There’s lots to know about Massachusetts! We’ve got the basics for you here: driving safety; Massachusetts holidays; sales, hotel and meal taxes; and applicable state laws.
Driving Safety
- The speed limit on most major highways in Massachusetts is 65 mph/104 km; some sections are 55 mph/88 km.
- While most non-U.S. driver’s licenses are acceptable, it’s best to bring an international driver’s license.
- State law requires all vehicle occupants to wear seat belts.
- When entering a rotary intersection, yield to any vehicle already in the rotary.
- A right turn on red at a traffic signal is permitted after coming to a full stop and yielding to pedestrians and other traffic, unless a “No Turn on Red” sign is posted.
- To ensure your safety and that of others on the road, Massachusetts strictly enforces its drunk driving law.
- In the United States of America, we drive on the right side of the road.
Emergency Assistance
- Fire, Police, Ambulance: 911. Text to 911 is available in Massachusetts.
- Highway Assistance
- The Highway Assistance Program covers 34 highways in Massachusetts with van and tow truck patrols during rush hours and holidays. If your vehicle becomes disabled, please try to move your vehicle into the breakdown lane to the right of the solid line. Make sure you turn on your hazard lights and raise the hood of your car. At night, turn on your interior lights. Remain in your vehicle if safe to do so. If you exit your vehicle and are able to do so, exit on the side away from traffic and stand on the other side of the guardrail when possible. If you have a reflective vest, put it on before exiting. Always exercise extreme caution when you are on the side of the road. Always call 911 first in an emergency.
- E-ZPass: Sign up for your FREE E-ZPass transponder.
For a list of Visitors Centers in Massachusetts, click here.
Massachusetts Holidays
Massachusetts celebrates the following national, state and local holidays. Banks and municipal buildings will be closed on many of these dates. Contact individual businesses for information about holiday schedules.
Massachusetts Public Holidays
- January 1 – New Year’s Day
- Third Monday in January – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Third Monday in February – Presidents’ Day
- March 17 (Suffolk County only) – Evacuation Day
- Third Monday in April – Patriots’ Day
- Last Monday in May – Memorial Day
- June 17 (Suffolk County only) – Bunker Hill Day
- June 19 – Juneteenth
- July 4 – Independence Day
- First Monday in September – Labor Day
- Second Monday in October – Columbus Day
- November 11 – Veterans Day
- Fourth Thursday in November – Thanksgiving
- December 25 – Christmas Day
To find out more about holiday events in Massachusetts, check out our Holidays section.
State and Local Taxes
A 6.25% state sales tax is applied to all items except non-restaurant food and clothing under $175.
A 6.25% state sales tax is applied to all alcoholic beverages sold at retail.
A 6.25% state meals tax is applied to restaurant and take-out meals.
A local option meals tax of 0.75% may be applied.
Hotel rooms state tax rate is 5.7% (8.45% in Boston, Cambridge, Worcester, Chicopee, Springfield and West Springfield.)
A local option rooms tax of up to 6% may be applied, and a community impact fee of up to 3% may be assessed on certain short-term rental properties by a municipality.
For more information, please visit mass.gov/dor.
State Laws
- All vehicle occupants must wear safety belts. Children must be properly secured in child safety seats until they are eight, unless they are more than 57 inches in height.
- Bicycle safety: All bicycle riders are urged to wear helmets. State law requires that children under 16 must wear a bicycle helmet; that child passengers between one and four years old or 40 pounds or under in weight be carried in an approved baby seat; and that no child under the age of one ride as a passenger on a bicycle.
- Vehicles from either direction must stop and remain stopped while the front and rear lights of school buses are flashing, except when approaching from the opposite direction on a divided highway.
- A Vulnerable Road Users Law requires motorists to pass a vulnerable road user such as a pedestrian, wheelchair user, cyclist, first responder, or roadside worker at a “safe passing distance” of at least 4 feet.
- Massachusetts recognizes official disability placards, stickers and plates from other states for parking for persons with disabilities.
- The legal drinking age in Massachusetts is 21. A Massachusetts driver’s license, Massachusetts liquor ID, passport or military ID are required for alcohol purchases. Massachusetts prohibits carrying open containers of alcohol in public places.
- To purchase cannabis or cannabis-based products, you must be 21 years or older and present a valid government-issued ID from an adult-use Marijuana Establishment in Massachusetts. Massachusetts law permits you to carry up to one ounce of marijuana. It is illegal to use marijuana in any form in public places or on federal land, and it is illegal to drive while under the influence of cannabis or have an open container of any form of marijuana in the passenger area of a car. You can’t cross state lines with marijuana. Out-of-state residents cannot purchase medical marijuana in Massachusetts.
- The unlicensed or unauthorized carrying of firearms is subject to a minimum compulsory jail sentence of one year. To obtain a Massachusetts gun license, call (617) 660-4780.
Time Zones
Massachusetts is in the Eastern Time Zone, five hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. From the first Saturday in March until the first Saturday in November, Massachusetts observes Daylight Savings Time, and clocks are turned ahead one hour.
Tipping for Services
For meals, the recommended gratuity is 15 to 20 percent of your meal/bar bill. Some restaurants automatically add a gratuity for large groups. Other tipping guidelines: 15 percent for a taxi; $1 to $1.50 per bag for airport porters and hotel staff.
Weather & Climate
Summer temperatures vary from comfortable 70s F (low 20s C) to the 90s F (up to 35C). The fall season ranges from 50F to 70F (0-20C). Winter temperatures usually hover around freezing and sometimes lower. Average annual rainfall is 44 inches.