MGL §§ 64–67 — Safety, Penalties & Renewal

MGL Section 64 sets the general safety floor for hoisting equipment. It establishes that equipment must be operated safely and that operators carry personal responsibility for the condition and handling of the machine — not just a moral obligation, but a statutory one. This is the foundation the rest of the chapter builds on.

Section 65 governs examination and qualification. It is the authority behind the 2A license itself: you must pass a written exam demonstrating competency before you are allowed to operate covered equipment. Section 66 then shifts focus to the employer side, requiring that anyone directing hoisting work confirm the operator holds a current, valid license. The employer is not an innocent bystander if something goes wrong with an unlicensed worker at the controls.

Section 67 addresses accidents. If your machine is involved in an accident, you are required to report it. This is not optional and not left to supervisor discretion. The statute creates a direct obligation on the operator, which is why you need to know it before you ever set foot in a cab.

Permitting an unlicensed person to operate hoisting machinery carries a fine of $1,000 to $3,000 under M.G.L. c.146 §54A — and the statute also allows imprisonment for up to three months. This is a per-violation penalty, not a small daily charge, so a single instance of putting an unqualified person at the controls can expose you to thousands of dollars in fines. The penalty is set high on purpose: it removes any financial incentive to keep working while unqualified.

The criminal exposure built into §54A matters on the exam and on the job. Employers who direct unlicensed operators to run equipment share in this exposure. Section 66 makes the general contractor or employer liable when they put an unlicensed person on a machine, which means the financial and legal risk of cutting corners falls on both sides of the employment relationship.

Your 2A license must be renewed before it expires. Under current Massachusetts law there is no official grace period — an expired license means you are unlicensed, and operating on an expired credential carries the same penalties as operating with no credential at all. The exam tests this because operators commonly assume there is a built-in buffer. There is not. The moment your license expires, your legal authority to operate covered equipment ends.

If your license has already lapsed, reinstatement is not automatic. You must re-apply, and depending on how long the license has been expired, you may be required to sit for the examination again. The reinstatement process exists to protect the public by ensuring that operators who have been out of compliance demonstrate current competency before returning to work. Planning your renewal well before the expiration date is not just good practice — it is the only way to keep working without interruption.

The civil and criminal penalty structure in Chapter 146 exists because unlicensed operation is a public safety problem, not just a paperwork gap. An operator who has not been examined and credentialed is an unknown risk on a machine that can injure people and damage property in seconds. The $1,000–$3,000 fine under §54A, the possibility of imprisonment, and the employer liability provisions in Section 66 are all designed to make sure that cost is never worth cutting.

For you as an operator, the practical takeaway is straightforward: know your expiration date, renew early, and never let a supervisor talk you into running equipment on an expired or absent license. The liability that flows from that decision runs directly to you.