Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 90, § 3D (2026)

Appointment of registrar as result of application for registration or license to operate motor vehicle; service of process on registrar

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 3D. Application for registration of a motor vehicle or trailer or for a license to operate motor vehicles shall constitute and irrevocably appoint, in case the certificate of registration or license applied for is issued, the registrar or his successor in office the true and lawful attorney of the applicant, upon whom may be served all lawful processes in any action or proceeding against him, or his executor or administrator, growing out of any accident or collision in which he or his agent may be involved while operating a motor vehicle within the commonwealth during the period covered by the certificate of registration or by the license as the case may be, and any process against him which is so served shall, if he is notified of such service as hereinafter provided, be of the same legal force and validity as if served on him personally and the mailing by the registrar of a copy of such process to him at his last address as appearing on the registrar's records shall be sufficient notice to him of such service. Service of such process shall be made by leaving duplicate copies thereof with a fee to be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven in the hands of the registrar, or in his office, and the registrar shall forthwith send one of said copies by mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the defendant at his last address as appearing on the registrar's records; and an affidavit of the registrar, or of any person authorized by him to send such copy, that such copy has been so mailed shall be prima facie evidence thereof. One of the duplicates of such process, certified by the registrar as having been served upon him, shall be sufficient evidence of service upon him under said power of attorney. The court in which the action is pending may order such continuances as may be necessary to afford the defendant reasonable opportunity to defend the action.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 10 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1968–2024 · leading case: Touzin v. Smith, 381 N.E.2d 1313 (Mass. App. Ct. 1978).

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Touzin v. Smith, 381 N.E.2d 1313 (Mass. App. Ct. 1978). · cites it 8× “Smith (Smith), the driver of an automobile which collided with the taxicab, the plaintiff proceeded under G. L. c. 90, § 3D, as amended through St.”

Hardy v. Utica Mut. Ins., 341 N.E.2d 651 (Mass. 1976). “See G. L. c. 90, § 3D. For some unexplained reason, the registry did not mail a copy of the process to Bills until July 9, 1971.”

Nutter v. Woodard, 614 N.E.2d 692 (Mass. App. Ct. 1993). “cover such legal represen- 2 If service cannot be made on the administratrix, it may be made on the Registrar of Motor Vehicles under G. L. c. 90, § 3D.”

LUZ HARVEY & Another v. ELIAS ASSED (& a Consol. Case). (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 3× “" G. L. c. 90, § 3D. Despite the way the summons was written, after receiving the summons and complaint, the RMV -- presumably because its last address for the defendant was the Medford address on the police report of the accident -– utilized the § 3D procedure, mailing the…”

Murray v. Uber Tech., Inc. (D. Mass. 2020). · cites it 2× “Apparently acknowledging the inapplicability of § 3A, plaintiff argues for the first time in her reply brief that service was actually effectuated under Mass. Gen. L. c. 90 § 3D rather than § 3A.”

Hurlburt v. Falvey, 298 N.E.2d 897 (Mass. App. Ct. 1973). “In this tort action arising out of an automobile accident service of process was made on the defendant in the manner provided in G. L. c. 90, § 3D, by service upon the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.”

Hardy v. Utica Mut. Ins., 329 N.E.2d 155 (Mass. App. Ct. 1975). “387), their reasoning is equally applicable to a case such as the District Court action underlying the present bill which arose under G. L. c. 90, § 3D (as amended through St.”

McCumiskey v. Stevens, 3 Mass. Supp. 16 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1981). “Service, in Touzin, was made on the Registry of Motor Vehicles under G.L.c. 90, § 3D, the method which the plaintiff in this action eventually used.”

Khramtsov v. Wright, 6 Mass. L. Rptr. 231 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1996). “On or about September 16, in accordance with M.G.L.c. 90, §3D, a duplicate copy of process served upon the Registrar of Motor Vehicles against defendant Wright was forwarded by mail to 14 Culbert Street, Mattapan, Massachusetts, 02126, the last known address for Wright in the…”

Munn v. Munn, 40 Mass. App. Dec. 85 (Mass. Dist. Ct., App. Div. 1968). “In the three above-entitled actions, proceedings were commenced by writs served upon the Registrar of Motor Vehicles in accordance with the provisions of G.L.c. 90, § 3D. The writs were dated respectively September 8, 1965, September 15, 1965 and December 22, 1965, and were all…”

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