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

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 27 (2026)

Court records; motor vehicle violations

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 27. The clerk-magistrate of each court shall keep a full record of every criminal case filed therein, and of every civil motor vehicle infraction heard therein, in which a person is charged with a violation of any statute, ordinance, by-law or regulation relating to the operation or control of motor vehicles, other than violations of section twenty A or twenty A1/2. Upon the disposition of such matters, the clerk-magistrate shall forthwith send an abstract of such record to the registrar, in such form, with such content, and by such method as the registrar and the administrative justice of the district court department shall jointly determine. The registrar shall record such information in such form as he shall determine, and such record of the registrar shall be an official record of such criminal case or civil motor vehicle infraction for purposes of any action by the registrar pursuant to chapter ninety and for purposes of the safe driver insurance plan established by section one hundred and thirteen B of chapter one hundred and seventy-five.

Courts may on their own initiative, and shall upon the request of the registrar or his agents, furnish to the registrar the details of any particularly flagrant cases involving the operation or control of motor vehicles which may be heard before them. Such reports may include recommendations to the registrar regarding the suspension or revocation of the accused person's operators license or registration certificate.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1976–2017 · leading case: Newton Police Ass'n v. Police Chief, 828 N.E.2d 952 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005).
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Newton Police Ass'n v. Police Chief, 828 N.E.2d 952 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005). “90C continued the earlier practice (under G. L. c. 90, § 27, as appearing in St. 1961, c.”
Pollard v. Panora, 411 F. Supp. 580 (D. Mass. 1976). “If he does not request a change in the return date and does not appear for his hearing, a default is entered on the record and an attested copy of the court abstract is immediately sent to the Registrar, pursuant to Mass.Gen.L. c. 90, § 27. Fourth, upon receipt of the default,…”
Flatley v. Bd. of Motor Vehs. Liab. Policies & Bonds, 13 Mass. L. Rptr. 432 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2001). · cites it 2× “” See G.L.c. 90, §27. Then, the Registrar is required to revoke the license or right to operate of a person convicted of vehicular homicide.”
Commonwealth v. O'Leary (Mass. App. Ct. 2017). “90C continued the earlier practice (under G. L. c. 90, § 27, as appearing in St. 1961, c.”
Burke v. Bd. of Appeal on Motor Veh. Liab. Policies & Bonds, 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 464 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2014). “This was done pursuant to G.L.c. 90, §27. At the hearing before the Board, the Registrar stated that in 2001 the Registry received notice only that the motor vehicle homicide charge was nolle pross’ed, and that Burke was convicted of the OUI, second offense.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.