{"meta":{"key":"s_ma--pass-02","task":"S_MA","title":"SMA 940 CMR 38 remaining-evidence investigation","parent_title":"Massachusetts debt and debt relief law","edition":"pass-02","path":"/research/s_ma--pass-02/","kind":"split_pass","category":"state","role":"state","area_numbers":[66],"groups":["collections"],"date":"2026-10-24","tables":6,"claims":13,"sources":8,"review_status":"revise","review_complete":true,"sha256":"43b92a6b18e32a65a5c67b6eed9848bf4ccac2a6a457c5913292b4d6f345497f","headings":["Bottom line","1. Purpose and consumer scope — §§38.01–38.03","Debt-relief implication","2. Price and fee presentation — §38.04","Consequence for SettleADebt","3. Recurring fees and trial offers — §38.05","4. Relation to other law — §§38.06 and 38.08","5. Enforcement date — §38.09","It DOES establish","It DOES NOT establish"],"generation_provenance":{"actual_route":"regular_chat_adaptive_models","actual_model":"GPT-5.6 Sol","actual_mode":"Medium","provenance_limit":"Actual documented capture labels only; missing labels remain unknown. No preferred setting is inferred as actual execution."},"public_id":"S_MA/pass-02","facets":{"geography":["us","us-ma"],"debt_type":[],"stage":[],"subject":[]},"scope":"Only recover/authenticate current940CMR38 final operative text and adoption/amendment record through a materially usable public official route. Attribute prior failedmass.gov URLs; do not repeat broadMAresearch or assume regulation contains a cap. Separate DMB and noncustodial cases remain later questions.","pending_corrections":0},"markdown":"# S_MA PASS-02 — 940 CMR 38 remaining-evidence investigation\n\n**Assigned scope only:** authenticate the final operative text of **940 CMR 38.00, Unfair and Deceptive Fees**, its adoption/effect chronology, later-history check, and the resulting patches to PASS-01. I did **not** reopen DMB/noncustodial issues, Massachusetts market access generally, fee examples, or the federal baseline.\n\n**Research date:** October 24, 2026, Pacific.\n\n## Bottom line\n\nThe PASS-01 gap concerning 940 CMR 38 can now be **materially closed**.\n\n1. **940 CMR 38.00 is a duly adopted Attorney General regulation under M.G.L. c. 93A §2(c).** The Massachusetts Register filing appears in **Issue 1543, March 14, 2025**. The filing identifies the Attorney General as agency, identifies the chapter as 940 CMR 38.00, records the December 20, 2023 public hearing/comment period, and contains the regulation's filed text. [State Library of Massachusetts+1](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n2. The regulation itself gives a separate **enforcement/applicability date**: **“acts committed or practices in force as of September 2, 2025.”** Thus March 14, 2025 is the adoption/Register date reflected in the filed material, while September 2, 2025 is the regulation's expressly stated enforcement/application date. Those dates should not be collapsed. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n3. **It is not a debt-settlement fee-cap schedule.** The final text regulates price presentation, fee disclosure, trial offers, and negative-option/recurring-charge practices. It does **not** prescribe a debt-settlement setup-fee dollar cap, monthly cap, percentage-of-debt cap, percentage-of-savings cap, per-debt cap, aggregate program cap, or CPI-adjusted ceiling. PASS-01's refusal to invent such an amount remains correct. [Massachusetts Government+1](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n4. It **can nevertheless apply to consumer debt-relief services** on its face. “Product” includes a **service** sold for personal, family, or household use; “Targeted To” means used to induce Massachusetts consumers to enter a sale whether or not one occurs; and §38.02 reaches advertising, marketing, solicitation, and offers targeted to or resulting in a sale in Massachusetts. [Massachusetts Government+1](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n5. For a covered service, §38.04 generally requires the seller to present the **Total Price** from the initial price presentation, disclose the nature/purpose/amount of transaction fees, identify optional or waivable charges and how to avoid them, disclose the final transaction amount before sale, and not falsely characterize a charge as legally required. It also generally requires Total Price disclosure before collecting personal information, subject to enumerated exceptions. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n6. **940 CMR 38 does not itself authorize a fee.** A disclosure rule cannot turn a fee prohibited by another law, premature under another rule, or charged by an unauthorized provider into a lawful fee. Section 38.06 expressly coordinates 940 CMR 38 with specified other legal regimes, and §38.08 preserves federal preemption. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n7. I found **no later 940 CMR 38 amendment or proposed amendment** in the Secretary's currently accessible prospective-regulations history through the page published **October 23, 2026**. The Trial Court Law Libraries' 940-CMR compilation, updated **July 17, 2026**, also continues to list 940 CMR 38 as the applicable “Unfair and deceptive fees” chapter. This is a materially stronger later-history check than PASS-01, but it is still a bounded public-record negative—not a certified Secretary citator stating affirmatively that no amendment exists. [Massachusetts Secretary of State+1](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nAccordingly, **S_MA-P1-C032 should change from “held” to “resolved for the regulation's operative text and basic adoption/effect chronology,” while remaining bounded as to a formally certified complete amendment-history search.**\n\n# A. Final operative text actually recovered\n\n## 1. Purpose and consumer scope — §§38.01–38.03\n\nThe final filed text says 940 CMR 38 establishes standards defining unfair and deceptive acts and practices concerning:\n\n- fees imposed in marketing, solicitation, and sales;\n- trial offers;\n- contracts with negative-option features; and\n- consumers who are natural persons purchasing, renting, leasing, or bartering products for **personal, family, or household use**.\n\nSection **38.02** applies it to conduct connected with advertising, marketing, solicitation, or an offer of sale that is **“Targeted To or results in a Sale in Massachusetts.”** [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nThe operative definitions materially relevant to SettleADebt include:\n\n| Defined term | Final-text consequence |\n| --- | --- |\n| **Product** | Includes a tangible or intangible good **or service** available for sale or included in a sale for personal, family, or household use. |\n| **Targeted To** | Means employed to induce Massachusetts consumers to enter into a sale, regardless of whether a sale is completed. |\n| **Total Price** | Maximum price the consumer must pay, including fees, charges, and other expenses and mandatory ancillary products, except qualifying government and shipping charges. |\n| **Government Charges** | Limited to charges actually imposed on the transaction by government/quasi-government; seller expenses that a seller merely chooses to pass through do not qualify. |\n| **Negative Option Feature** | Includes automatic renewal, continuity plans, free-to-pay/fee-to-pay conversions, and pre-notification negative-option plans. |\n| **Trial Offer** | Limited-time free/reduced-price/rebate/incidental-cost product offer. |\n\nThese definitions are visible in the indexed final official Mass.gov text at printed **940 CMR pp.253–254**, dated **3/14/25**. