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

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 1A (2026)

Registration of motor vehicles; liability insurance, failure to maintain; revocation of certificate of registration; exemptions; school buses

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1A. No motor vehicle or trailer, except one owned by a person, firm or corporation, for the operation of which security is required to be furnished under section six of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine A, or one owned by a person, firm or corporation subject to the supervision and control of the department of telecommunications and energy, except supervision and control under chapter one hundred and fifty-nine B, as to which said department has issued a certificate as hereinafter described, or one owned by a street railway company under public control, or by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof or the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority or the Massachusetts Port Authority, shall be registered under sections two to five, inclusive, unless the application therefor is accompanied by a certificate as defined in section thirty-four A or unless the registrar is otherwise satisfied that the provisions of compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance, have been met for such applicant and vehicle. The registrar may revoke without a hearing any certificate of registration if he is satisfied that the certificate, as defined in said section thirty-four A, accompanying the registration application has not been maintained for a period at least coterminous with that of any registration he may have issued in connection with a registration application. Said department shall issue a certificate hereinabove mentioned upon the filing of a bond, satisfactory to the department in form and amount, covering all motor vehicles and trailers of the obligor for which application for registration may be made, containing the condition of a motor vehicle liability bond, as defined in section thirty-four A, except as to amount, which bond shall, upon a showing to said department's satisfaction of the obligor's financial ability, be without surety. Such a certificate shall also be issued by said department upon presentation to it of satisfactory evidence of adequate personal injury liability insurance providing indemnity or protection equal to motor vehicle liability policies, as defined in said section thirty-four A. Such certificate, when issued by said department, shall be filed with the registrar. Ambulances owned and operated by any hospital or other institution or association supported wholly or in part by public or private donations for charitable purposes, and motor vehicles and trailers used by the fire or police department of any city or town or park board solely for the official business of such department or board shall not be subject to the requirements of this section.

No motor vehicle used as a school bus, except a vehicle so used under contract with a city or town and insured as provided in section four of chapter forty of the General Laws, or a vehicle for the operation of which security is required to be furnished under section six of chapter one hundred and fifty-nine A, shall be registered under sections two to five, inclusive, unless the policy or bond as defined in section thirty-four A, or the binder as described in the definition of ''certificate'' in said section provides indemnity, protection or security in the case of any one accident resulting in injury to or death of more than one person up to the amount of fifty thousand dollars.

No school bus shall be originally registered in the name of an applicant for registration under sections two to five, inclusive, unless the chassis model year is nineteen hundred and seventy-seven or any subsequent model year.

The registrar may refuse to accept an application for registration when the application is not accompanied by proof of payment, in the form prescribed by the United States Department of the Treasury, that the federal heavy vehicle use tax imposed by section 4481 of the Internal Revenue Code has been paid.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 22 cases, 1960–2010 · leading case: Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund v. Premier Ins., 869 N.E.2d 576 (Mass. 2007).
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Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund v. Premier Ins., 869 N.E.2d 576 (Mass. 2007). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 90, § 1A; Metropolitan Prop. & Cas.”
Mailhot v. Travelers Ins., 377 N.E.2d 681 (Mass. 1978). “The seeming inclusiveness of these words tended to support the Authority’s defense, but the court held that the defense failed. The plaintiff had no PIP coverage because neither she nor any member of her household owned a car, and the Authority as a “political subdivision,” was…”
Desrosiers v. Royal Ins. Co. of Am., 468 N.E.2d 625 (Mass. 1984). “90, § 9, and therefore by virtue of G. L. c. 90, § 1A, it was subject to our compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance law, G.”
Mendez v. Brites, 849 A.2d 329 (R.I. 2004). “See Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 90, § 1A (West 2001); Mass.”
Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund v. Saf. Ins., 787 N.E.2d 555 (Mass. 2003). “…scheme in Massachusetts, makes this abundantly clear. Massachusetts requires the insurance of motor vehicles. E.g., G. L. c. 90, § 1A (requiring liability insurance before vehicle registration); § 3 (vehicles owned by non-residents); § 34C (single policy covering more than…”
Fields v. Parsons, 234 N.E.2d 744 (Mass. 1968). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 90, § 1A. The defendant insurance company (American) answered that the policy had been cancelled and was not in effect on the date of the accident on which the plaintiffs were injured.”
Scandura v. Trombly Motor Coach Serv., Inc., 351 N.E.2d 202 (Mass. 1976). “” G. L. c. 90, § 1A. With an appropriate certificate from the Department of Public Utilities concerning its satisfaction of the security requirements of G.”
Saf. Ins. v. Massachusetts Bay Transp. Auth., 787 N.E.2d 1132 (Mass. App. Ct. 2003). · cites it 4× “The MBTA argues that it is exempted from the entire no-fault insurance statute, citing G. L. c. 90, §§ 1A 4 & 34A, and, as a *101 result, is exempted from making subrogation payments to Safety for PIP benefits paid under G.”
Woodman v. Hartford Accident & Indem. Co., 537 N.E.2d 601 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989). “As he stated: “Under G. L. c. 90, § 1A, no vehicle can be registered unless the application for registration is accompanied by a ‘certificate’ defined in c.”
Cyr v. Farias, 327 N.E.2d 890 (Mass. 1975). “G. L. c. 90, § 1A. This circumstance had *723 a significant bearing on the decision for the court was hesitant to extend the immunity of § 6D to the defendant where the defendant did not “bear the burden of providing protection afforded under the compulsory insurance statute.”
Enter. Rent-A-Car Co. of Boston, Inc. v. Arbella Mut. Ins., 884 N.E.2d 973 (Mass. 2008). “Pursuant to the requirements of G. L. c. 90, §§ 1A, 32E, and 34M, Enterprise maintained a standard Massachusetts automobile insurance policy, which included PIP benefits, that covered the automobile that Navis rented.”
Commonwealth v. Arbella Mut. Ins., 831 N.E.2d 389 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). “(Yellowbird), the owner of the taxi that injured Dani Mace-Kairouz, had elected to satisfy its compulsory liability insurance obligations under G. L. c. 90, § 1A, by obtaining a surety bond issued by the defendant Arbella Mutual Insurance Company (Arbella), with a limit equal to…”
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