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

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 13A (2026)

Seat belt use required; exemptions; penalty

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 13A. No person shall operate a private passenger motor vehicle or ride in a private passenger motor vehicle, a vanpool vehicle or truck under eighteen thousand pounds on any way unless such person is wearing a safety belt which is properly adjusted and fastened; provided, however, that this provision shall not apply to:

(a) any child less than twelve years of age who is subject to the provisions of section seven AA;

(b) any person riding in a motor vehicle manufactured before July first, nineteen hundred and sixty-six;

(c) any person who is physically unable to use safety belts; provided, however, that such condition is duly certified by a physician who shall state the nature of the handicap, as well as the reasons such restraint is inappropriate; provided, further, that no such physician shall be subject to liability in any civil action for the issuance or for the failure to issue such certificate;

(d) any rural carrier of the United States Postal Service operating a motor vehicle while in the performance of his duties; provided, however, that such rural mail carrier shall be subject to department regulations regarding the use of safety belts or occupant crash protection devices;

(e) anyone involved in the operation of taxis, liveries, tractors, trucks with gross weight of eighteen thousand pounds or over, buses, and passengers of authorized emergency vehicles.

(f) the side facing seat on which the factory did not install a seat belt in any car owned for the purpose of antique collection.

Any person who operates a motor vehicle without a safety belt, and any person sixteen years of age or over who rides as a passenger in a motor vehicle without wearing a safety belt in violation of this section, shall be subject to a fine of twenty-five dollars. Any operator of a motor vehicle shall be subject to an additional fine of twenty-five dollars for each person under the age of sixteen and no younger than twelve who is a passenger in said motor vehicle and not wearing a safety belt. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by law enforcement agencies only when an operator of a motor vehicle has been stopped for a violation of the motor vehicle laws or some other offense.

Any person who receives a citation for violating this section may contest such citation pursuant to section three of chapter ninety C. A violation of this section shall not be considered as a conviction of a moving violation of the motor vehicle laws for the purpose of determining surcharges on motor vehicle premiums pursuant to section one hundred and thirteen B of chapter one hundred and seventy-five.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 20 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Washington, 944 N.E.2d 98 (Mass. 2011).
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Commonwealth v. Washington, 944 N.E.2d 98 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 5× “8 He asked each of the passengers for *37 identification because he intended to issue each a citation or warning for failing to wear a seat belt as required by G. L. c. 90, § 13A. As the trooper spoke to him, the defendant became very nervous and began to pat his pants and upper…”
United States v. Henderson, 463 F.3d 27 (1st Cir. 2006). · cites it 2× “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 13A. Henderson responds that the court clearly erred when it accepted Kominsky’s testimony that Henderson was not wearing his seatbelt during the stop.”
Commonwealth v. Stampley, 771 N.E.2d 784 (Mass. 2002). · cites it 2× “From that vantage point, he noticed that the two passengers (the defendant in the front seat, the other passenger in the rear seat) did not have their seat belts fastened, in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 13A. He asked the passengers for identification.”
Commonwealth v. Goewey, 894 N.E.2d 1128 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 2× “94C, § 32C [a]), and not wearing a seat belt while a passenger in an automobile (G. L. c. 90, § 13A). The police found the marijuana concealed on his person during a routine traffic stop.”
United States v. Fernandez, 600 F.3d 56 (1st Cir. 2010). “Pistolese testified that he wanted the passengers’ identification information so that he could cite all three men for seat belt violations, pursuant to Mass. Gen. L. ch. 90, § 13A, in addition to citing the driver for a moving violation.”
Commonwealth v. Martin, 63 N.E.3d 1107 (Mass. 2016). “98, § 9; and failure to wear a seatbelt, G. L. c. 90, § 13A. On October 13, 2011, the defendant pleaded guilty to possession of a class D substance, subsequent offense.”
Commonwealth v. Young, 905 N.E.2d 90 (Mass. 2009). “89, § 8; (6) failure to wear a seat belt, see G. L. c. 90, § 13A; and (7) receiving stolen property, see G.”
Commonwealth v. Brown, 915 N.E.2d 252 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009). “Indeed, the applicable statute, G. L. c. 90, § 13A, inserted by St. 1993, c.”
Commonwealth v. Elysee, 934 N.E.2d 837 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010). “See G. L. c. 90, § 13A; Commonwealth v. Goewey, 69 Mass.”
Commonwealth v. Lobo, 978 N.E.2d 807 (Mass. App. Ct. 2012). “See G. L. c. 90, § 13A. The marijuana, which was wrapped in clear plastic, was “a very small amount,” unquestionably less than one ounce.”
Commonwealth v. Goewey, 868 N.E.2d 651 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007). “94C, § 32C(a), and for not wearing a seatbelt in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 13A. Prior to trial, the defendant moved to suppress the marijuana that was found concealed on his person during a traffic stop.”
United States v. Fernandez, 578 F. Supp. 2d 243 (D. Mass. 2008). · cites it 3× “He then noticed that none of the three occupants was wearing a seat belt which Officer Pistolese believed to be a violation of M.G.L. c. 90, § 13A. He asked the occupants of the car for their names and dates of birth so that he could issue them citations for seatbelt violations.”
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