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n### Debt-relief implication\n\nA consumer debt-settlement or negotiation service offered for household debts fits the regulation's generic word **“service”** absent some applicable exception or superseding regime. That does **not** decide whether the provider is otherwise legally permitted to furnish that service; it establishes only that the price-transparency chapter cannot be dismissed merely because the product is intangible or financial-services-related. **[S_MA-P2-C003–C004]**\n\n## 2. Price and fee presentation — §38.04\n\nFor covered Massachusetts-directed transactions, §38.04 defines the following as unfair or deceptive under chapter 93A:\n\n- failure to disclose the **Total Price clearly and conspicuously when price is first presented and afterward**;\n- failure, when Total Price is first presented, to disclose the **nature, purpose, and amount** of transaction fees/charges other than qualifying government or shipping charges;\n- for optional/waivable charges, failure to identify that fact and give readily available avoidance instructions;\n- failure before sale to disclose the final transaction amount and relevant fee information;\n- generally requiring personal information before Total Price disclosure, subject to the regulation's enumerated underwriting/availability/legality/regulator-approved-pricing exceptions;\n- misrepresenting a fee as required by law; and\n- failing to make Total Price the most prominent pricing figure where required. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n### Consequence for SettleADebt\n\nSuppose a provider lawfully may charge a $X enrollment/service/program amount under all other controlling law. **940 CMR 38 answers how covered pricing must be presented; it does not supply the legal entitlement to charge $X.**\n\nThat distinction closes the PASS-01 ambiguity:\n\n**940 CMR 38 is a disclosure/consumer-practice constraint layered onto otherwise lawful transactions—not an affirmative Massachusetts debt-settlement fee permission or maximum-fee table.**\n\n**[S_MA-P2-C005–C007]**\n\n## 3. Recurring fees and trial offers — §38.05\n\nSection 38.05 applies additional requirements when the product uses a **Trial Offer** or **Negative Option Feature**.\n\nThe retrieved final text expressly requires, among other things:\n\n- pre-acceptance written disclosure of financial obligations and cancellation dates for trial offers;\n- pre-purchase disclosure of recurring/increased charges and the cancellation mechanism for negative options;\n- a **simple cancellation mechanism** that is at least as easy to access/use as the enrollment method;\n- notices concerning continuing financial obligations; and\n- special notice rules for negative-option features of different durations. [Massachusetts Government+1](https://www.mass.gov/doc/junk-fee-regulations-940-cmr-3800-0/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nTherefore:\n\n- a debt-relief agreement that merely has **scheduled finite installments** is not automatically proven to be a negative-option arrangement;\n- an agreement that automatically renews or continues charging because the consumer does nothing can trigger §38.05;\n- nothing in §38.05 creates a debt-settlement percentage cap or service-performance trigger comparable to a debt-relief advance-fee rule.\n\n**[S_MA-P2-C008]**\n\n## 4. Relation to other law — §§38.06 and 38.08\n\nThe final regulation expressly contains a **Relation to Other Laws and Regulations** section not present in the same form in the original proposal.\n\nSection 38.06 says, among other things:\n\n- compliance with specified motor-vehicle rules constitutes compliance with specified portions of §38.04;\n- compliance by specified health-care providers with M.G.L. c.111 §228 constitutes compliance with 940 CMR 38;\n- regarding advertising, sale, or renewal of **credit**, compliance with Massachusetts/federal Truth in Lending requirements by a qualifying **creditor** constitutes compliance with 940 CMR 38;\n- specified securities compliance provides compliance with specified portions.\n\nSection **38.08** says 940 CMR 38 applies unless preempted by federal law. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nThe credit safe-harbor therefore cannot be expanded into a blanket exemption for every company that happens to operate around consumer debts. Its text is tied to the identified credit laws and qualifying creditors.\n\n**[S_MA-P2-C009]**\n\n## 5. Enforcement date — §38.09\n\nThe final text is explicit:\n\n940 CMR 38.00 applies to acts committed or practices in force as of **September 2, 2025**.\n\nThat is a different proposition from the Massachusetts Register adoption notation showing **Issue 1543 / March 14, 2025**. [Massachusetts Government+1](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nFor this dossier the safe chronology is therefore:\n\n**December 8, 2023** — Secretary published notice of proposed rulemaking; hearing/comment deadline set for December 20, 2023. [Massachusetts Secretary of State](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm)\n**December 20, 2023** — hearing/comment period identified in the official filing record. [State Library of Massachusetts](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n**March 14, 2025** — final regulation appears in Massachusetts Register **Issue 1543**; filed text bears the 3/14/25 pagination/date. [State Library of Massachusetts+1](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n**September 2, 2025** — §38.09's operative enforcement/application date. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n**October 24, 2026 research check** — no later amendment/proposal to 940 CMR 38 located in the Secretary's publicly accessible prospective-regulations history through October 23, 2026; current court-law-library compilation still lists chapter 38. [Massachusetts Secretary of State+1](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\n# B. Adoption versus proposal\n\nThe original proposed text must not be mistaken for the final regulation.\n\nThe 2023 proposed version was explicitly titled **“PROPOSED REGULATIONS 940 C.M.R. 38.00”** and had a materially different structure, including different terminology and only §§38.01–38.07 in the indexed proposal. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com)\n\nThe final regulation:\n\n- uses **Negative Option Feature** terminology;\n- includes the final definitions in §38.03;\n- adds **§38.06 Relation to Other Laws and Regulations**;\n- has §38.08 Preemption; and\n- expressly adds **§38.09 Enforcement Date**.\n\nTherefore any table, article, comment letter, or earlier summary based on the December 2023 proposal must be reconciled against the March 2025 final text before being used. **[S_MA-P2-C010]**\n\n# C. What 940 CMR 38 does to the Massachusetts debt-fee conclusions\n\n### It DOES establish\n\nFor a covered consumer debt-relief service marketed into Massachusetts:\n\n- all-in mandatory price transparency;\n- separate truthful identification of fees and their purpose;\n- disclosure and avoidance instructions for optional/waivable charges;\n- restrictions on labeling fees “required by law”;\n- timing of price disclosure relative to collection of personal information;\n- additional protections for qualifying trial/negative-option programs;\n- a chapter 93A unfair/deceptive-practice framework.