Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title XV Chapter 93
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 (2026)

Credit cards; checks; personal identification information

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 105. (a) No person, firm, partnership, corporation or other business entity that accepts a credit card for a business transaction shall write, cause to be written or require that a credit card holder write personal identification information, not required by the credit card issuer, on the credit card transaction form. Personal identification information shall include, but shall not be limited to, a credit card holder's address or telephone number. The provisions of this section shall apply to all credit card transactions; provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not be construed to prevent a person, firm, partnership, corporation or other business entity from requesting information is necessary for shipping, delivery or installation of purchased merchandise or services or for a warranty when such information is provided voluntarily by a credit card holder.

(b) No person, firm, partnership, corporation or other business entity accepting a check in any business or commercial transaction as payment in full or in part for goods or services shall do any of the following:

(1) Require, as a condition of acceptance of such check, that the person presenting such check provide a credit card number, or any personal identification information other than a name, address, motor vehicle operator license number or state identification card number of such person and telephone number, all of which may be recorded; provided, however, that the person, firm, partnership, corporation or other business entity accepting such check may verify the signature, name, and expiration date on a credit card; provided further, that in complying with a request to provide a telephone number, the person paying with a check may provide either a home telephone number or a telephone number where such person may be called during daytime hours.

(2) Require, as a condition of acceptance a check, or cause a person paying with such check to sign a statement agreeing to allow a credit card to be charged to cover the amount of such check.

(3) Contact a credit card issuer or otherwise access a credit card account balance to determine if the amount of any credit available to the person paying with a check will cover the amount of such check.

(4) Require, as a condition of acceptance of the check, that a person's credit card number be recorded in connection with any part of a transaction.

(5) Record on a check, or require a person paying with a check to record on such check, any information regarding the race of such person.

(c) Subsection (b) shall not prohibit any person from doing any of the following:

(1) requesting, receiving, or recording a credit card number in lieu of requiring a cash deposit to secure payment in event of default, loss, damage or other occurrence; or

(2) recording a credit card number and expiration date as a condition for cashing or accepting a check where such person has agreed with the card issuer to cash or accept checks from the issuer's card holders and where the issuer guarantees such card holder checks cashed or accepted by such person.

(d) Any violation of the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed to be an unfair and deceptive trade practice, as defined in section 2 of chapter 93A. An individual aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of this section may notify the office of consumer affairs and business regulation or the office of the attorney general. The executive office of consumer affairs is authorized to promulgate rules or regulations necessary to enforce the provisions of this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., 984 N.E.2d 737 (Mass. 2013).
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Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., 984 N.E.2d 737 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 10× “Tyler’s complaint alleged that Michaels unlawfully writes customers’ personal identification information on credit card transaction forms in *493 violation of G. L. c. 93, § 105 (a) (§ 105 [a]), when Michaels’s employees request and record customers’ zip codes in processing…”
Brenner v. Williams-Sonoma, Inc., 867 F.3d 294 (1st Cir. 2017). · cites it 4× “Brenner filed a putative class action complaint alleging that Williams-Sonoma’s practice of collecting customers’ zip codes constituted unjust enrichment, and violated Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 (a). 2 Following the filing of the complaint, the case proceeded in the regular…”
Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., 840 F. Supp. 2d 438 (D. Mass. 2012). · cites it 10× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 (a). Because Tyler’s complaint is predicated on an alleged violation of the Act, this Court must decide whether a ZIP code constitutes “personal identification information” in a credit card transaction, and whether the retailers’s electronic card…”
Shaulis v. Nordstrom, Inc., 865 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2017). “In Tyler, the plaintiff accused the defendant of violating a statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 , that prohibits companies from writing customers’ “personal identification information” on credit card transaction forms when the credit card issuer does not require the company…”
Walsh v. Teltech Sys., Inc., 821 F.3d 155 (1st Cir. 2016). “In Tyler , the plaintiff accused the defendant of violating a statute, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 (“ § 105”), that prohib-' its companies from writing customers’ “personal identification information” on credit card ‘ transaction forms when the credit card issuer does not…”
Monteferrante v. Williams-Sonoma, Inc., 241 F. Supp. 3d 264 (D. Mass. 2017). “Because Monteferrante’s class definition plainly covers individuals who received initial mailings more than four years before this case was filed, 2 and whose claims are, therefore, time-barred, the court finds that it is overbroad on its face.”
Diviacchi v. Speedway LLC, 109 F. Supp. 3d 379 (D. Mass. 2015). · cites it 3× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 . Whereas Section 105 lays out the substantive contours of Diviaechi’s claim, section 9 of Chapter 93A grants her the actual cause of action: Any person .”
Tyler v. Michaels Stores, Inc., 150 F. Supp. 3d 53 (D. Mass. 2015). “FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The Plaintiffs brought this class action lawsuit against Michaels for unjust enrichment and violations of the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105 (a). Compl.”
OneBeacon Am. Ins. Co v. Urban Outfitters Inc, 625 F. App'x 177 (3rd Cir. 2015). “The Miller complaint alleges two counts: one for violation of a Massachusetts statute that prohibits businesses from “writing], eaus[ing] to be written or requir[ing] that a credit'card holder write personal identification information, not re-quired by the credit card issuer, on…”
Nat'l Amusements, Inc. v. Town of Dedham, 846 F. Supp. 1023 (D. Mass. 1994). “One wonders at the feelings of patrons of the Dedham Showcase Cinema during the summer of 1993 had they known they were secretly being counted and categorized based on their race.”
Aspinall v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 75 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2014). “, the plaintiffs Chapter 93A claim was based on a violation G.L.c. 93, § 105(a), which prohibits any person or business entity that accepts credit cards for business transactions from writing or requiring a credit card holder to write “personal identification information” that…”
Kimberly Woods v. the Hanover Ins. Grp., Inc. (Mass. App. Ct. 2023). “93A and G. L. c. 93, § 105. In Monteferrante, the Federal District Court judge stated that "[u]nder the 'continuing violation' doctrine, if a defendant engages in continuous or repeated pattern of unlawful acts, each such act 'rewinds the clock,' for 10 limitations purposes, as…”
Show all 13 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105(a) — 1 case
Aspinall v. Philip Morris Companies, Inc., 32 Mass. L. Rptr. 75 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2014). “, the plaintiffs Chapter 93A claim was based on a violation G.L.c. 93, § 105(a), which prohibits any person or business entity that accepts credit cards for business transactions from writing or requiring a credit card holder to write “personal identification information” that…”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 105(b)(5) — 1 case
Nat'l Amusements, Inc. v. Town of Dedham, 846 F. Supp. 1023 (D. Mass. 1994). “One wonders at the feelings of patrons of the Dedham Showcase Cinema during the summer of 1993 had they known they were secretly being counted and categorized based on their race.”
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