Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XV Chapter 110A
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110A, § 201 (2026)

Registration Requirement

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 201. (a) It is unlawful for any person to transact business in this commonwealth as a broker-dealer or agent unless he is registered under this chapter.

(b) It is unlawful for any broker-dealer or issuer to employ an agent unless the agent is registered. The registration of an agent is not effective during any period when he is not associated with a particular broker-dealer registered under this chapter or a particular issuer. When an agent begins or terminates a connection with a broker-dealer or issuer, or begins or terminates those activities which make him an agent, the agent as well as the broker-dealer or issuer shall promptly notify the secretary.

(c) It is unlawful for any person to transact business in this commonwealth as an investment adviser or as an investment adviser representative unless he is so registered under this chapter.

(d) It is unlawful for:

(i) any investment adviser required to be registered to employ an investment adviser representative unless the investment adviser representative is registered under this chapter, but the registration of an investment adviser representative shall not be effective during any period when he is not employed by an investment adviser registered under this chapter; or

(ii) any investment adviser representative, as defined in Rule 203A–3(a) under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940, with a place of business, as defined in Rule 203A–3(b) under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940, in the commonwealth, who is employed by a federal covered adviser to conduct business in the commonwealth, unless registered under this chapter.

When an investment adviser representative begins or terminates employment with an investment adviser, the investment adviser in the case of clause (i) of subsection (d), or the investment adviser representative in the case of clause (ii) of said subsection (d), shall promptly notify the secretary.

(e) Every annual registration under this section shall expire on December 31.

(f) It is unlawful for any federal covered adviser to conduct advisory business in the commonwealth unless the adviser complies with the provisions of paragraph (b) of section 202.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 9 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1982–2025 · leading case: Indus Partners, LLC v. Intelligroup, Inc., 934 N.E.2d 264 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010).
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Indus Partners, LLC v. Intelligroup, Inc., 934 N.E.2d 264 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010). · cites it 4× “Concluding that the Agreement on its face called for Indus to act as a broker-dealer within the meaning of the Act, the motion judge dismissed Indus’s claims because, pursuant to G. L. c. 110A, §§ 201(a) and 410(f), 3 its failure to register precluded it from “[bjasing any suit…”
Bonin v. Chestnut Hill Towers Realty Co., 436 N.E.2d 970 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982). “G. L. c. 110A, § 201. In making the offering, PIP was responsible for the preparation of an offering memorandum describing details of the project, the risks involved, the source and application of funds, and the projected income and loss.”
Sampson v. Invest Am., Inc., 754 F. Supp. 928 (D. Mass. 1990). “Mass.Gen.Laws ch. 110A, § 201 provides in pertinent part: (a) It is unlawful for any person to transact business in the commonwealth as a broker-dealer or agent unless he is registered under this chapter.”
Am. Microtel, Inc. v. Sec'y of State, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 479 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). · cites it 4× “Pursuant to G.L.c. 110A, §201 (a), it is unlawful for any person to transact business in Massachusetts as either a broker-dealer or an agent of a broker-dealer, unless registered under c.”
Nancy Ayers Keough v. Sec. Div. of the Off. of the Sec'y of the Commonwealth. (Mass. App. Ct. 2023). · cites it 2× “On the same date, the division's enforcement section filed an administrative complaint against Keough, her husband, and another based on their participation in the Inofin referral scheme alleging violations of G. L. c. 110A, §§ 201 (a) and 301. In a 2012 deposition with the SEC,…”
EdgePoint Capital Hldgs, LLC v. Apothecare Pharmacy, LLC (1st Cir. 2021). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110A, §§ 201, 401(c).”
EdgePoint Capital Holdings, LLC v. Apothecare Pharmacy, LLC (D. Mass. 2020). “Mass. Gen. L. c. 110A, § 201. A “broker-dealer” is anyone who “engage[s] in the business of effecting transactions in securities for the account of others or for his own account.”
C-Suite Impact v. Treehouse Tech. Grp. (D. Mass. 2025). “G.L. c. 110A, § 201(a). Failure to register as a broker-dealer, where such registration is required, renders a contract performed in the course of such conduct unenforceable.”
Jalbert v. Chase (In re Servicesense.com, Inc.), 337 B.R. 434 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2006). “4 *438 Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110A, § 201(a) provides that “[i]t is unlawful for any person to transact business in this commonwealth as a broker-dealer or agent unless he is registered under this chapter.”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110A, § 201(a) — 4 cases
Indus Partners, LLC v. Intelligroup, Inc., 934 N.E.2d 264 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010). “Concluding that the Agreement on its face called for Indus to act as a broker-dealer within the meaning of the Act, the motion judge dismissed Indus’s claims because, pursuant to G. L. c. 110A, §§ 201(a) and 410(f), 3 its failure to register precluded it from “[bjasing any suit…”
Am. Microtel, Inc. v. Sec'y of State, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 479 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). “Pursuant to G.L.c. 110A, §201 (a), it is unlawful for any person to transact business in Massachusetts as either a broker-dealer or an agent of a broker-dealer, unless registered under c.”
C-Suite Impact v. Treehouse Tech. Grp. (D. Mass. 2025). “G.L. c. 110A, § 201(a). Failure to register as a broker-dealer, where such registration is required, renders a contract performed in the course of such conduct unenforceable.”
Jalbert v. Chase (In re Servicesense.com, Inc.), 337 B.R. 434 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2006). “4 *438 Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110A, § 201(a) provides that “[i]t is unlawful for any person to transact business in this commonwealth as a broker-dealer or agent unless he is registered under this chapter.”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 110A, § 201(b) — 1 case
Am. Microtel, Inc. v. Sec'y of State, 3 Mass. L. Rptr. 479 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1995). “Pursuant to G.L.c. 110A, §201 (a), it is unlawful for any person to transact business in Massachusetts as either a broker-dealer or an agent of a broker-dealer, unless registered under c.”
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