\n\n### It DOES NOT establish\n\n940 CMR 38 does **not**, in the recovered final text:\n\n- authorize an otherwise prohibited debt-adjustment business;\n- create a commercial debt-settlement license;\n- prescribe a setup-fee maximum;\n- prescribe a monthly maximum;\n- prescribe a percentage-of-enrolled-debt maximum;\n- prescribe a percentage-of-savings maximum;\n- prescribe a per-account/debt maximum;\n- create an aggregate debt-settlement program-fee ceiling;\n- create an inflation/CPI adjustment table for debt-settlement charges;\n- say that disclosure makes a fee lawful;\n- define the separate performance event at which another law allows an otherwise valid provider fee to be earned.\n\n**[S_MA-P2-C005–C011]**\n\nNo new fee example is warranted because the newly authenticated regulation provides **presentation rules rather than a new calculable cap or entitlement**.\n\n# D. PASS-02 source table\n\n| Source ID | Source / issuer | Direct official route | Exact material actually read | Status / limitations |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| **S_MA-P2-S001** | Massachusetts Register Issue1543 / Secretary of Commonwealth, State Library archive | [Massachusetts Register Issue 1543 archive PDF](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Issue header: Issue1543, 3/14/2025; regulation filing p.98 indexed text; filed chapter940CMR38.00; AGO; authority c.93A§2(c); public hearing12/20/2023; final CMR pp.253–257 identified in same official archived object. | **Primary official archival source.** Direct binary open redirected to an inaccessible CDN in the browsing renderer, so PDF screenshots could not be obtained. Search index exposed substantive official text. Electronic Register itself states it is unofficial/informational; printed Register is official. Access 2026-10-24. [State Library of Massachusetts+1](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S002** | 940 CMR38 final regulation, Massachusetts Attorney General / Mass.gov | [Current Mass.gov regulation page](https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Landing page identifies date3/14/2025, AGO, authority MGLc.93A§2, and links final PDF. | **Official current agency route.** Page is usable through indexed retrieval; direct open later returned403. Access 2026-10-24. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S003** | Final 940CMR38 text, AGO | [Final 940 CMR 38 PDF route](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | §§38.01–38.03, CMR pp.253–254; §38.04 and opening §38.05, p.255; §§38.05 continued,38.06–38.09,p.257. Register notation3/14/25. | **Final official text recovered through indexed text.** Direct open returned403; no screenshot obtainable through web renderer. Access 2026-10-24. [Massachusetts Government+3](https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S004** | Secretary notice of public hearing, published12/8/2023 | [Secretary public-review notice](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Lines2–24: AGO;940CMR38; c.93A§2(c); hearing12/20/2023; written comments through5p.m.; small-business statement. | **Primary official proposal/adoption-history source.** Proposal stage, not final operative text. Access2026-10-24. [Massachusetts Secretary of State](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S005** | Original proposed940CMR38, AGO | [Proposed regulation text](https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Proposed title and §§38.01–38.07 structure; original scope/definitions. | **Historical/proposed only.** Materially superseded by final text; never used as the current rule. Access2026-10-24. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S006** | Secretary prospective-regulations history | [Notices of Public Review of Prospective Regulations](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Current page through publication dated10/23/2026; historical entries include the12/8/2023 940CMR38 proposal; later listed AGO rules include CMR34,39,40, but no later940CMR38 proposal located. | **Primary official later-history search route.** Absence is bounded negative evidence, not a certified complete amendment-history statement. Access2026-10-24. [Massachusetts Secretary of State](https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S007** | 940CMR compilation, Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries | [Trial Court Law Libraries 940 CMR index](https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Page updated7/17/2026; lists “940CMR38 Unfair and deceptive fees.” | **Official government legal-research/currentness corroboration**, but not the filing record. Access2026-10-24. [Massachusetts Government](https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n| **S_MA-P2-S008** | AGO 940CMR38 guidance, State Library archive metadata | [State Library archived AGO guidance record](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com) | Metadata identifies AGO author/publisher,2025 issuance; abstract states regulation takes effect9/2/2025. | **Official agency guidance, not regulation.** Used only as corroboration, not to change text. Access2026-10-24. [State Library of Massachusetts](https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com) |\n\n# E. Material PASS-02 claim table\n\n| Claim ID | Precise assertion | Source / pinpoint | Conditions / confidence |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| **S_MA-P2-C001** | 940CMR38 was finally filed/adopted in Massachusetts Register Issue1543 dated3/14/2025 under AG authority MGLc.93A§2(c). | S001 filing p.98; S002 metadata; S003 pp.253–257. | **High.** Distinguish Register/adoption date from §38.09 applicability date. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C002** | §38.09 applies the rule to acts committed or practices in force as of9/2/2025. | S003 §38.09,p.257. | **High.** This is the regulation's own text. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C003** | Covered “Product” includes a service for personal/family/household use. | S003 §38.03,p.254. | **High textual proposition.** Particular transaction still needs factual classification. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C004** | Scope reaches relevant advertising/marketing/solicitation/offers “Targeted To” Massachusetts even if a sale is not ultimately completed. | S003 §§38.02–38.03,pp.253–254. | **High.** Does not answer unrelated jurisdictional questions under other Massachusetts statutes. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C005** | §38.04 imposes Total Price and fee-disclosure rules but contains no debt-settlement amount cap. | S003 §38.04,p.255. | **High** as to text; no implication that other law lacks caps. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C006** | Mandatory charges generally belong in Total Price; transaction charges must be truthfully described; optional/waivable fees require disclosure and avoidance instructions. | S003 §38.03 Total Price; §38.04(1)–(3),(6). | **High.