Updates (or filings) are published every two weeks in the Massachusetts Register by the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s State Publication and Regulations Division.
Each agency in Massachusetts is assigned a three digit title number. The first digit represents the cabinet office involved, while the last two digits represent the specific agency. The digit title number is then broken down into chapters and sections. For example:
105 CMR (digit title number) – Department of Public Health
105 CMR 125 – Licensing of Radiologic TechnologistsThe CMR also consists of emergency regulations, which an agency can adopt temporarily until certain requirements are met. For more information on the rules and procedures involved in filing regulations, agency and title number indexes, as well as a list of filing and publishing dates, please see The Regulations Manual or visit the State Publication and Regulation Division’s website.
The State Library maintains an up-to-date complete set of the CMR, cumulative indexes of code updates going back many years, and submitted emergency regulations. In addition to the CMR, the library also houses back issues of the Massachusetts Register, which is an important resource when researching the history of a code. If you are unable to visit the library, a great online resource is the Trial Court Law Libraries’ website where you can access an electronic version of the CMR that is maintained regularly, and also the libraries’ compiled general subject index.
If you have any questions about the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, or other resources in our collections, please contact the State Library at 617-727-2590. You can also contact us via email through our Ask A Librarian form.
Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department
