| Source | Print Location | Online Location | Annotated? | Official? | Bluebook abbreviations* | Common MA abreviations* |
| General Laws of Massachusetts | KFM 2429.M37 (for earlier versions consult Rare KFM2425.2). | Massachusetts State website (note that only the print version is considered official). | X | Mass. Gen. L. | M.G.L. or G.L. | |
| Massachusetts General Laws Annotated | KFM 2430 1932 .A2 Langdell Hall, 3 North. | The annotated version appears on Westlaw.com in the MA-ST-ANN database, the unannotated version appears in the MA-ST database. | X | Mass.Gen. Laws. Ann. | M.G.L.A. | |
| Annotated Laws of Massachusetts | Located in print at KFM 2430 1932 .A2 Langdell Hall, 3 North. | Also available electronically on Lexis.com and through Harvard’s e-resource LexisNexis Academic. | X | Mass. Ann. Laws | Mass. Ann. L. |
*It is preferred practice in many Massachusetts law firms to use a variation on the Bluebook citation form when citing to a Massachusetts code in a document that will be submitted to a Massachusetts court. Check with your firm to see which form is preferred. When citing to Massachusetts code in a document that will be submitted to a non-Massachusetts court, the Bluebook citation form is preferred.
Using Massachusetts Codes:
Code sections may be located by using indexes found at the backs of individual
volumes or in separate volumes shelved at the beginning or end of the code set.
Some codes are numbered with chapter or title numbers. Some state codes are
really collections of codes on individual subjects such as domestic relations
law, criminal law, and commercial law. The most frequently consulted codes are
annotated codes. These contain the text of the current laws and also provide
references to cases that interpret the statute. They may also provide cross
references to other relevant statutes, regulations, and legislative history
information.
Finding a code citation:
If you know the popular name of a Massachusetts statute such as the “Medical
Practice Act,” one way to find its citation is to use a popular name table
such as Shepard's Acts and Cases by Popular Name: Federal and State. (Many of
the annotated and unannotated codes listed above also contain popular name tables.)
If you do not know the popular name of a statute, use the indexes at the end
of the federal and state codes to locate a citation to your statute by looking
up its subject.
For more information about finding and using statutes in general, please consult
the statutes link to start a short
video about statutory research. (RealNetwork
player or compatible software is required for video playback.)
Updating a code provision:
Consult the most recent resource (Massachusetts code volumes are kept up to
date with pocket parts and supplemental volumes) and then update the code by
looking at any subsequent session laws. For example, if the front page of the
pocket part states, "Includes laws through the 2001 Second Annual Session,"
you should check the session laws beginning with the first session of 2002.