** Qualifying government/shipping charges treated as expressly provided. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C007** | A seller may not misrepresent that a charge is legally required. | S003 §38.04(5). | **High.** Especially relevant if a program labels a company fee as government/legally required. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C008** | Trial-offer/negative-option rules apply only when the relevant contractual features exist; ordinary finite installments are not proved to be negative options by payment frequency alone. | S003 §38.03 definitions; §38.05 pp.255–257. | **High** for definitions; second proposition is bounded application. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C009** | §38.06 contains specified compliance equivalencies and §38.08 preserves federal preemption; these provisions do not amount to a general financial-services exemption. | S003 §§38.06,38.08,p.257. | **High textual reading.** Specific entity/activity conditions control. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C010** | The2023 proposal is not the operative text; final rule materially changed structure/terminology and added §§38.06–38.09. | S005 proposed text versus S003 final. | **High.** Historical material must be reconciled to final text. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C011** | Nothing recovered in940CMR38 supplies a setup/monthly/per-debt/savings/principal/aggregate/CPI debt-settlement fee ceiling or affirmatively authorizes collection. | S003 §§38.01–38.09. | **High within this regulation.** Does not exclude limits elsewhere. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C012** | No later amendment/proposed amendment to940CMR38 was located in the official public-review history checked through10/23/2026; official law-library compilation still lists chapter38. | S006 current/historical page; S007 updated7/17/2026. | **Moderate-high, bounded negative.** Not a certified exhaustive Register citator. |\n| **S_MA-P2-C013** | The prior direct Mass.gov PDF403 condition was a retrieval limitation, not evidence that the regulation was unavailable or unverified as law. | S001 archival recovery; S002–S003 current indexed official material; failed routes below. | **High research-method conclusion.** |\n\n# F. Original PASS-01 claim patch map\n\n| Original claim | PASS-02 treatment | Patched wording / result |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| **S_MA-P1-C015** — no numerical setup/monthly/etc. cap established in core provisions; 940CMR38 remained a gap | **Retain, strengthen.** | “No setup, monthly, settlement, per-debt, principal, savings, aggregate or indexed debt-settlement cap is contained in the now-authenticated final940CMR38. That regulation instead imposes price-transparency and recurring/trial-offer requirements. This does not mean fees are unlimited and does not authorize otherwise impermissible fees.” Supported by **P2-C005,C011**. |\n| **S_MA-P1-C031** — no DMB judgment fee/refund/access/noncustodial rule established | **Unchanged / outside PASS-02.** | Remains held. No DMB source was reopened or inferred from 940CMR38. |\n| **S_MA-P1-C032** — 940CMR38 requirements/exceptions/legal chronology unverified | **Materially resolved and superseded by this pass.** | Final §§38.01–38.09 authenticated through official Massachusetts routes; Register Issue1543/3-14-2025 adoption record recovered; §38.09 establishes9-2-2025 applicability; later public amendment/proposal search through10-23-2026 found none. Remaining qualification: no certified exhaustive amendment-history certificate. **P2-C001–C012.** |\n| **S_MA-P1-C033** —209CMR18,950CMR106,current professional rules unread | **Unchanged / expressly outside scope.** | No inference from this pass. |\n| **S_MA-P1-C034** — access/web dates are not legal effective dates; amendment-chain limitations | **Retain with narrowed patch.** | For940CMR38 specifically, adoption/Register date and express enforcement date are now established separately:3-14-2025 and9-2-2025. General principle remains valid. Later-history check improved but is not a certified comprehensive citator. **P2-C001,C002,C012.** |\n\n**No prior Claim ID is deleted or silently rewritten.** The patch map supplies the PASS-02 overlay.\n\n# G. Failed routes and narrowed dependencies\n\n| Route | Actual result on 2026-10-24 | Evidentiary treatment |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download direct open | **403 Forbidden** when directly opened in the browser retrieval layer. | Not treated as absence. Its indexed official text was accessible, and a materially separate official State Library Massachusetts Register archive supplied filing/adoption evidence. (Website Name Missing) |\n| Current Mass.gov AGO guidance direct download | **403 Forbidden** on direct open. | Not used as operative authority. A State Library archival record independently authenticated the AGO guidance object. (Website Name Missing) |\n| Massachusetts Register archival PDF direct open | Redirected to an external State Library CDN URL that this retrieval tool could not access. | Search/index text from the official archives.lib.state.ma.us object exposed the filing and Register contents. Because the PDF binary could not be opened, a page screenshot could not be obtained. (Website Name Missing) |\n| Certified complete post-adoption amendment chronology | No single free public Secretary page located that affirmatively certifies “no amendments since Issue1543.” | Later-history conclusion remains **bounded** to the Secretary public-review history searched through10/23/2026 plus the current government law-library compilation. **P2-C012.** |\n\nThe important distinction from PASS-01 is that direct Mass.gov-file failure no longer blocks authentication of the regulation itself. It now only limits perfect archival redundancy and a formal certified amendment-history conclusion.\n\n# H. Granular PASS-02 scope coverage\n\n| Assigned item | Status after PASS-02 | Claim IDs | Remaining dependency / exact next action |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Recover final operative940CMR38 text | **Answered** | C001–C011 | None for ordinary substantive use; printed official Register could add format-level authentication only. |\n| Identify issuing authority | **Answered** | C001 | AGO; MGLc.93A§2(c). |\n| Establish adoption/final-filing record | **Answered** | C001,C010 | RegisterIssue1543,3/14/2025; proposal separately identified. |\n| Establish operational/enforcement date | **Answered** | C002 | §38.09:9/2/2025. |\n| Distinguish proposal from final | **Answered** | C010 | Do not use2023 draft as present law. |\n| Determine whether regulation contains a debt-settlement fee cap | **Answered: no such cap in this regulation** | C005,C011 | Separate state-law fee sources remain separate investigations. |\n| Determine whether it can reach debt-relief services | **Answered textually, fact-specific application** | C003–C004 | Actual consumer/service facts if provider-specific analysis is later requested. |\n| Determine fee-presentation consequences | **Answered** | C005–C008 | Transaction-specific implementation only. |\n| Relation to other financial laws/preemption | **Answered within this rule** | C009 | Separate