Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XX Chapter 136
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 136, § 7 (2026)

Permit for performance of necessary work or labor on Sunday; fees

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 7. The police commissioner of the city of Boston, or any member of the police department having a rank not lower than that of captain and designated by said commissioner, or the chief of police or the board or other officer in charge of the police department of any other city or of any town, or the chairman of the board of selectmen of any town where no police department has been established, upon reasonable terms and conditions may issue a permit for the performance on Sunday of necessary work or labor which could not be performed on any other day without serious suffering, loss, damage or public inconvenience, or which could not be performed on any other day without delay to military defense work. Permits for Sunday work in stores covered by clause (50) of section six, shall not be granted without the approval of the department of labor and workforce development, which shall approve such permits only on a uniform basis throughout the commonwealth.

A permit under this section shall cover not more than one day. Application shall be made within sixty days prior to the day on which the permit is to be used, and a permit shall be issued or denied within fifteen days of application. The fee for such a permit will be set by the mayor of a city or the selectmen of a town, but in no event shall any such fee for said permit be greater than ten dollars.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases, 1926–2003 · leading case: Local 1445, United Food & Com. Workers Union v. Police Chief, 563 N.E.2d 693 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990).
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Local 1445, United Food & Com. Workers Union v. Police Chief, 563 N.E.2d 693 (Mass. App. Ct. 1990). · cites it 5× “They brought an action to enjoin Filene’s from opening its store in the Natick Mall before noon on the first four Sundays of December, 1989, although Filene’s had obtained a permit so to do issued in accordance with G. L. c. 136, § 7, by the police chief of Natick.”
Calef v. The Gillette Co., 322 F.3d 75 (1st Cir. 2003). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 136 § 7 (2002) allows companies to be open for work on Sunday provided a permit is obtained.”
Anderson v. Sec'y of Commonwealth, 151 N.E. 378 (Mass. 1926). “G. L. c. 136, § 7. It follows that the petition for mandamus in the first case, to restrain the Secretary of the Commonwealth from submitting the measure to the people, and the petition for certiorari in the second case, to quash the certification of the Attorney General, must…”
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