Recreational Camps

The purpose of 105 CMR 430.000 Recreational Camps Regulation is to provide minimum standards for housing, health, safety and sanitary conditions for minors attending recreational camps for children in the Commonwealth. No recreational camp for children shall operate without a license from the Board of Health. Any person or program that promotes or advertises itself as a camp, even if it does not meet the criteria of a Recreational Camp as defined within 105 CMR 430.020, must be licensed as a recreational camp for children prior to operating.

Application Submission:

Please submit your Rec Camp application to our online permitting site, Home - ViewPoint Cloud, for review. After review of the application we will contact the organization to set up a date and time to review: CORI, SORI, first aid, and all other required documents.

Application Deadline:

An applicant for a license for a recreational camp for children shall file an application with the Board of Health at least 90 days prior to desired opening date, the application shall document all required information including, but not limited to, a plan showing the buildings, structures, fixtures and facilities, as needed. Any application submitted after the 90 day period will be subject to a late fee and may jeapordize your ability to begin operations on time. 

Recreational Camp for Children means:

(1) Any day, primitive or outpost, residential, sports, travel or trip camp conducted wholly or in part for recreation or recreational instruction which:  (a) operates for profit or philanthropic or charitable purposes, whether or not a fee is charged;  (b) serves five or more children who are not members of the family or personal guests of the operator; and  (c) operates for any period of time between June 1 and September 30 of any year or fewer than 15 business days during any other time of the year.

(2) Provided it is not promoted or advertised as a camp, none of the following shall be deemed to be a recreational camp for children:  (a) a child care program licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care in accordance with M.G.L. c. 15D;  (b) single purpose classes, workshops, clinics or programs sponsored by municipal recreation departments, or neighborhood playgrounds designed to serve primary play interests and needs of children, as well as affording limited recreation opportunities for all people of a residential neighborhood, whether supervised or unsupervised, located on municipal on non-municipal property, whether registration is required or participation is on a drop-in basis as provided in M.G.L. c. 111, § 127A;  (c) a program operated solely on a drop-in basis;  (d) a classroom-based instructional program provided no specialized high risk activities (see 105 CMR 430.103) are conducted as part of the program;  (e) a summer school program accredited by a recognized educational accreditation agency, where the accreditation includes standards for specialized high risk activities, if the program involves such activities (see 105 CMR 430.103), and the summer program meets those accreditation standards.

Residential Camp means a program which:

1. meets the definition of a recreational camp for children;
2. operates on a permanent site for three or more consecutive overnights; and
3. operates for at least four days during a 14 consecutive calendar day period in a city or town.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Health Inspectors at 508-759-0600 ext. 1513 with any questions you may have or visit: https://www.mass.gov/regulations/105-CMR-43000-minimum-standards-for-recreational-camps-for-children-state-sanitary-code