underlying provider-permission rules remain unaffected. |\n| Later adopted amendments through10/24/2026 | **No later amendment located; bounded** | C012 | For archival-grade certification, inspect every post-1543 Massachusetts Register cumulative table or obtain official Secretary history; not necessary to characterize current searchable text but remains the exact residual currentness dependency. |\n| DMB/noncustodial precedent | **Excluded by assignment** | P1-C031 remains | Later pass. |\n| 209CMR18 / nonprofit formation / professional fee rules | **Excluded** | P1-C033 remains | Later passes. |\n| Whole Massachusetts dossier | **Open** | — | PASS-02 does not imply completion. |\n| A066 acceptance | **Open** | — | No acceptance implied. |\n\n# I. Researcher self-check\n\nI **actually read through public web retrieval**:\n\n- the Secretary's December 2023 public-review notice;\n- the Massachusetts Register Issue1543 indexed filing material;\n- the final 940CMR38 sections exposed from the official Mass.gov regulation object, including §§38.01–38.09 and printed CMR pagination;\n- the present Trial Court Law Libraries 940-CMR index; and\n- the Secretary's prospective-regulations history through its October23,2026 publication.\n\nI **did not** treat the original proposed regulation as current law. I did not use company charts, snippets alone, or third-party summaries to establish the operative rule. A nonofficial Cornell result was useful as a discovery/cross-check only; it is unnecessary to the material conclusions above because official Massachusetts evidence now supplies them.\n\nI **could not visually screenshot** the Massachusetts Register PDF because the official archive redirected the PDF binary to a CDN unavailable to this browsing tool. The official archive's indexed text nevertheless exposed substantive filing content. The direct Mass.gov PDF and guidance download routes still returned403 when explicitly opened. Those failures are reported rather than hidden.\n\nI did **not** research or imply answers to the DMB/noncustodial cases, full Massachusetts debt-adjustment permission, other fee statutes/regulations, remedies, bonds, agreements, funds handling, litigation, secured debt, locality, tribal issues, or the full state dossier. I did not use Deep Research, Work, Codex, APIs, purchases, account changes, contacts, other chats, private borrower data, local writes, or publication actions.\n\nThis self-check is **not an independent review**. PASS-02 materially closes the 940CMR38 evidence hole only; it does not make Massachusetts, this component as a whole, or A066 publication-ready.\n\n**END S_MA PASS-02.**\n\n","tables":[{"headers":["Defined term","Final-text consequence"],"index":0,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Defined term","Final-text consequence"],["Product","Includes a tangible or intangible good or service available for sale or included in a sale for personal, family, or household use."],["Targeted To","Means employed to induce Massachusetts consumers to enter into a sale, regardless of whether a sale is completed."],["Total Price","Maximum price the consumer must pay, including fees, charges, and other expenses and mandatory ancillary products, except qualifying government and shipping charges."],["Government Charges","Limited to charges actually imposed on the transaction by government/quasi-government; seller expenses that a seller merely chooses to pass through do not qualify."],["Negative Option Feature","Includes automatic renewal, continuity plans, free-to-pay/fee-to-pay conversions, and pre-notification negative-option plans."],["Trial Offer","Limited-time free/reduced-price/rebate/incidental-cost product offer."]]},{"headers":["Source ID","Source / issuer","Direct official route","Exact material actually read","Status / limitations"],"index":1,"links":[{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Register Issue 1543 archive PDF"},{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"State Library of Massachusetts\n+1"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Current Mass.gov regulation page"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Final 940 CMR 38 PDF route"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government\n+3"},{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Secretary public-review notice"},{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm","text":"Massachusetts Secretary of State"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Proposed regulation text"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government"},{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Notices of Public Review of Prospective Regulations"},{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Secretary of State"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Trial Court Law Libraries 940 CMR index"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government"},{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"State Library archived AGO guidance record"},{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"State Library of Massachusetts"}],"row_links":[[],[{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Register Issue 1543 archive PDF"},{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"State Library of Massachusetts\n+1"}],[{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Current Mass.gov regulation page"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government"}],[{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Final 940 CMR 38 PDF route"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government\n+3"}],[{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Secretary public-review notice"},{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm","text":"Massachusetts Secretary of State"}],[{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Proposed regulation text"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government"}],[{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Notices of Public Review of Prospective Regulations"},{"href":"https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Secretary of State"}],[{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Trial Court Law Libraries 940 CMR index"},{"href":"https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"Massachusetts Government"}],[{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"State Library archived AGO guidance record"},{"href":"https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com","text":"State Library of Massachusetts"}]],"rows":[["Source ID","Source / issuer","Direct official route","Exact material actually read","Status / limitations"],["S_MA-P2-S001","Massachusetts Register Issue1543 / Secretary of Commonwealth, State Library archive","Massachusetts Register Issue 1543 archive PDF","Issue header: Issue1543, 3/14/2025; regulation filing p.98 indexed text; filed chapter940CMR38.00; AGO; authority c.93A§2(c); public hearing12/20/2023; final CMR pp.253–257 identified in same official archived object.","Primary official archival source. Direct binary open redirected to an inaccessible CDN in the browsing renderer, so PDF screenshots could not be obtained. Search index exposed substantive official text. Electronic Register itself states it is unofficial/informational; printed