Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 178Q (2026)

Sex offender registry fee

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 178Q. The sex offender registry board shall assess upon every sex offender a sex offender registration fee of $75, hereinafter referred to as a sex offender registry fee. Said offender shall pay said sex offender registry fee upon his initial registration as a sex offender and annually thereafter on the anniversary of said registration; provided, however, that no such fee shall be assessed or collected until the offender has either (1) waived his right to petition for an evidentiary hearing to challenge his duty to register as a sex offender as set forth in section 178L or (2) has completely exhausted the legal remedies made available to him to so challenge said duty to register pursuant to sections 178L and 178M and has not prevailed in his attempt to eliminate said duty. A sex offender's duty to pay the fee established by this section shall only terminate upon the termination of said offender's duty to register as a sex offender as set forth in section 178G.

The sex offender registry board may waive payment of said sex offender registry fee if it determines that such payment would constitute an undue hardship on said person or his family due to limited income, employment status, or any other relevant factor. Any such waiver so granted shall be in effect only during the period of time that said person is determined to be unable to pay the sex offender registry fee. The sex offender registry board shall establish procedures relative to the collection and waiver of such fee by regulation. Said sex offender registry fee shall be collected and retained by the sex offender registry board. The sex offender registry board shall account for all such fees received and report said fees annually to the secretary of administration and finance and the house and senate committees on ways and means.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 2 cases, 2011–2014 · leading case: Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 459 Mass. 603 (Mass. 2011).

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Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 459 Mass. 603 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 5× “” G. L. c. 6, § 178Q. We view this classification with deference, recognizing that, ultimately, “the nature of a monetary exaction ‘must be determined by its operation rather than its specially descriptive phrase.”

Tobin Mueller v. Rick Raemisch, 740 F.3d 1128 (7th Cir. 2014). “See 730 ILCS 15073(c)(6); Idaho Code § 18-8307 (2); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 6, § 178Q. This sample of states — all we’ve been given — is too small to allow an inference that $100 is so high that it must be a fine.”

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