Code of Massachusetts Regulations
540 CMR - REGISTRY OF MOTOR VEHICLES
Title 540 CMR 18.00 - Minimum Standards for Issuance and Use of General Registrations and General Registration Number Plates
Section 18.03 - Compliance Decals

(1) An owner of a motor vehicle or trailer holding a general registration and a general registration number plate issued under M.G.L. c. 90, § 5, shall, on an annual basis or as otherwise prescribed by the Registrar, apply for a decal which indicates that the owner has complied with the requirements of M.G.L. chs. 90D, 64H and 64I, for each motor vehicle or trailer so registered. No decal shall be issued if the owner's registration is in nonrenewable status for nonpayment of excise tax or parking tickets. The decal shall contain a serial number, vehicle identification number and registration number of the particular vehicle displaying the decal and shall be displayed according to the Registrar's instructions. Failure to properly display the compliance decal shall be considered a violation of M.G.L. c. 90, § 20 for fine and penalty purposes.

(2) The decal requirement does not apply to:

(3) If any motor vehicle or trailer required to display a compliance decal under 540 CMR 18.03 is not owned by the general registration holder, it shall be the responsibility of the owner of the motor vehicle or trailer to pay any tax pursuant to M.G.L. c. 60A. The owner and general registration holder shall be jointly and severally responsible for any failure to display the compliance decal.

(4) A holder operating a newly acquired motor vehicle or trailer subject to the decal requirements of 540 CMR 18.03, who has applied for the decal, may carry a Registry receipt indicating compliance with M.G.L. chs. 90D, 64H, and 64I until the decal is issued. Such receipt shall constitute proof that the owner has complied with the provisions of 540 CMR 18.03.

(5) A person who is principally and substantially engaged in the business of renting or leasing non-construction type motor vehicles or trailers to the general public may permanently affix a compliance decal to the back of an owner-contractor registration plate instead of displaying the decal elsewhere on the motor vehicle or trailer. Documentation sufficient to identify the owner-contractor as the owner of the vehicle, to establish that a title has been obtained for the vehicle, and to establish that the vehicle is exempt from sales tax requirements or that the sales tax has been paid, shall be carried by the operator or in a readily accessible place in the vehicle. The provisions of this subsection shall not be applicable to any other category of owner-contractor or any other motor vehicles or trailers authorized to display an owner-contractor registration plate.

(6) Compliance with the decal requirements under 540 CMR 18.00 is a condition of being lawfully registered, and a vehicle without a required compliance decal shall be considered unregistered in violation of M.G.L. c. 90, § 9.