Register is official. Access 2026-10-24. \nState Library of Massachusetts\n+1"],["S_MA-P2-S002","940 CMR38 final regulation, Massachusetts Attorney General / Mass.gov","Current Mass.gov regulation page","Landing page identifies date3/14/2025, AGO, authority MGLc.93A§2, and links final PDF.","Official current agency route. Page is usable through indexed retrieval; direct open later returned403. Access 2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government"],["S_MA-P2-S003","Final 940CMR38 text, AGO","Final 940 CMR 38 PDF route","§§38.01–38.03, CMR pp.253–254; §38.04 and opening §38.05, p.255; §§38.05 continued,38.06–38.09,p.257. Register notation3/14/25.","Final official text recovered through indexed text. Direct open returned403; no screenshot obtainable through web renderer. Access 2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government\n+3"],["S_MA-P2-S004","Secretary notice of public hearing, published12/8/2023","Secretary public-review notice","Lines2–24: AGO;940CMR38; c.93A§2(c); hearing12/20/2023; written comments through5p.m.; small-business statement.","Primary official proposal/adoption-history source. Proposal stage, not final operative text. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Secretary of State"],["S_MA-P2-S005","Original proposed940CMR38, AGO","Proposed regulation text","Proposed title and §§38.01–38.07 structure; original scope/definitions.","Historical/proposed only. Materially superseded by final text; never used as the current rule. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government"],["S_MA-P2-S006","Secretary prospective-regulations history","Notices of Public Review of Prospective Regulations","Current page through publication dated10/23/2026; historical entries include the12/8/2023 940CMR38 proposal; later listed AGO rules include CMR34,39,40, but no later940CMR38 proposal located.","Primary official later-history search route. Absence is bounded negative evidence, not a certified complete amendment-history statement. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Secretary of State"],["S_MA-P2-S007","940CMR compilation, Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries","Trial Court Law Libraries 940 CMR index","Page updated7/17/2026; lists “940CMR38 Unfair and deceptive fees.”","Official government legal-research/currentness corroboration, but not the filing record. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government"],["S_MA-P2-S008","AGO 940CMR38 guidance, State Library archive metadata","State Library archived AGO guidance record","Metadata identifies AGO author/publisher,2025 issuance; abstract states regulation takes effect9/2/2025.","Official agency guidance, not regulation. Used only as corroboration, not to change text. Access2026-10-24. \nState Library of Massachusetts"]]},{"headers":["Claim ID","Precise assertion","Source / pinpoint","Conditions / confidence"],"index":2,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Claim ID","Precise assertion","Source / pinpoint","Conditions / confidence"],["S_MA-P2-C001","940CMR38 was finally filed/adopted in Massachusetts Register Issue1543 dated3/14/2025 under AG authority MGLc.93A§2(c).","S001 filing p.98; S002 metadata; S003 pp.253–257.","High. Distinguish Register/adoption date from §38.09 applicability date."],["S_MA-P2-C002","§38.09 applies the rule to acts committed or practices in force as of9/2/2025.","S003 §38.09,p.257.","High. This is the regulation's own text."],["S_MA-P2-C003","Covered “Product” includes a service for personal/family/household use.","S003 §38.03,p.254.","High textual proposition. Particular transaction still needs factual classification."],["S_MA-P2-C004","Scope reaches relevant advertising/marketing/solicitation/offers “Targeted To” Massachusetts even if a sale is not ultimately completed.","S003 §§38.02–38.03,pp.253–254.","High. Does not answer unrelated jurisdictional questions under other Massachusetts statutes."],["S_MA-P2-C005","§38.04 imposes Total Price and fee-disclosure rules but contains no debt-settlement amount cap.","S003 §38.04,p.255.","High as to text; no implication that other law lacks caps."],["S_MA-P2-C006","Mandatory charges generally belong in Total Price; transaction charges must be truthfully described; optional/waivable fees require disclosure and avoidance instructions.","S003 §38.03 Total Price; §38.04(1)–(3),(6).","High. Qualifying government/shipping charges treated as expressly provided."],["S_MA-P2-C007","A seller may not misrepresent that a charge is legally required.","S003 §38.04(5).","High. Especially relevant if a program labels a company fee as government/legally required."],["S_MA-P2-C008","Trial-offer/negative-option rules apply only when the relevant contractual features exist; ordinary finite installments are not proved to be negative options by payment frequency alone.","S003 §38.03 definitions; §38.05 pp.255–257.","High for definitions; second proposition is bounded application."],["S_MA-P2-C009","§38.06 contains specified compliance equivalencies and §38.08 preserves federal preemption; these provisions do not amount to a general financial-services exemption.","S003 §§38.06,38.08,p.257.","High textual reading. Specific entity/activity conditions control."],["S_MA-P2-C010","The2023 proposal is not the operative text; final rule materially changed structure/terminology and added §§38.06–38.09.","S005 proposed text versus S003 final.","High. Historical material must be reconciled to final text."],["S_MA-P2-C011","Nothing recovered in940CMR38 supplies a setup/monthly/per-debt/savings/principal/aggregate/CPI debt-settlement fee ceiling or affirmatively authorizes collection.","S003 §§38.01–38.09.","High within this regulation. Does not exclude limits elsewhere."],["S_MA-P2-C012","No later amendment/proposed amendment to940CMR38 was located in the official public-review history checked through10/23/2026; official law-library compilation still lists chapter38.","S006 current/historical page; S007 updated7/17/2026.","Moderate-high, bounded negative. Not a certified exhaustive Register citator."],["S_MA-P2-C013","The prior direct Mass.gov PDF403 condition was a retrieval limitation, not evidence that the regulation was unavailable or unverified as law.","S001 archival recovery; S002–S003 current indexed official material; failed routes below.","High research-method conclusion."]]