Massachusetts General Laws Part I. Administration of the Government (Ch. 1-182) Ch. 36, § 13B

A plan, the original of which was prepared by an engineer, surveyor or draftsman who is no longer living or whose whereabouts is not known but which plan has been referred to in deeds or other documents theretofore duly recorded or a plan prepared or bearing a date prior to January first, nineteen hundred and sixteen, shall be received for filing in the registry of deeds of the district or county where the land lies even though the original or the best available print or photo copy thereof does not conform to the rules established under section thirteen A, provided there is filed and recorded with it a tracing or copy thereof prepared in accordance with said rules as then applicable in said registry and duly identified as a copy thereof. The fee for filing such plan shall be the recording fee for the tracing or copy thereof, as provided by section thirty-eight of chapter two hundred and sixty-two, together with a further fee to be established in each case by the register of deeds with due regard to the probable expense of preserving and storing the original or print or photo copy thereof. In his discretion, the register may require the person presenting such plan for filing to provide and to record an affidavit setting forth the facts that qualify said plan to be received under the provisions of this section.