Start an LLC in Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Doing business in Norfolk County

Norfolk County wraps around the south and west of Boston, from Quincy, Braintree and Weymouth to Brookline, Needham, Wellesley and Franklin. It had 26,156 establishments and 346,327 jobs in 2024, fifth in the state, with about 741,000 residents and average annual pay of $84,497. Professional services, medical practices and retail along Route 1 and Route 128 make up much of its business base.

All land records for the county record at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds at 649 High Street in Dedham, the county seat. Real estate investors forming LLCs to hold rentals in Quincy or Weymouth record there.

Many Norfolk County owners commute into Boston but run side businesses from home. Each town sets its own home occupation and business certificate rules, so check with your town clerk before you hang a sign.

Norfolk County Registry of Deeds

Massachusetts registries of deeds record deeds, mortgages and other land documents. If your LLC or corporation buys, sells or finances property in Norfolk County, the documents are recorded at the district office for the property's town. The registry does not form companies or issue business certificates.

Norfolk County business numbers

Establishments, employment and pay are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (private and public, all industries); population is the Census Bureau's 2024 estimate.

Sales tax and local permits in Norfolk County

Massachusetts charges one statewide sales and use tax of 6.25 percent (c. 64H, § 2), so a business in Norfolk County collects the same rate as one anywhere else in the Commonwealth. There is no county business license. Trade names are filed as business certificates with the clerk of each city or town where you have an office (c. 110, § 5), and building, zoning and board of health permits come from the town.

Forming the company, step by step

• Search the name on the Corporations Division's records and pick an LLC or corporate ending.
• File the Certificate of Organization ($500 for an LLC) or Articles of Organization ($275 for a corporation with up to 275,000 shares) with the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
• Name a resident or registered agent with a Massachusetts street address. Ours is $199 a year.
• Get an EIN from the IRS, then open a business bank account in the exact registered name.
• File a business certificate with your city or town clerk if you will trade under a different name.
• File the annual report each year: $500 for an LLC on its anniversary, $100 online for a corporation.