockers to store clothing and personal care items
- Sufficient storage for dry goods, servicewares, maintenance items, chemicals
- Light fixtures above food products have protective shields properly installed
- No evidence of rodents or insects
- Outside storage area clean
- Kitchen areas properly ventilated and hood inspection current
Depending on your business, you may need supplementary permits or licenses before you open. Other permits or fees may apply to your business if:
- You plan to serve alcohol.
- You plan to serve milk or make and sell frozen desserts, like soft serve ice cream.
- You plan to offer take-out or ready-to-eat foods, like sandwiches, salads, and muffins.
- You’re offering off-site catering services.
Get a Liquor License
Timeline: 8-12 weeks or longer, sometimes several months, depending on the availability of a license at your desired location.
If you plan to serve alcohol at your restaurant, you must get a liquor license from the Licensing Board.
Like the Common Victualler License, a liquor license is tied to a specific physical address.
The number of liquor licenses in Boston is set by state law. The Board can only issue a license when one is available. Availability changes as businesses open and close. The Board can hear your proposal at any time. If there isn’t a license available right now, they can hold your application active in case one becomes available.
Get a Food Manager Certificate
Timeline: 5-12 hours
At least one person at your restaurant must be a certified food protection manager (CFPM). To get certified, you take a class and pass an accredited exam. In the class, you’ll learn about food safety risks and ways to prevent foodborne illnesses.
The food manager certificate is required for the food service permit application. Certificates are valid for five years.
The City doesn’t offer this training. It’s run by private companies.
Get an Allergen Awareness Certificate
Timeline: 1-2 hours
Massachusetts law requires all food workers to take allergen awareness training. You and your staff will learn which allergens are most common, how to identify them, and how to handle food safely to prevent reactions.
The allergen awareness certificate is required for the food service permit application. Certificates are valid for five years.
The City doesn’t offer this training. It’s run by private companies.
You're responsible for keeping the area around your restaurant clean and safe. Two permits cover waste management for most restaurants.
