Staffing agency license in Massachusetts: DLS rules

Massachusetts licenses employment agencies under General Laws Chapter 140, §§ 46A through 46R, administered by the Department of Labor Standards. The statute reaches any person who conducts an agency, in whole or in part, for procuring or attempting to procure help, employment or engagements, permanent or temporary, where a fee is charged for the service. A firm does not need a physical Massachusetts office to be covered; the Department states that agencies and agents doing business in the state, including those based elsewhere, must be licensed or registered.

This page sets out the license and the lighter placement-agency registration, fees, bond, renewal, exemptions and what happens if you place candidates without either. It complements employment agency license requirements, which compares Massachusetts against four other states at a higher level.

The statute and who administers it

General Laws Chapter 140, § 46A defines an employment agency as any person who conducts, in whole or in part, an agency for the purpose of procuring or attempting to procure permanent or temporary help, employment or engagements, for registering people seeking such help or employment, or for giving information about where such help or employment may be found, where a fee is charged or attempted to be collected for the service. Under § 46B, no one may open, keep, maintain, carry on or advertise an employment agency without a license from the Department of Labor Standards (DLS), and the license must be posted where the public can see it.

Two categories: licensed agencies and registered placement agencies

DLS runs two related tracks. A Licensed Employment Agency is the full license under Chapter 140. A lighter Registered Placement Agency category also exists, at its own fee, for agencies that fit DLS's narrower definition of a placement service rather than a full employment agency. Confirm which category matches your business model directly with DLS before applying, since the fee schedule and process differ between the two.

Applying for the license

Under § 46C, the application for a license is made to the commissioner (now DLS) by the owner or owners of the agency, and must include the applicant's name and address, the name under which the agency will operate, the street address where the business will be conducted, and the name and address of the individual who will actually direct and operate the placement activities. Applications and renewals as of September 2026 are submitted through the state's ePlace portal, with payment due at the time of submission.

Fees, bond and renewal

As of September 2026, DLS's published fee schedule is:

A $3,000 surety bond is required with the application, as a financial guarantee that the agency will follow the relevant law and rules when placing candidates. Licenses and registrations are valid for one year and must be renewed annually; a renewal application for a Placement Agency registration is due at least 30 days before the current registration expires. Keeping the license or registration current is the licensee's own responsibility, not something DLS reminds you to do.

454 CMR 24.00: licensing and the Temporary Workers Right to Know Law in one regulation

Massachusetts consolidates its staffing-agency rules into a single regulation, 454 CMR 24.00, Employment Agency and Temporary Workers Right to Know Regulations. It governs the operation, licensing and registration of both permanent and temporary staffing agencies, and separately implements the Temporary Workers Right to Know Law. The regulation runs 22 sections covering what information an agency must give applicants and workers about a specific assignment, restrictions on what a staffing agency or the worksite employer can charge a worker, limits on transportation expenses charged to workers, and recordkeeping. A firm that only checks the licensing sections and skips the Right to Know provisions is reading half the regulation; both apply to the same staffing agencies. DLS's own information for staffing agencies and information for worksite employers pages both point back to 454 CMR 24.00 as the operative rule.

Chapter 140, § 46B separately makes it unlawful to open, keep, maintain, carry on or advertise an employment agency without the DLS license. Because Massachusetts also expects out-of-state agencies doing business in the Commonwealth to be licensed or registered, a firm headquartered elsewhere that regularly places candidates into Massachusetts roles should not assume its home-state license substitutes for this one.

Nurse registries and specialty placement

Massachusetts regulates nurse and home care staffing separately from the general Chapter 140 licensing scheme, through health-facility licensure administered by the Department of Public Health rather than DLS. If your firm places nurses, home health aides or other direct care workers into patients' homes, confirm the applicable DPH license category rather than assuming the Chapter 140 employment agency license, or a placement-agency registration, covers that line of business.

Fees you can charge candidates

Where a Massachusetts agency does charge job seekers, Chapter 140 and DLS's regulations govern the contract terms rather than leaving them to negotiation, similar in spirit to New York and New Jersey's approach. Most professional recruiting and staffing firms charge the employer only. If your firm charges applicants anything, have the agreement reviewed against the current DLS regulations before you use it; employer-side fee terms are covered separately in how to negotiate recruitment fees.

A checklist before you open a Massachusetts desk

MASSACHUSETTS LICENSING CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Our model and category:
  [ ] Full Licensed Employment Agency (1-4 counselors: $300/yr; 5+: $550/yr)
  [ ] Registered Placement Agency (main $300/yr, branch $180/yr each)
  [ ] Confirmed category with DLS directly if unsure

Application:
  Owner and business details filed (§ 46C)         [ ]
  Named manager of placement activities identified   [ ]
  Bond: $3,000 filed                               [ ]
  ePlace application submitted and fee paid          [ ]

Out-of-state firm:
  Confirmed MA license/registration needed even without a MA office  [ ]

Renewal:
  Annual, due date: [date]
  Placement Agency renewal filed 30+ days before expiry  [ ]

Specialty placement:
  Nurse/home care staffing — confirm DPH license separately  [ ]

Next review: [date]

Re-run this checklist before your first Massachusetts placement if your firm is based elsewhere, and again any time your counselor headcount crosses the four-counselor threshold that changes the license fee tier.

Why the licensing and Right to Know pieces get separated by mistake

Because 454 CMR 24.00 covers both licensing and worker disclosure in one regulation, it is easy for a compliance review to treat them as one task and check the box once the license or registration is in hand. In practice they are two different obligations aimed at two different audiences. Licensing is a one-time-per-year filing with DLS about your agency. The Right to Know provisions are ongoing, assignment-by-assignment obligations to the worker and, in parts, to the worksite employer: what information goes into the assignment notice, what can and cannot be charged to the worker, and how transportation costs are handled. A firm that renews its license on time every year but never built the assignment-notice paperwork into its onboarding process is still out of compliance with the same regulation. Build both pieces into your Massachusetts process rather than treating the license as the whole answer.