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

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 23 (2026)

Operation of motor vehicle after suspension or revocation of license; concealment of identity of motor vehicle

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 23. Any person convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license to operate has been suspended or revoked, or after notice of the suspension or revocation of his right to operate a motor vehicle without a license has been issued by the registrar and received by such person or by his agent or employer, and prior to the restoration of such license or right to operate or to the issuance to him of a new license to operate, and any person convicted of operating or causing or permitting any other person to operate a motor vehicle after the certificate of registration for such vehicle has been suspended or revoked and prior to the restoration of such registration or to the issuance of a new certificate of registration for such vehicle, or whoever exhibits to an officer authorized to make arrests, when requested by said officer to show his license, a license issued to another person with intent to conceal his identity, shall, except as provided by section twenty-eight of chapter two hundred and sixty-six, be punished for a first offence by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than ten days, or both, and for any subsequent offence by imprisonment for not less than sixty days nor more than one year, and any person who attaches or permits to be attached to a motor vehicle or trailer a number plate assigned to another motor vehicle or trailer, or who obscures or permits to be obscured the figures on any number plate attached to any motor vehicle or trailer, or who fails to display on a motor vehicle or trailer the number plate and the register number duly issued therefor, with intent to conceal the identity of such motor vehicle or trailer, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than ten days, or both. Any person convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license to operate has been revoked by reason of his having been found to be an habitual traffic offender, as provided in section twenty-two F, or after notice of such revocation of his right to operate a motor vehicle without a license has been issued by the registrar and received by such person or by his agent or employer, and prior to the restoration of such license or right to operate or the issuance to him of a new license to operate shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred nor more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two years, or both. In no case shall a person be prosecuted for operating after suspension or revocation of a license upon a failure to pay an administrative reinstatement fee without a prior written notice from the registrar mandating payment thereof.

Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph or any other general or special law to the contrary, whoever has not been previously found responsible for or convicted of, or against whom a finding of delinquency or a finding of sufficient facts to support a conviction has not been rendered on, a complaint charging a violation of operating a motor vehicle after his license to operate has been suspended or revoked, or after notice of the suspension or revocation of his right to operate a motor vehicle without a license has been issued by the registrar and received by such person or by his agent or employer, and prior to the restoration of such license or right to operate or to the issuance to him of a new license to operate shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500. This paragraph shall not apply to any person who is charged with operating a motor vehicle after his license to operate has been suspended or revoked pursuant to a violation of paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section 24, or section 24D, 24E, 24G, 24L or 24N of this chapter, subsection (a) of section 8 or section 8A or 8B of chapter 90B, section 8, 9 or 11 of chapter 90F or after notice of such suspension or revocation of his right to operate a motor vehicle without a license has been issued and received by such person or by his agent or employer, and prior to the restoration of such license or right to operate or the issuance to him of a new license or right to operate because of any such violation.

Any person convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license to operate has been suspended or revoked pursuant to a violation of paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section twenty-four, or pursuant to section twenty-four D, twenty-four E, twenty-four G, twenty-four L, or twenty-four N of this chapter, or pursuant to subsection (a) of section eight, or pursuant to a violation of section eight A or section eight B of chapter ninety B, or pursuant to a violation of section 8, 9 or 11 of chapter ninety F, or after notice of such suspension or revocation of his right to operate a motor vehicle without a license has been issued and received by such person or by his agent or employer, and prior to the restoration of such license or right to operate or the issuance to him of a new license to operate shall be punished by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars and by imprisonment in a house of correction for not less than sixty days and not more than two and one-half years; provided, however, that the sentence of imprisonment imposed upon such person shall not be reduced to less than sixty days, nor suspended, nor shall any such person be eligible for probation, parole, or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served sixty days of such sentence; provided, further, that the commissioner of correction may, on the recommendation of the warden, superintendent or other person in charge of a correctional institution, or of the administrator of a county correctional institution, grant to an offender committed under this paragraph a temporary release in the custody of an officer of such institution for the following purposes only: to attend the funeral of a relative; to visit a critically ill relative; to obtain emergency medical or psychiatric services unavailable at said institution; or to engage in employment pursuant to a work release program. The provisions of section eighty-seven of chapter two hundred and seventy-six shall not apply to any person charged with a violation of this paragraph. Prosecutions commenced under this paragraph shall not be placed on file or continued without a finding.

Whoever operates a motor vehicle in violation of paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section 24, sections 24G or 24L, subsection (a) of section 8 of chapter 90B, sections 8A or 8B of chapter 90B or section 131/2 of chapter 265, while his license or right to operate has been suspended or revoked, or after notice of such suspension or revocation of his right to operate a motor vehicle has been issued and received by such person or by his agent or employer, and prior to the restoration of such license or right to operate or the issuance to him of a new license or right to operate, pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision (1) of section 24, sections 24G or 24L, subsection (a) of section 8 of chapter 90B, sections 8A or 8B of chapter 90B or section 131/2 of chapter 265 shall be punished by a fine of not less than $2,500 nor more than $10,000 and by imprisonment in a house of correction for a mandatory period of not less than 1 year and not more than 21/2 years, with said sentence to be served consecutively to and not concurrent with any other sentence or penalty. Such sentence shall not be suspended, nor shall any such person be eligible for probation, parole, or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served said 1 year of such sentence; provided, however, that the commissioner of correction may, on the recommendation of the warden, superintendent or other person in charge of a correctional institution, or of the administrator of a county correctional institution, grant to an offender committed under this paragraph a temporary release in the custody of an officer of such institution only to obtain emergency medical or psychiatric services unavailable at said institution or to engage in employment pursuant to a work release program. Section 87 of chapter 276 shall not apply to any person charged with a violation of this paragraph. Prosecutions commenced under this paragraph shall not be placed on file or continued without a finding.