},{"headers":["Original claim","PASS-02 treatment","Patched wording / result"],"index":3,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Original claim","PASS-02 treatment","Patched wording / result"],["S_MA-P1-C015 — no numerical setup/monthly/etc. cap established in core provisions; 940CMR38 remained a gap","Retain, strengthen.","“No setup, monthly, settlement, per-debt, principal, savings, aggregate or indexed debt-settlement cap is contained in the now-authenticated final940CMR38. That regulation instead imposes price-transparency and recurring/trial-offer requirements. This does not mean fees are unlimited and does not authorize otherwise impermissible fees.” Supported by P2-C005,C011."],["S_MA-P1-C031 — no DMB judgment fee/refund/access/noncustodial rule established","Unchanged / outside PASS-02.","Remains held. No DMB source was reopened or inferred from 940CMR38."],["S_MA-P1-C032 — 940CMR38 requirements/exceptions/legal chronology unverified","Materially resolved and superseded by this pass.","Final §§38.01–38.09 authenticated through official Massachusetts routes; Register Issue1543/3-14-2025 adoption record recovered; §38.09 establishes9-2-2025 applicability; later public amendment/proposal search through10-23-2026 found none. Remaining qualification: no certified exhaustive amendment-history certificate. P2-C001–C012."],["S_MA-P1-C033 —209CMR18,950CMR106,current professional rules unread","Unchanged / expressly outside scope.","No inference from this pass."],["S_MA-P1-C034 — access/web dates are not legal effective dates; amendment-chain limitations","Retain with narrowed patch.","For940CMR38 specifically, adoption/Register date and express enforcement date are now established separately:3-14-2025 and9-2-2025. General principle remains valid. Later-history check improved but is not a certified comprehensive citator. P2-C001,C002,C012."]]},{"headers":["Route","Actual result on 2026-10-24","Evidentiary treatment"],"index":4,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Route","Actual result on 2026-10-24","Evidentiary treatment"],["mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download direct open","403 Forbidden when directly opened in the browser retrieval layer.","Not treated as absence. Its indexed official text was accessible, and a materially separate official State Library Massachusetts Register archive supplied filing/adoption evidence. (Website Name Missing)"],["Current Mass.gov AGO guidance direct download","403 Forbidden on direct open.","Not used as operative authority. A State Library archival record independently authenticated the AGO guidance object. (Website Name Missing)"],["Massachusetts Register archival PDF direct open","Redirected to an external State Library CDN URL that this retrieval tool could not access.","Search/index text from the official archives.lib.state.ma.us object exposed the filing and Register contents. Because the PDF binary could not be opened, a page screenshot could not be obtained. (Website Name Missing)"],["Certified complete post-adoption amendment chronology","No single free public Secretary page located that affirmatively certifies “no amendments since Issue1543.”","Later-history conclusion remains bounded to the Secretary public-review history searched through10/23/2026 plus the current government law-library compilation. P2-C012."]]},{"headers":["Assigned item","Status after PASS-02","Claim IDs","Remaining dependency / exact next action"],"index":5,"links":[],"row_links":[[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[],[]],"rows":[["Assigned item","Status after PASS-02","Claim IDs","Remaining dependency / exact next action"],["Recover final operative940CMR38 text","Answered","C001–C011","None for ordinary substantive use; printed official Register could add format-level authentication only."],["Identify issuing authority","Answered","C001","AGO; MGLc.93A§2(c)."],["Establish adoption/final-filing record","Answered","C001,C010","RegisterIssue1543,3/14/2025; proposal separately identified."],["Establish operational/enforcement date","Answered","C002","§38.09:9/2/2025."],["Distinguish proposal from final","Answered","C010","Do not use2023 draft as present law."],["Determine whether regulation contains a debt-settlement fee cap","Answered: no such cap in this regulation","C005,C011","Separate state-law fee sources remain separate investigations."],["Determine whether it can reach debt-relief services","Answered textually, fact-specific application","C003–C004","Actual consumer/service facts if provider-specific analysis is later requested."],["Determine fee-presentation consequences","Answered","C005–C008","Transaction-specific implementation only."],["Relation to other financial laws/preemption","Answered within this rule","C009","Separate underlying provider-permission rules remain unaffected."],["Later adopted amendments through10/24/2026","No later amendment located; bounded","C012","For archival-grade certification, inspect every post-1543 Massachusetts Register cumulative table or obtain official Secretary history; not necessary to characterize current searchable text but remains the exact residual currentness dependency."],["DMB/noncustodial precedent","Excluded by assignment","P1-C031 remains","Later pass."],["209CMR18 / nonprofit formation / professional fee rules","Excluded","P1-C033 remains","Later passes."],["Whole Massachusetts dossier","Open","—","PASS-02 does not imply completion."],["A066 acceptance","Open","—","No acceptance implied."]]}],"claims":[{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C001","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C001","Precise assertion":"940CMR38 was finally filed/adopted in Massachusetts Register Issue1543 dated3/14/2025 under AG authority MGLc.93A§2(c).","Source / pinpoint":"S001 filing p.98; S002 metadata; S003 pp.253–257.","Conditions / confidence":"High. Distinguish Register/adoption date from §38.09 applicability date."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C002","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C002","Precise assertion":"§38.09 applies the rule to acts committed or practices in force as of9/2/2025.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §38.09,p.257.","Conditions / confidence":"High. This is the regulation's own text."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected final-p257 passage checked; applicability and provider facts remain bounded"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C003","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C003","Precise assertion":"Covered “Product” includes a service for personal/family/household use.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §38.03,p.254.","Conditions / confidence":"High textual proposition. Particular transaction still needs factual classification."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C004","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C004","Precise assertion":"Scope reaches relevant advertising/marketing/solicitation/offers “Targeted To” Massachusetts even if a sale is not ultimately completed.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §§38.02–38.03,pp.253–254.","Conditions / confidence":"High. Does not answer unrelated jurisdictional questions under other Massachusetts statutes."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C005","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C005","Precise assertion":"§38.04 imposes Total Price and fee-disclosure rules but contains no debt-settlement amount cap.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §38.04,p.255.","Conditions / confidence":"High as to text; no implication that other law lacks caps."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C006","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C006","Precise assertion":"Mandatory charges generally belong in Total Price; transaction charges must be truthfully described; optional/waivable fees require disclosure and avoidance instructions.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §38.03 Total Price; §38.04(1)–(3),(6).","Conditions / confidence":"High. Qualifying government/shipping charges treated as expressly provided."