Cranston
City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses
In short
City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses issues 6 permits we publish for Cranston, last verified 2026-09-12. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Business License (not found; activity-specific structure instead)only if it applies to you | City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses | No fee | not applicable | 2026-09-12 |
| Body Works Establishment Licenseonly if it applies to you | City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses | $100 annual renewal; a separate Body Works Personnel License is $60.00/annual renewal per individual worker | annual renewal | 2026-09-12 |
| Victualling House License | City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses | $100–$250 annual, banded by seating capacity ($100.00 for 1-25 seats, $150.00 for 26-50 seats, $250.00 for over 50 seats) | annual — expires March 31 following issuance (Code §5.04.040), with no rebate for a partial term | 2026-09-12 |
| Mobile Food Establishment (MFE) Permit | City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses | $75 annual, per mobile food establishment unit; capped at $250.00/calendar year for a single owner operating multiple units | annual, expiring on the same date as the holder's underlying State MFE certificate | 2026-09-12 |
| Vehicle Repair Business License | City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses | $100 annual, plus a $10.00 initial application fee and a $5.00 renewal processing fee | annual — renewed on or before July 1 each year (Code §5.72.080), with a fresh fire-code compliance inspection required for each renewal | 2026-09-12 |
| Massage Therapy Establishment Licenseonly if it applies to you | City of Cranston City Clerk/Records and Licenses | $25 initial application fee; a renewal fee is not separately stated in the chapter text | not stated in the published fee schedule beyond the general Title 5 default (expires March 31 following issuance, per §5.04.040) | 2026-09-12 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
General Business License (not found; activity-specific structure instead)
No fee applies. Cranston Code of Ordinances §5.04.100 enumerates every license category the City actually charges a fee for ('The licenses and licensed places hereinafter enumerated shall pay the fees fixed'), and the City Clerk's own current online portal lists the same roughly thirty activity-specific categories — neither includes an ordinary retail store, a veterinary practice, or a hair/nail salon. Cranston does license two adjacent personal-care categories, Massage Therapy Establishments and Body Works Establishments (recorded separately below), and a narrow $100.00/year Secondhand Dealer license (plus $150.00/year for Secondhand dealing in used cars) that reaches only a resale subset of retail, not an ordinary retail store. Each of these three industries' real Cranston-specific obligations are instead the Building Permit, Certificate of Occupancy, Zoning Certificate, and Sign Permit process recorded elsewhere in this file, layered on top of any relevant Rhode Island state-layer credential (veterinary practitioner licensure has no separate facility permit; a salon holds the state's own Barbering or Hairdressing Shop License).
Body Works Establishment License
Applies to a body-works/bodywork-treatment business distinct from a licensed massage therapy establishment (recorded separately above) and from an ordinary hair/nail salon, for which the City's license portal page lists no equivalent license. Both the establishment license and the separate per-worker personnel license are non-transferable.
Victualling House License
A local license layered on top of the Rhode Island Department of Health's own statewide Food Establishment License (recorded at the state layer, banded $160.00-$240.00/year for a restaurant by seating count) — RIDOH is the food-safety authority, while this Victualling House license is a separate City Clerk/Safety-Services-Committee business license administered under Code of Ordinances Title 5. Also owes a further $10.00 initial application fee plus a $5.00 renewal processing fee, per the same section's own enumerated list of licenses subject to that surcharge.
Mobile Food Establishment (MFE) Permit
A food truck, food cart, or similar mobile unit must hold a current State MFE certificate (RI Department of Business Regulation) — or, lacking one, a state sales tax permit plus a state fire marshal inspection, a health department inspection, vehicle registration, and liability insurance proof — before this City permit issues. The current Chapter 5.44 was adopted 7/22/2019, replacing an earlier 2013 version of the same chapter. The City separately regulates location (no operation within 300 feet of an open restaurant, a house of worship during services, or a school in session) and time (maximum four hours in a legal parking area). A permit is non-transferable and must be renewed annually; a renewal fee paid more than 30 days after the prior permit's expiration forfeits the right to renew.
Vehicle Repair Business License
Confirmed in two places in the City's own current code: Chapter 5.72's own dedicated fee section and §5.04.100's consolidated fee table both price this license at $100.00/year. Before a license issues, the chapter requires a public hearing with notice mailed to every property owner within a 200-foot radius, a zoning-conformity report from the building official, and a fire-code-compliance report from the fire chief; the business must operate entirely within a building. A business that also buys and resells used vehicles separately owes Cranston's own $150.00/year 'Secondhand (Used Cars)' dealer fee under §5.04.100, distinct from this $100.00 repair-shop fee.
Massage Therapy Establishment License
Applies specifically to a business offering massage therapy services (for example, a day spa or massage studio), not to an ordinary hair/nail salon; the City's license portal page lists no equivalent license for a hair/nail salon. Individual practitioners separately need Rhode Island Department of Health massage therapist licensure, and the establishment's owner/manager must designate a licensed massage therapist to directly supervise services if they are not one themselves.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Cranston
- Phone
- (401) 780-3195
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- 5) Clerk Services Area — City of Cranston Business License Information: the current online portal listing all ~30 activity-specific license categories, the Safety Services and Licenses Committee structure, and the January 2026 fee policyCity of Cranston City Clerk's Office · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Cranston Code of Ordinances §§5.04.100-.120 — consolidated license fee schedule (Victualling houses, Auto repair, Secondhand, etc.) and the $10.00 application/$5.00 renewal processing feeCity of Cranston · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Cranston Code of Ordinances Chapter 5.25, Licensing for Massage Therapy Establishments — the $25.00 initial application feeCity of Cranston · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Cranston Code of Ordinances Chapter 5.26, Licensing for Body Works Establishments — the $100.00 establishment and $60.00 personnel license feesCity of Cranston · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Cranston Code of Ordinances Chapter 5.44, Permitting and Regulations of Mobile Food Establishments (§§5.44.010-.130) — the $75.00 annual MFE permit fee and locational restrictionsCity of Cranston · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
- Cranston Code of Ordinances Chapter 5.72, Vehicle Repair Businesses (§§5.72.010-.150) — license process, $100.00 annual fee, and July 1 renewal cycleCity of Cranston · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-12
Other offices serving Cranston
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
Rhode Island jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.