What you need in North Reading
Checked November 7, 2026 against North Reading's own pages. "Not published" means the page does not say; call the office.
Municipal lien certificate
Cost$50 for 1 to 3 family or land under 1 acre; $150 for 4+ family; $200 commercial, industrial or utility landLead time10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays- Issued by
- Tax Collector, Town Hall, 235 North St
- How to order
- Request form, pick up or mail with a stamped envelope; 978-357-5220
Smoke and CO certificate
CostNot publishedLead timeNot published- Issued by
- Fire Department
- How to order
- Fire Prevention (978) 664-6054; fire department site
Final water read
Cost$50, added to the final billLead timeMeter usually read the day before closing- Issued by
- Water Department
- How to order
- Email the sale details to water@northreadingma.gov
Title 5
CostInspector sets the priceLead timeNot published- Issued by
- Board of Health, Town Hall
- How to order
- Septic page; Town Hall 978-664-6000
What to order when in North Reading
Before you list
Know your house
- Septic or town sewer? If septic, book a Title 5 inspector first. The inspection must be at or within 2 years before the sale.
- Built before 1978? Get the lead paint notice ready.
Before the P&S is signed
Give the notices
- Hand the buyer the state lead paint notice for a pre-1978 house. Separately, the federal rule gives the buyer a 10-day period to inspect for lead before being bound.
- Complete the seller disclosure with your attorney.
The day the P&S is signed
Book the inspection
- Book the smoke and CO inspection and replace old alarms first. The certificate is valid for 60 days.
- Your attorney orders the municipal lien certificate: 10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Weeks before closing
Order the water read
- Request the final water read on the town's schedule (the table above has it).
Closing week
Hand over the papers
- Confirm the smoke and CO certificate is still inside its 60 days, and send the final water bill to your attorney.
Municipal lien certificate: Tax Collector
The town's request form lists $50 for land only under one acre and for a 1, 2 or 3 family residence, $150 for a 4+ family residence and $200 for land with commercial, industrial or public utility structures. It asks whether the request is for a sale or a refinance, and whether you will pick it up (call when ready) or want it mailed, with a self-addressed stamped envelope. The Tax Collector's Office is at 978-357-5220. The state limit is 10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays (MGL c.60 s.23). See our lien certificate guide.
Smoke and CO certificate: Fire Department
State law requires the certificate on a sale of a one- or two-family home, and the state tells sellers to call the local fire department as soon as they have a closing date (Mass.gov). The North Reading Fire Department site does not post a smoke and CO fee or a booking lead time on its home page, so call through Town Hall at 978-664-6000 and ask both. The state form (FP-007C) gives the certificate 60 days from issue, so book inside the 60 days before closing. The state caps the fee (MGL c.148 s.10A).
Final water read: Water Department
The town page says to email water@northreadingma.gov with the address of the property, the closing date, the new owners' names, their mailing address for future bills, your name and a phone number. The town cannot schedule a final bill without all of that. The Water Department typically reads the meter one day before closing, and the meter can usually be read from outside. The final meter reading fee is $50. Payment for the final bill is by bank check or cash only; the town will not accept personal checks, so arrange a bank check before closing.
Septic or town sewer (Title 5)
Title 5 is the state septic inspection. It applies only to a house with its own septic system or cesspool (310 CMR 15.301); a house on the town sewer does not need one. We did not find a page on the North Reading site that lists which streets are on septic. The Select Board voted on May 20, 2024 to stop planning a connection to the Greater Lawrence Sanitary District, and the town's sewer page describes a possible sewer for a handful of streets, not the whole town. So treat the house as septic unless the town tells you otherwise. The Health Department is at Town Hall, 235 North Street (978-664-6000), and the town's septic page links its Title V local regulations; we did not read them, so ask whether they add anything at sale. If the house does have septic, read the Title 5 guide before you set a closing date, because a failed system changes your price and your options.
Lead paint notice
If the house was built before 1978, you give the buyer the state's Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification before the purchase and sale agreement is signed, and the buyer signs the certification. Deleading itself is only required when a child under 6 lives in the home. See the lead paint guide and what deleading costs.
State rules that set your dates in North Reading
These come from state and federal law, so they are the same in every town.
- Smoke and CO certificate: valid 60 days. The state form (FP-007C) says a certificate issued under MGL c.148 ss.26F and 26F1/2 expires 60 days after the fire department issues it. If your closing slips past that, you need a second inspection.
- Municipal lien certificate: 10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. That is how long the collector has after a written application (MGL c.60 s.23). Final water read lead times are set by each town, not by this rule.
- Title 5 (septic houses only): inspect within 2 years before the sale. An inspection up to 3 years old counts if pumping records show the system was pumped at least once a year. If weather prevents an inspection, it can be done as soon as the weather permits and no later than 6 months after the transfer, as long as the seller tells the buyer in writing. The buyer gets a copy of the report (310 CMR 15.301(1)).
- Lead paint, houses built before 1978: the buyer's 10-day right to inspect. Before the buyer is bound by the contract, the seller must allow a 10-day period, or another period both sides agree to in writing, for a lead paint inspection or risk assessment. The buyer can waive it in writing (40 CFR 745.110, a federal rule). Ask your attorney how your purchase and sale agreement handles it.
Order it in this sequence in North Reading
- Before you list: book a Title 5 inspector. A failed system takes longer to fix than anything else on this list.
- If the house was built before 1978, prepare the lead notice for the buyer.
- Once you have a target closing date: call the Fire Department through Town Hall (978-664-6000) and book the smoke and CO inspection.
- About three weeks before closing: send the lien certificate request ($50, 10 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays).
- Once the closing date is firm: email water@northreadingma.gov, and get a bank check ready for the final bill.
Print the one-page North Reading checklist: PDF or image. It repeats the offices, fees and phone numbers on this page and leaves room for your closing date.
