Town Clerk FAQs

Q: How do I obtain a Marriage License

 In Boxborough, the cost of filing for a marriage license is $25.00, and $7.50 for a certified copy. The license is valid for sixty days, and may be used for a ceremony conducted in any Massachusetts city or town. The member of the clergy or Justice of the Peace who performs the ceremony must sign the license and return it to the city or town where it was issued before any copies can be issued.

For further information contact the Boxborough Town Clerk's Office at 978-263-1116 x117, or the Mass. Secretary of State's Commissions Section at (617) 727-2836.

Q: How Do I obtain a copy of a Birth, Marriage or Death Certificate?

A: Certified copies of Boxborough birth, death and marriage records are available from the Town Clerk's Office in Boxborough Town Hall and from the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics,

150 Mt. Vernon Street,
Dorchester, MA, 02125,
617-740-2600.

Copies of vital records may be obtained in person or by mail. Please order at least one day ahead. The charge for a certified copy is $7.50. Cash and checks are accepted for payment.

Marriage Certificates

Death Certificates

Birth Certificates

Q: How do I obtain a Dog License?

• Neutered/spayed dog: $10 each
• Unneutered/unspayed dog: $15 each
• Seniors (70+): no charge
• Kennel Licenses:
  • 3-5 dogs: $25 total fee
  • 6-10 dogs: $50 total fee
  • 11 or more dogs: $75 total fee

You may obtain a dog license application at the Town Clerk's Office in the Boxborough Town Hall or download it by clicking application, or you may call the office (978-263-1116x117) to have it mailed to you. To obtain a license, you may bring or mail the completed application, together with proof of up-to-date rabies vaccination, evidence of neutering/spaying (if not already on file) and the appropriate fee, to the Town Clerk's office (29 Middle Road, Boxborough, MA 01719).

Q: Do I need a Business Certificate (dba) and how do I obtain one?

Whenever you are conducting a business under a name other than your own or a corporation's, you must obtain a "doing business as" (dba) or business certificate from the Town Clerk in the town where the business is located. The business certificate is maintained in a public file and allows consumers to identify and locate the proprietor.

In Boxborough, the filing fee for a business certificate is $20.00. The certificate may be filed in person or by mail. If filing by mail, the applicant's signature must be notarized by a notary public before mailing in the application. A business certificate is valid for four years.  Click here to download a Business Certificate application.  If you plan to operate your business from your home please read the regulations regarding home-based businesses.

For further information, call the Town Clerk's Office at (978-263-1116x117

VOTING IN BOXBOROUGH

REGISTERING TO VOTE

Q: How, when, and where do I Register to Vote?

When you register to vote you may choose to register in a state political party, select a political designation (become affiliated with a political organization which has not received party status in Massachusetts) or choose no affiliation and become unenrolled (commonly referred to as an independent). Only voters registered in a political party or as unenrolled may vote in a primary election.

If you choose to register with a political party, you will be only be able to receive the ballot of your selected party in a primary election. Your registration status also affects your ability to run for office in a partisan election

Who May Register?

Any person who is a Boxborough resident, a United States citizen and will be eighteen years old as of the next election, is eligible to register to vote in Boxborough. You do not need a driver's license or any other form of identification to register. However, when you sign the registration form, you must attest, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that you are legally eligible to register and that the information you provide is accurate and truthful. The penalty for fraudulent registration increased recently to a fine of ten thousand dollars or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

You will remain on the list of voters as long as you vote regularly and complete and return the annual municipal census. If you move to another city or town, you must re-register in your new community to be able to vote in that town.

Registration Deadlines

The Voting Process

Q: How, When, and Where do I Vote?

When you approach the check-in tables, seek the table that displays the alphabet sequence that includes the first letter of your last name. Tell the poll worker your name and your address and you will be given a ballot.

In a primary election, voters who are registered in a political party may only obtain a ballot for that party. If you are an unenrolled voter (commonly referred to as an independent voter), you may request the ballot of any party participating in the primary election. You will not become registered in a political party because of your participation in a state primary with one exception: In a March presidential primary, a voter becomes a member of the party for which a ballot is chosen for this election. To revert back to unenrolled status, you must fill out a party change card available at the polling station.

Casting Your Votes

If you are disabled and need assistance, you may use the Automark Voter Assist Terminal, or you may be accompanied by someone who can provide assistance, or you may request a poll worker to provide you with confidential, nonpartisan help.

You are limited to 3 ballots.

When you have finished voting, you must proceed to the check-out table and again state your name and address. After you have checked-out, you deposit your ballot in the ballot box to record your votes.

What to Do If Your Name is not on the Voters List

Prohibited Activities

State law prohibits the display of political paraphernalia within 150 feet of the entrance to the polling location. Signs, stickers and even lapel buttons are not permitted within this restricted zone.

Applying for an Absentee Ballot

Applications for absentee ballots may be obtained from the Town Clerk or the Office of the Secretary of State. Applications may be submitted in person or by mail. The voter, or a family member (father, mother, sibling, daughter, grandparent, grandchild, a spouse or person residing in the same household, in-laws, adopting parent or adopted child, stepparent or stepchild, aunt, uncle, neice or nephew), may submit an application. All applications must be signed under the pains and penalties of perjury by the voter, or a family member, before a ballot will be made available. Application forms are available to download by clicking on the link below:

• Absentee Ballot Application
• Absentee Ballot Application by a Family Member

• name
• address as registered
• address where you wish the absentee ballot sent
• in a primary, the party ballot you want
• your signature

Applications for absentee ballots must be received by the Town Clerk before 12:00 noon the day before a state or federal primary or election and before 4pm on the Friday before a town election. (A voter who is admitted to a health care facility after noon of the fifth day before an election may apply for a ballot up until the close of the polls and may request to have the ballot delivered.) Absentee ballots generally are available three weeks before an election.

If the voter submits the application in person, he may obtain the ballot and vote immediately "over-the-counter". If the ballot is not available, it will be sent to the voter by mail. When the application is submitted in person by a family member, the ballot must be sent by mail to the voter. And in all other cases, the ballot is sent by mail.

If you wish to vote by absentee ballot for more than one election in a year you may make one application and request that ballots for all elections during that calendar year be sent to you.

Returning an absentee ballot

Absentee ballots for the disabled

If you are disabled and unable to come to the polls to vote, you need to file a letter from your doctor with the Town Clerk. The doctor must state that you are unable to cast your ballot at the polling place due to a physical disability. The Town Clerk will automatically mail you an application for an absentee ballot for all elections in a calendar year. You must sign the application and send it back to the clerk.

Call the Town Clerk (978-263-1116x117) for information about how to register to vote at home or to request that a mail-in registration form be sent to you.

Any patient in a nursing home must be a registered voter in order to vote by absentee ballot and must fill out an absentee ballot application. If the clerk designates a health care facility in writing 28 days before the election, the ballot must be hand-delivered to such facility by a Registrar. If the patient states that he/she has entered a hospital after noon of the fifth day before the election, the ballot may be hand-delivered to the voter; otherwise, the ballot should be mailed to the voter at the facility. Consult the administration of the nursing home for further instructions.

Permanently Disabled Voters