A certificate of the registrar or his authorized agent that a license or right to operate motor vehicles or a certificate of registration of a motor vehicle has not been restored or that the registrar has not issued a new license so to operate to the defendant or a new certificate of registration for a motor vehicle the registration whereof has been revoked, shall be admissible as evidence in any court of the commonwealth to prove the facts certified to therein, in any prosecution hereunder wherein such facts are material. A certificate of a clerk of court that a person's license or right to operate a motor vehicle was suspended for a specified period shall be admissible as prima facie evidence in any court of the commonwealth to prove the facts certified to therein in any prosecution commenced under this section.

Upon a conviction of operating after suspension or revocation of license or right to operate under the first paragraph, the registrar shall extend said suspension or revocation for an additional sixty days. Upon a conviction of operating after suspension or revocation of license or right to operate under the second paragraph, the registrar shall extend said suspension or revocation for an additional year.

If a person operating a motor vehicle after suspension or revocation of a license to operate or the right to operate a motor vehicle under the first or second paragraphs of this section, is found by the registrar to have operated a vehicle registered to another in violation of said suspension or revocation, the registrar shall, after hearing, revoke the certificate of registration of said motor vehicle for up to thirty days. Pursuant to said hearing, the certificate of registration and the number plates shall be immediately surrendered to the registrar.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 118 cases (24 in the last 5 years), 1975–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Canty, 998 N.E.2d 322 (Mass. 2013).
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Commonwealth v. Canty, 998 N.E.2d 322 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 7× “He claimed that the indictment, which alleged operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol with a suspended license, did not allege a crime because the operation of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol with a suspended license is a crime under…”
Commonwealth v. Lee, 998 N.E.2d 768 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 21× “Following a jury-waived trial, the defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license had been suspended for operating while under the influence of alcohol (OUT) pursuant to G. L. c. 90, § 23, third par. The trial judge sentenced him to sixty days in a house…”
Commonwealth v. Royal, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 168 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). · cites it 3× “To prove the crime of operating a motor vehicle after license revocation or suspension, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) the defendant operated a motor vehicle, (2) that at the time of operation the defendant’s license had been revoked or suspended,…”
Commonwealth v. Wilson, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 166 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). · cites it 10× “See G. L. c. 90, § 23, third par. He appeals, arguing that his motion for a required finding of 2 not guilty was wrongfully denied because the Commonwealth failed to prove that he had notice that his license had been suspended.”
United States v. Sanchez, 612 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2010). · cites it 3× “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 23 . Similarly (with exceptions not pertinent here), operating a motor vehicle without proper license plates is a crime.”
Commonwealth v. Parenteau, 948 N.E.2d 883 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 3× “The defendant subsequently was placed under arrest for violating G. L. c. 90, § 23, 6 by operating a motor vehicle after his license had been revoked pursuant to G.”
Commonwealth v. Deramo, 762 N.E.2d 815 (Mass. 2002). · cites it 2× “Following a jury-waived trial, the defendant was convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license had been revoked for operating while under the influence of alcohol (G. L. c. 90, § 23, second par.). On appeal, he contended that the motion judge erred in denying his…”
Commonwealth v. Petersen, 851 N.E.2d 1102 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). · cites it 2× “90, § 34J; operating after license suspension for operating under the influence, operating with a suspended registration, both pursuant G. L. c. 90, § 23; and a marked lanes violation, G.”
Commonwealth v. Buckley, 920 N.E.2d 73 (Mass. App. Ct. 2010). · cites it 5× “005); operating a motor vehicle after suspension or revocation of a license for operating under the influence in violation of G. L. c. 90, § 23 (no. 006); operating a motor vehicle after suspension or revocation of a license in violation of G.”
Commonwealth v. Dowler, 606 N.E.2d 1320 (Mass. 1993). · cites it 7× “In G. L. c. 90, § 23, second par. (1990 ed.), the Legislature has provided that anyone convicted of operating a motor vehicle after his license to operate has been suspended or revoked because of a violation of G.”
Pesce v. Coppinger, 355 F. Supp. 3d 35 (D.D.C. 2018). · cites it 2× “That charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of sixty days pursuant to Mass. Gen. L. c. 90, § 23. See D. 26-1 ¶ 4.”
Commonwealth v. Bois, 62 N.E.3d 513 (Mass. 2016). “94C, § 34; larceny over $250; larceny of a motor vehicle; malicious destruction of property; reckless driving; operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, G. L. c. 90, § 23; and failure to stop for a police officer.”
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