Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 131, § 80

A person shall not place, set, maintain, possess, or tend on the land of another, any trap, unless the same is registered in accordance with the provisions of this section. For the purpose of providing for the registration and identification of traps, the director shall provide application forms, renewal forms, registration certificates and other forms necessary for the registration of traps as hereinafter provided. The director shall require the applicant for registration or renewal to supply necessary information and shall charge a fee for the original certificate, which shall be valid for two years unless suspended or revoked, and a fee for a renewal for a similar period of time, the amounts of which shall be determined annually by the commissioner of administration under the provision of section three B of chapter seven, which shall cover and apply to all traps then and thereafter owned by the applicant. The director shall provide by regulation, approved by the fisheries and wildlife board, that the registration number of any certificate issued by him and the name of the owner of a trap shall be affixed to each trap.

Upon the sale of any registered trap, the owner and purchaser shall send a joint notice of such transfer to the director, and thereupon the seller's registered number, as appearing upon each trap so transferred, shall have the letter “T” added to it to indicate that said transfer has been so registered with the director, and in addition the buyer's registered number shall forthwith be stamped upon each such trap.

Upon the request of two or more persons, stating that they have entered into a partnership and are willing that all members of the partnership shall trap with the registered traps of any partner, each member of the partnership shall be furnished by the director with a special certification, written upon his registration certificate, that he is authorized to use traps belonging to the other members thereof, and it shall be unnecessary for any trap used by such partnership to bear any registration number other than that of its owner.

The director shall from time to time furnish to the director of law enforcement a list of all holders of registration certificates issued hereunder, including the registration number assigned to each such holder.