Licenses & Certificates

BIRTH, MARRIAGE OR DEATH CERTIFICATE:

To request a certified copy of a vital record you may come into the office or call ahead and we will have it ready for you. The cost for any Certified Vital record is Ten (10) dollars each.  In order to retrieve information we need: Name, and date of event. These certified copies have the town seal on them and are official records accepted by government agencies. 
  •  Click here to order online
  • Once at Unibank site in left hand column click on "Town Clerk" to place order.
 

BUSINESS CERTIFICATES:

Whenever you are conducting a business under a name other than your own, you must obtain a business certificate. The filing of a Business Certificate is NOT a license to do business. It is to provide name/s & address/es of person/s who are conducting business under a title other than their own name/s, whether individually or as a partnership. The issuance of this certificate does not relieve the proprietor of responsibility for conforming to the provisions of the Town of Holliston Zoning By-laws. The certificate cost is Twenty (20) dollars and is valid for Four (4) years. If the business has a change in name, location or is discontinued, please report the changes to the Town Clerk's Office. Generally the cost of changes during the Four (4) year period is Ten (10) dollars. We send out a renewal notice reminder at the end of the Four (4) years. 
 

MARRIAGE LICENSES:

Marriage Licenses are obtained through the Town Clerks Office in any community in the Commonwealth. You must both apply in person. (An exception to this is if a person is in the military or incarcerated, then the filing may be done by one person so long as they are a Massachusetts resident. There is a Three (3) day waiting period before the license can be issued. You need to bring an ID (drivers license).
 
If an out-of-state clergy is to perform the marriage, the clergy must obtain a Certificate of Authorization from the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth prior to the ceremony. The certificate is issued by the Public Records Division of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, it is to be attached to the original license and returned to the clerk of the city or town where the license was issued.
 
If you require a Justice of the Peace contact this office as we have a list of local JP's.
 
The fee for a marriage license is Twenty (25) dollars and includes a certified copy of the license once it has been registered with the Town Clerk, it will be mailed to  you. 
 
If a couple is unable to get to the Town Clerk's office during regular business hours, please contact the office at 508-429-0601 and an appointment will be set up at a time that will be mutually convenient.
 
The address to write for a Certificate of Authorization is:
Division of Public Records
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1719
Boston, MA 02108
(617)727-2836
 

DOG LICENSES: 

Licensing for dogs is done by calendar year. Your dog/s must be licensed by April 30th or there is a Fifty (50) dollar fine. Licensing may be done at the same time the yearly town census is done.  Fill out the form  with the dog information, send current rabies certificate if not on file or has expired, a check made to the Town of Holliston and self addressed stamped envelope and the new tag will be sent back to you along with the rabies certificate. If the rabies has expired, we must see a new one with a current date of expiration. This is state law. The current fee for licensing is Fifteen (15) dollars for an altered dog and Twenty (20) dollars for an intact dog.