Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XIV Chapter 90
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 11 (2026)

Carrying certificate of registration and license; presentation after accident upon request

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 11. Every person operating a motor vehicle shall have the certificate of registration for the vehicle and for the trailer, if any, and his license to operate, upon his person or in the vehicle, in some easily accessible place, except that the certificates of registration of dealers, manufacturers, repairmen, owner-repairmen, farmers or dealers in both boats and boat trailers need not be so carried; provided, however, that the certificate of registration of a person who is operating a motor vehicle in accordance with the provisions of the last sentence of the fifth paragraph of section two need not be so carried; and, provided further, that in the case of a rental vehicle, a photostat copy of the certificate of registration, accompanied by the rental agreement, shall be sufficient to comply with the provisions of this section. If for any reason the registrar or his agents are unable to issue promptly to an applicant the certificate of registration or the license applied for, they may issue a receipt for the fee paid, and said receipt shall be carried in lieu of the certificate or license as the case may be, and for a period of sixty days from the date of its issue said receipt shall have the same force and effect given to the certificate or license by this chapter. If, in compliance with a written demand of the registrar or any of his authorized agents, a certificate of registration or license to operate is returned for inspection or for any other purpose, except for suspension or revocation, such written demand shall be carried in lieu of the certificate or license, as the case may be, and for the period of sixty days from its date said demand shall have the same force and effect given to the certificate or license by this chapter. Any operator who knowingly collides with or causes injury to any person or damage to any property shall, upon the request of the person injured or the person owning or in charge of the property damaged, plainly exhibit to such person his license and, if required under the provisions of this chapter to carry the certificate of registration for the vehicle upon his person or in the vehicle, such certificate.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 17 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1972–2023 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Cordero, 74 N.E.3d 1282 (Mass. 2017).
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Commonwealth v. Cordero, 74 N.E.3d 1282 (Mass. 2017). “7 The defendant’s failure to produce his registration provided the trooper with the authority to issue a citation for a fine of thirty-five dollars under G. L. c. 90, §§11 and 20, for failure to carry a license or registration certificate.”
Commonwealth v. Ellerbe, 723 N.E.2d 977 (Mass. 2000). “" G. L. c. 90, § 11. The defendant did submit an affidavit in support of her motion to suppress stating that she requested the police to verify the passenger’s driver status but they refused to do so.”
Commonwealth v. Eddington, 944 N.E.2d 153 (Mass. 2011). “See G. L. c. 90, § 11 (“Every person operating a motor vehicle shall have the certificate of registration for the vehicle .”
Commonwealth v. Lantigua, 649 N.E.2d 1129 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). “90, § 11 [operating without a license in possession]; § 10 [operating without having been issued a license]; § 23 [operating after suspension or revocation of license]) and gave the officers probable cause to arrest him (see G. L. c. 90, § 21). See generally Nolan & Henry,…”
Commonwealth v. Robie, 746 N.E.2d 583 (Mass. App. Ct. 2001). “It is undisputed that the defendant did not have the vehicle’s registration on his person or in the vehicle, in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 11 (“Every person operating a motor vehicle shall have the certificate of registration for the vehicle .”
Commonwealth v. Haefeli, 279 N.E.2d 915 (Mass. 1972). “I have information based upon photographs of a female subject whom I arrested this date for Receiving Stolen Property and also for Forging & Uttering stolen checks and also of a male subject whom I arrested in her company for Receiving Stolen Property.”
Commonwealth v. Blake, 503 N.E.2d 467 (Mass. App. Ct. 1987). “The response to a request for “papers” serves to indicate how the person is oriented or disposed, whether the police should be on further inquiry — natural aims of a police stop — and the average motorist accepts the routine question, if grudgingly, because he is aware that the…”
Commonwealth v. George, 550 N.E.2d 138 (Mass. 1990). “See G. L. c. 90, § 11 (1988 ed.). On appeal, the defendant neither raises nor argues any issue relating to that conviction.”
Commonwealth v. Stack, 728 N.E.2d 956 (Mass. App. Ct. 2000). “Then, as each driver failed to produce a *234 license on demand, in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 11, creating reason to suspect a violation of G.”
United States v. Botchway, 433 F. Supp. 2d 163 (D. Mass. 2006). “" Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 11 . The failure to do so, however, is apparently not a crime.”
Commonwealth v. Censullo, 661 N.E.2d 936 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996). “90, § 24); not being in possession of his motor vehicle driver’s license (G. L. c. 90, § 11); and a one-way street violation (G.”
Haefeli v. Paul Chernoff, 394 F. Supp. 1079 (D. Mass. 1975). “Mass.Gen.Laws Ann. ch. 90, § 21. Failure to have a certificate of registration in some easily accessible place is a criminal offense, Mass.”
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