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Home Improvement Contractors (HIC) guide

Whether you are registering as a Home Improvement Contractor for the first time, or looking to change your DBA, find the information you need to be properly registered here.

If you have any questions, please call our hotline at 617-973-8787 or the toll free number at 888-283-3757.

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First time applicants

Once you've submitted all documents and fees, your HIC registration card should be made available within a few weeks.

Contractors and subcontractors who perform home improvement work on an existing, 1- to 4-unit, owner-occupied, residential property in Massachusetts must register.

You can register as:

  • An Individual
  • A proprietorship
  • A partnership
  • A corporation

If filing under a trade name (also known as a Doing Business As (DBA), you must provide a current copy of the business certificate filed with the city or town clerk where your business is based.

You will have to pay a $150 registration fee and a mandatory payment to the Guaranty Fund based on the size of your company:

0 to 3 employees: $100

4 to 10 employees: $200

11 to 30 employees: $300

More than 30 employees: $500

The Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation does not accept payment over the phone. If you are registering or renewing a registration online using our registration portal, you may pay by credit card. Otherwise, we only accept payment by  certified bank check or money order. Any other form of payment, including cash, or personal or business checks, are not accepted.

You can register online by creating an account on our registration portal.

You can register by mail by downloading and filling out the registration form. 

Be sure to include money order or bank check made payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Bring or mail your completed application and payment to:

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Home Improvement Contractor Program
1 Federal Street, Suite 0720
Boston MA 02110-2012

Key Actions   for First time applicants

Register as a Home Improvement Contractor  Check if your work requires an HIC or CSL 

Additional Resources   for First time applicants

Open PDF file, 517.82 KB,  HIC New Registration Application for Contractors (English, PDF 517.82 KB)
Open PDF file, 2.26 MB,  First-time HIC Guide (English, PDF 2.26 MB)

Renew your HIC Registration (Online account only)

Once you've submitted all documents and fees, you should receive your HIC card in the mail within 1-2 weeks. The renewal period begins 60 days prior to the expiration date.

You must renew your registration every two years and pay the $100 registration renewal fee. You must have an online account to renew online. If you have ever held an HIC (expired or current) you can create an online account so that you can easily renew your HIC or update your information.

You can create an online account here.

If you have previously created an account and are looking to renew your registration, log-in to your account here.

Visit our online portal to renew or reactivate your HIC number. 

Remember: Renewal applications received more than 30 days beyond the expiration of the HIC registration will require you to reapply and pay the associated registration fee of $150 and Guaranty Fund fee based upon the size of your company as follows:

Number of employees Amount
Zero to three (3) employees$100.00
Four (4) to ten (10) employees$200.00
Eleven (11) to thirty (30) employees$300.00
More than thirty (30) employees$500.00

You must renew your registration every 2 years and pay a renewal fee of $100. 

Key Actions   for Renew your HIC Registration (Online account only)

Renew your home improvement contractor registration online  Log into your home improvement contractor account 

Additional Resources   for Renew your HIC Registration (Online account only)

Open PDF file, 2.46 MB,  HIC Renewal Guide (English, PDF 2.46 MB)

Change your registered address

Need to change your address or phone? 

Complete the address change form and mail it to:

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Home Improvement Contractor Program
1 Federal Street, Suite 0720
Boston MA 02110-2012

You can also change your address online when submitting a renewal application through the portal. Log into your account and fill out the necessary information.

Key Actions   for Change your registered address

Change your registered home improvement contractor address 

Additional Resources   for Change your registered address

Open PDF file, 350.82 KB,  HIC Change of Address Form for Contractors (English, PDF 350.82 KB)

Request a duplicate or supplemental (additional) card

Request a duplicate card

If you lost your registration card, you can request a duplicate card. You will need the following information:

  • Registration number (if known)
  • Registration (company) name
  • Business address
  • Mailing address (if different)

Mail your completed form to:

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Home Improvement Contractor Program
1 Federal Street, Suite 0720 
Boston MA 02110-2012

Request supplemental HIC registration cards

As a home improvement contractor, you can request supplemental cards to help your employees show proper identification while on the job. The fee for each supplemental card you need is $10.

You must provide your original HIC registration info along with the name, title, address and SSN of each officer/partner/employee that needs a supplemental card.

Please note that: 

  • The registration number will be the same as the original
  • The address given should be business location
  • Cards are available for:
    • Officers
    • Partners
    • Employees
  • The original card holder will still be liable for any work conducted

To request, mail your completed form, along with a certified check or money order payable to Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to:

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Home Improvement Contractor Program
1 Federal Street, Suite 0720 
Boston MA 02110-2012

HIC Program Downloadable Forms

You can find all of the downloadable forms for contractors available for matters regarding the HIC program here.

Key Actions   for Request a duplicate or supplemental (additional) card

Request a duplicate HIC card  Request additional HIC registration cards  HIC downloadable forms 

Renew your HIC registration (By mail/in-person)

Once you've submitted all documents and fees, you should receive your HIC card in the mail within 1-2 weeks. The renewal period begins 60 days prior to the expiration date. You must renew within 30 days of expiration or else you will have to reapply.

Renew your HIC registration by mail

Contractors who have expired and wish to renew by mail should download and fill out the renewal application.

Mail the completed form and certified check or money order, payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, to:

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Home Improvement Contractor Program
1 Federal Street, Suite 0720 
Boston MA 02110-2012

We only accept a certified bank checks or money orders. Any other form of payment, including cash, or personal or business checks, will be returned as ineligible.

Renew your HIC registration in-person

In-person service is on Tuesdays only. From January 7–March 25, HIC in-person registration service will be on Tuesdays, by appointment only. To make an appointment, or for hands-on help with registration, call our Consumer Hotline, Monday-Friday, at 617-973-8787, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Create an online account

You must have an online account to renew online. If you have ever held an HIC (expired or current) you can create an online account so that you can easily renew your HIC or update your information.

You can create an online account here.

We do not accept payment by phone, we only accept payment by mail, on our online registration portal, or in-person.

Key Actions   for Renew your HIC registration (By mail/in-person)

Create an online account or renew your HIC by mail/in-person 

Additional Resources   for Renew your HIC registration (By mail/in-person)

Open PDF file, 519.84 KB,  HIC Renewal Registration Application for Contractors (English, PDF 519.84 KB)

Change your DBA

Contractors must notify the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR) if they do business under a DBA (also referred to as a fictitious name). If you're changing your DBA name, you'll need:

  • Your HIC registration number
  • Your DBA name
  • Permanent address
  • A copy of the DBA certified from your local city or town clerk's office

Failure to submit this documentation will result in the denial or delay of your registration. Your completed DBA Change Form and a copy of your business certificate can be mailed or brought to:

Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation
Home Improvement Contractor Program
1 Federal Street, Suite 0720 
Boston MA 02110-2012

Key Actions   for Change your DBA

Update your home improvement contractor DBA 

Registering as a Foreign Corporation

In order to lawfully do business in Massachusetts, state law requires a Foreign Corporation to file a certification of registration as an organization with the Secretary of State within 10 days after it starts to transact business in the Commonwealth. This certificate should be accompanied by a “certificate of legal existence or good standing issued by an authorized officer or agency in the jurisdiction of organization.”

All out of state corporations and LLCs applying for an HIC registration must first complete the foreign corporation registration process with the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

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