# data.boston.gov, free, No API key, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Licensing Board Licenses: Business verification API

> The Licensing Board issues a variety of licenses under MGL Chapter 138 and Chapter 140 including Billiards, Bowling, Common Victualler (Food Service), Alcoholic Beverages, Innholder, and Dormitories/Lodging houses. This dataset lists all licenses that are currently active.

data.boston.gov's No API key plan for the business verification API costs $0.00 per 1,000 companies. We check each provider's docs for 11 fields. data.boston.gov's docs list 2: Registered name, Principal address.
data.boston.gov limits how many calls you get but gives no number.
In [our business verification API benchmark](https://datacircle.dev/best-business-verification-api.txt), this plan scores 75.7 out of 100.
We rank 1,735 plans for business verification APIs by price. Half the plans cost $7.895 or less per 1,000 companies. This plan and 227 others tie for the lowest price per 1,000 companies of the 1,735 plans. [See the best free business verification API plan.](https://datacircle.dev/best-business-verification-api.txt)
[Scoris' €19 pack](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/scoris/19-pack/llms.txt) covers any number of companies in 8 countries only. Scoris' €19 pack costs less up front than SafeDeal's ₸50,000 (about $110) monthly plan.
[GovFiles](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/govfiles/top-up/llms.txt), [Didit](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/didit/top-up-from-50/llms.txt) and [CompanyData.com](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/companydata-com/249-monthly/llms.txt) are the best business verification API providers in the Datacircle benchmark for companies in any country.

- This page: https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-licensing-board-licenses
- [Business verification API in 2026: the 8 best compared](https://datacircle.dev/best-business-verification-api.txt)
- Get it: https://data.boston.gov?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- Request: `GET https://data.boston.gov/api/3/action/datastore_search`, Licensing Board Licenses
- API key: not needed
- Its API docs: https://docs.ckan.org/en/2.10/maintaining/datastore.html?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing#ckanext.datastore.logic.action.datastore_search
- Sold by: data.boston.gov (https://data.boston.gov?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing)
- Checked: 2026-11-09

## In the answer

- Completeness: 18%
- Registered name: ✓
- Principal address: ✓

## Score

- Overall score: 75.7
- Price score: 100
- Accuracy score: 64
- Cost to get started score: 100
- Bundle score: 0

## Price

- $ per 1,000 companies: $0.00
- Per: call
- Billing: free

## Aggregators

- Aggregators: none

## Charges

- Also pays for: nothing else

## Not found

- $ per 1,000 calls that find nothing: $0.00

## In their words

- Their pitch: The Licensing Board issues a variety of licenses under MGL Chapter 138 and Chapter 140 including Billiards, Bowling, Common Victualler (Food Service), Alcoholic Beverages, Innholder, and Dormitories/Lodging houses. This dataset lists all licenses that are currently active.

## Data

- Countries: United States
- Keep data: no limit
- Use data: Open Data Commons Public Domain Dedication and Licence (PDDL), the datasets' licence: "[...] there are no restrictions or requirements placed on the recipient by this document. Recipients may use this work commercially, use technical protection measures, combine this data or database with other databases or data, and share their changes and additions or keep them secret. It is not a requirement that recipients provide further users with a copy of this licence or attribute the original creator of the data or database as a source. [...]"

## Plan

- Pay: $0

## Rate limit

- Batch: 1

## Speed

- Answer: in the call
- Median: 0.01 s

## The call

- You send: resource_id "04dc653b-1789-4374-9669-b07df7233344", q. Optional: filters, full_text, distinct, plain, language, limit, offset, fields, sort, include_total, total_estimation_threshold, records_format
- Method: GET
- Path: /api/3/action/datastore_search

## About the plan

- Plan: No API key
- Who can get it: anyone

## The 26 fields the plan's answer can hold

license number, historical license number, license status, license category, license type, issue date, expiration date, business name, DBA name, comments, location comments, opening time, closing time, patrons out time, capacity, premises description, applicant, manager, day phone, evening phone, street address, city, state, ZIP code, GPS X coordinate, GPS Y coordinate

## data.boston.gov's plans (1)

- [data.boston.gov, free, No API key, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Licensing Board Licenses](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-licensing-board-licenses/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 18% complete

## data.boston.gov's calls (2)

- `GET /api/3/action/datastore_search`, Active Food Establishment Licenses: [data.boston.gov, free, No API key, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Active Food Establishment Licenses](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-active-food-establishment-licenses/llms.txt)
- `GET /api/3/action/datastore_search`, Licensing Board Licenses: [data.boston.gov, free, No API key, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Licensing Board Licenses](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-licensing-board-licenses/llms.txt)

## data.boston.gov's APIs (2)

- [data.boston.gov: business verification API pricing, 1 plan, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Licensing Board Licenses](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-licensing-board-licenses/llms.txt)
- [data.boston.gov: company discovery API pricing, 1 plan, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Active Food Establishment Licenses](https://datacircle.dev/company-discovery-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-active-food-establishment-licenses/llms.txt)
- [data.boston.gov: company discovery API pricing, 1 plan, GET /api/3/action/datastore_search, Licensing Board Licenses](https://datacircle.dev/company-discovery-apis/data-boston-gov/free-no-api-key-get-api-3-action-datastore-search-licensing-board-licenses/llms.txt)

## data.boston.gov: business verification API alternatives

- [Latinfo, free, GET /co/rues/registry/search](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/latinfo/free-get-co-rues-registry-search/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 27% complete, stored
- [INSEE, free](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/insee/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 45% complete, 24 hours
- [Scoris, free](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/scoris/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 18% complete, 1 week
- [Milquery, free](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/milquery/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 27% complete, stored
- [Cuitalizer, free](https://datacircle.dev/business-verification-apis/cuitalizer/free/llms.txt): $0.00 per 1,000, 18% complete, 7 days

## Sources

From each provider's own pricing page and docs, and from what providers tell us. We read this row from these pages on 2026-11-09.

- https://data.boston.gov?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- https://data.boston.gov/api/3/action/datastore_search?resource_id=04dc653b-1789-4374-9669-b07df7233344&limit=2&utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- https://data.boston.gov/api/3/action/package_search?q=business%20license&rows=10&utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- https://data.boston.gov/api/3/action/package_show?id=licensing-board-licenses&utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- https://docs.ckan.org/en/2.10/maintaining/datastore.html?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- https://docs.ckan.org/en/latest/api/index.html?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing
- https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/pddl/1-0/?utm_source=datacircle.dev&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=business-verification-api-pricing