Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 185, § 46 (2026)

Encumbrances affecting certificates of title

✓ current as of July 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 46. Every plaintiff receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a judgment of registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall hold the same free from all encumbrances except those noted on the certificate, and any of the following encumbrances which may be existing:

First, Liens, claims or rights arising or existing under the laws or constitution of the United States or the statutes of this commonwealth which are not by law required to appear of record in the registry of deeds in order to be valid against subsequent purchasers or encumbrances of record.

Second, Taxes, within three years after they have been committed to the collector.

Third, Any highway, town way, or any private way laid out under section twenty-one of chapter eighty-two, if the certificate of title does not state that the boundary of such way has been determined.

Fourth, Any lease for a term not exceeding seven years.

Fifth, Any liability to assessment for betterments or other statutory liability, except for taxes payable to the commonwealth, which attaches to land in the commonwealth as a lien; but if there are easements or other rights appurtenant to a parcel of registered land which for any reason have failed to be registered, such easements or rights shall remain so appurtenant notwithstanding such failure, and shall be held to pass with the land until cut off or extinguished by the registration of the servient estate, or in any other manner.

Sixth, Liens in favor of the United States for unpaid taxes arising or existing under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 as amended from time to time and any other federal lien which may be filed in the commonwealth.

Seventh, Liens in favor of the commonwealth for unpaid taxes arising or existing under the laws of the commonwealth.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 40 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1928–2025 · leading case: Hickey v. Pathways Ass'n, Inc., 37 N.E.3d 1003 (Mass. 2015).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Hickey v. Pathways Ass'n, Inc., 37 N.E.3d 1003 (Mass. 2015). · cites it 3× “G. L. c. 185, § 46. While the plaintiffs’ deeds contain provisions granting easement rights over the way from the original developers to the plaintiffs’ predecessors in interest, it is undisputed that the plaintiffs’ certificates of title do not contain a specific encumbrance…”

Mbazira v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC (In re Mbazira), 518 B.R. 11 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2014). · cites it 6× “Bank asserts that pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 185, §§ 46 , 57, and 58, the act of registration of an instrument affecting registered land itself operates as constructive notice to third parties.”

Wild v. Constantini, 615 N.E.2d 557 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 4× “[G]ranting the relief requested ... will not constitute an opening of the original judgment, since it already includes reference, if indirect, to the Wild Right of Way.”

Lassman v. HSBC Bank USA., N.A. (In re DeMore), 530 B.R. 519 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2015). · cites it 8× “With respect to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 185, § 46 , which provides that “[e]very plaintiff receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a judgment of registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall…”

Doyle v. Commonwealth, 830 N.E.2d 1074 (Mass. 2005). · cites it 3× “” Similarly, G. L. c. 185, § 46, provides that “every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall hold the same free from all encumbrances except those noted on the certificate.”

Kozdras v. Land/Vest Props., Inc., 413 N.E.2d 1105 (Mass. 1980). · cites it 2× “"The Torrens System, developed because of the need of a judicial process for forever settling the title to real estate, establishes an indefeasible title that is free of all claims, so that anyone dealing with the property can be sure that the only claims on the property are the…”

Myers v. Salin, 431 N.E.2d 233 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982). · cites it 2× “The defendants argue that this is an insufficient compliance with G. L. c. 185, §§ 46 & 47, concerning the effect and contents of a title certificate for registered land.”

Arno v. Commonwealth, 931 N.E.2d 1 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 185, § 46. One of those exceptions is “claims or rights arising or existing under .”

Jackson v. Knott, 640 N.E.2d 109 (Mass. 1994). · cites it 2× “If Bemis or Knott acquired title with actual knowledge of a prior unregistered interest, they have not satisfied the requirement of good faith set forth in G. L. c. 185, § 46, under the so-called Killam rule.”

Sullivan v. O'Connor, 961 N.E.2d 143 (Mass. App. Ct. 2012). “See G. L. c. 185, § 46. Where a grantee takes title to land without either express mention of restrictions on said land in the grantee’s deed or knowledge of such restrictions, the grantee still may be bound by said restrictions.”

Tetrault v. Bruscoe, 497 N.E.2d 275 (Mass. 1986). · cites it 2× “In so doing, the judge cited G. L. c. 185, § 46. He apparently reasoned that a *461 prescriptive easement comes within the ambit of § 46’s proviso which states, in effect, that a claim or right arising under the laws of the Commonwealth that is not required to appear of record…”

Goldsmith v. Woodman (In re Woodman), 497 B.R. 668 (Bankr. D. Mass. 2013). · cites it 6× “(Emphasis added) and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 185 § 46, which provides: Every plaintiff receiving a certificate of title in pursuance of a judgment of registration, and every subsequent purchaser of registered land taking a certificate of title for value and in good faith, shall hold…”

Show all 40 citing cases →

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.