Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title IV Chapter 255
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 255, § 39A (2026)

Vehicles; sale for storage; procedure

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 39A. Any motor vehicle removed from the scene of an accident and placed for storage in the care of a garage, which in this section shall also include a parking lot or other place for the storage of motor vehicles, by a member of the state police force, by a member of the metropolitan district police, by a member of the police force of any city or town or by any inspector, supervisor, investigator, examiner or instructor appointed by the registrar of motor vehicles under section twenty-nine of chapter ninety, shall be so stored at the prevailing rates. At the time such motor vehicle is so placed the officer or person placing it shall furnish the owner or operator of such garage the name and address of the registered owner of said motor vehicle; and if such information is not then available, said officer or person shall obtain such information and forthwith notify in writing the said owner or operator.

Upon receipt of such information the owner of the garage shall notify the registered owner of the motor vehicle by registered mail, return receipt requested, that such motor vehicle has been placed in his care as provided by this section, and shall inform him of the storage rates therefor, and shall inquire if he is to continue to hold the motor vehicle subject to such storage rates.

If the registered owner of the motor vehicle assents to the continued storage of such motor vehicle, the owner of the garage shall continue to hold said motor vehicle in storage and shall have a lien thereon, as provided in section twenty-five.

If the registered owner of the motor vehicle fails to answer said notice within twenty-one days after receipt thereof, the motor vehicle shall continue to be stored at the prevailing rates.

If, after the expiration of sixty days from the date when the vehicle was brought to the garage or placed in the care of the owner of said garage, the owner of the motor vehicle has not claimed said vehicle, the owner of the garage may give notice to the owner by registered mail at his last known place of abode stating the amount of the storage charges and informing him that if the vehicle is not claimed within twenty-one days the vehicle will be sold. If the owner does not claim the vehicle within said twenty-one days, the owner of the garage may sell said motor vehicle at public or private sale after publishing notice of such sale for three successive weeks in a newspaper published or having a circulation in the city or town in which the property is located; provided that he shall notify the chief of police in the city or town in which the garage is located at least five days prior to such sale that the vehicle is to be sold. Upon such sale the owner of the garage may deduct therefrom his charges for storage and the costs of sending notices and of holding the sale, and shall furnish the registered owner of such motor vehicle a statement of the amount received at such sale, together with the amount of his charges and costs, and the balance, if any. If the owner of the garage knows the address of the registered owner of said motor vehicle he shall pay such balance to him; if not, he shall deposit the same with the clerk of the district court who shall give him a receipt therefor and deposit said balance in a savings bank in the name of the justice of the district court in trust for said owner of the motor vehicle.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 11 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1972–2025 · leading case: Cent. Tow Co. v. City of Boston, 357 N.E.2d 310 (Mass. 1976).
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Cent. Tow Co. v. City of Boston, 357 N.E.2d 310 (Mass. 1976). “135, §§ 7-8 (permits, but does not require, the Boston police department in certain circumstances to *346 sell vehicles that have come into its possession which it deems to be stolen, lost, abandoned, or taken from persons under arrest); G. L. c. 255, § 39A (authorizes members…”
Commonwealth v. Mamacos, 568 N.E.2d 1139 (Mass. 1991). “” In addition, G. L. c. 255, § 39A (1988 ed.), at least implies that members of a municipal police department have the power to remove motor vehicles from the scene of an accident.”
Liberty Mut. Ins. v. Mkt. Street Garage & Towing Serv., Inc., 307 N.E.2d 858 (Mass. App. Ct. 1974). “119) or been in an accident (see G. L. c. 255, § 39A, as amended through St.”
Am. Honda Fin. Corp. v. The City of Revere (D. Mass. 2020). · cites it 3× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 255, § 39A. When the vehicle is placed within the care of the towing company, the officer must provide the name and address of the registered owner of the vehicle.”
Baillargeon v. Kazanjians Garage, Inc., 2008 Mass. App. Div. 52 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2008). “Finally, the testimony of Frank and Rosa, together with the timing of the release of the car only three days after the plaintiff’s arrest, rendered inconsequential any failure of the garage to give the notice required by G.”
Exch. Street Auto Body, Inc. v. Stockton, 1982 Mass. App. Div. 221 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1982). · cites it 4× “Consequently, any right of recovery based on a statutory lien by the plaintiff could be derived solely from the provisions of G.L. c. 255, § 39A which expressly pertains to any motor vehicle removed from the scene of an accident.”
Source One Fin. Corp. v. McCarthy's Towing, Inc., 2014 Mass. App. Div. 48 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 2014). · cites it 2× “Source One argues that McCarthy’s did not comply with the notice requirements to the owner, it argues, of G.L.c. 255, §39A and G.L.c. 266, §29. Those statutes refer to the towing company’s notice obligations in cases of, respectively, police-ordered tows following an accident…”
Tody's Serv., Inc. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co. (Mass. 2025). “Finally, Tody's seeks to recover storage fees from Liberty pursuant to § 6B, which limits charges for vehicles involuntarily towed.”
Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Doe, 20 Mass. L. Rptr. 715 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2006). “159B, §6B by Direnzo’s citation of G.L.c. 255, §39A. This statute governs the sale by a garage of certain unclaimed vehicles when they are removed from a scene of an accident and placed for storage in the care of a garage by a member of the state police, local police, or agent…”
Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Falcon Towing & Recovery Corp., 23 Mass. L. Rptr. 57 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2007). “159B, §6C (storage upon order of a public official), G.L.c. 255, §39A (storage after an accident), and G.”
Liberty Mut. Ins. v. Mkt. St. Garage & Towing Serv., Inc., 49 Mass. App. Dec. 194 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1972). · cites it 2× “The defendant cites G.L. c. 255, § 39A, but this has no application since as a fact the court has expressly found that there was no accident and § 39A applies only to the case of “Any motor vehicle removed from the scene of an accident .”
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