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C007","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C007","Precise assertion":"A seller may not misrepresent that a charge is legally required.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §38.04(5).","Conditions / confidence":"High. Especially relevant if a program labels a company fee as government/legally required."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C008","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C008","Precise assertion":"Trial-offer/negative-option rules apply only when the relevant contractual features exist; ordinary finite installments are not proved to be negative options by payment frequency alone.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §38.03 definitions; §38.05 pp.255–257.","Conditions / confidence":"High for definitions; second proposition is bounded application."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected p256-257 and separate July2025 guidance support bounded application; exact cited guidance version held"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C009","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C009","Precise assertion":"§38.06 contains specified compliance equivalencies and §38.08 preserves federal preemption; these provisions do not amount to a general financial-services exemption.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §§38.06,38.08,p.257.","Conditions / confidence":"High textual reading. Specific entity/activity conditions control."},"coordinator_verification_status":"selected final-p257 passage checked; applicability and provider facts remain bounded"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C010","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C010","Precise assertion":"The2023 proposal is not the operative text; final rule materially changed structure/terminology and added §§38.06–38.09.","Source / pinpoint":"S005 proposed text versus S003 final.","Conditions / confidence":"High. Historical material must be reconciled to final text."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C011","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C011","Precise assertion":"Nothing recovered in940CMR38 supplies a setup/monthly/per-debt/savings/principal/aggregate/CPI debt-settlement fee ceiling or affirmatively authorizes collection.","Source / pinpoint":"S003 §§38.01–38.09.","Conditions / confidence":"High within this regulation. Does not exclude limits elsewhere."},"coordinator_verification_status":"whole-rule absence inference held for complete earlier-page text; PASS04 prepared"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C012","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C012","Precise assertion":"No later amendment/proposed amendment to940CMR38 was located in the official public-review history checked through10/23/2026; official law-library compilation still lists chapter38.","Source / pinpoint":"S006 current/historical page; S007 updated7/17/2026.","Conditions / confidence":"Moderate-high, bounded negative. Not a certified exhaustive Register citator."},"coordinator_verification_status":"not fully verified by selected source/access review; see review boundary"},{"claim_id":"S_MA-P2-C013","area_numbers":[66],"area_assignment_method":"task_scope_fallback","researcher_record":{"Claim ID":"S_MA-P2-C013","Precise assertion":"The prior direct Mass.gov PDF403 condition was a retrieval limitation, not evidence that the regulation was unavailable or unverified as law.","Source / pinpoint":"S001 archival recovery; S002–S003 current indexed official material; failed routes below.","Conditions / confidence":"High research-method conclusion."},"coordinator_verification_status":"blanket closure narrowed byPASS03; specific passages only, not entire final rule"}],"sources":[{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S001","urls":["https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/bitstreams/6f28d57c-361d-4b57-b224-05b6c8940f3b/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S001","Source / issuer":"Massachusetts Register Issue1543 / Secretary of Commonwealth, State Library archive","Direct official route":"Massachusetts Register Issue 1543 archive PDF","Exact material actually read":"Issue header: Issue1543, 3/14/2025; regulation filing p.98 indexed text; filed chapter940CMR38.00; AGO; authority c.93A§2(c); public hearing12/20/2023; final CMR pp.253–257 identified in same official archived object.","Status / limitations":"Primary official archival source. Direct binary open redirected to an inaccessible CDN in the browsing renderer, so PDF screenshots could not be obtained. Search index exposed substantive official text. Electronic Register itself states it is unofficial/informational; printed Register is official. Access 2026-10-24. \nState Library of Massachusetts\n+1"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S002","urls":["https://www.mass.gov/regulations/940-CMR-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S002","Source / issuer":"940 CMR38 final regulation, Massachusetts Attorney General / Mass.gov","Direct official route":"Current Mass.gov regulation page","Exact material actually read":"Landing page identifies date3/14/2025, AGO, authority MGLc.93A§2, and links final PDF.","Status / limitations":"Official current agency route. Page is usable through indexed retrieval; direct open later returned403. Access 2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S003","urls":["https://www.mass.gov/doc/940-cmr-38-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S003","Source / issuer":"Final 940CMR38 text, AGO","Direct official route":"Final 940 CMR 38 PDF route","Exact material actually read":"§§38.01–38.03, CMR pp.253–254; §38.04 and opening §38.05, p.255; §§38.05 continued,38.06–38.09,p.257. Register notation3/14/25.","Status / limitations":"Final official text recovered through indexed text. Direct open returned403; no screenshot obtainable through web renderer. Access 2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government\n+3"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S004","urls":["https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com","https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/hearings/html/pdf-12-08-23.htm"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S004","Source / issuer":"Secretary notice of public hearing, published12/8/2023","Direct official route":"Secretary public-review notice","Exact material actually read":"Lines2–24: AGO;940CMR38; c.93A§2(c); hearing12/20/2023; written comments through5p.m.; small-business statement.","Status / limitations":"Primary official proposal/adoption-history source. Proposal stage, not final operative text. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Secretary of State"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S005","urls":["https://www.mass.gov/doc/proposed-regulations-940-cmr-3800-unfair-and-deceptive-fees/download?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S005","Source / issuer":"Original proposed940CMR38, AGO","Direct official route":"Proposed regulation text","Exact material actually read":"Proposed title and §§38.01–38.07 structure; original scope/definitions.","Status / limitations":"Historical/proposed only. Materially superseded by final text; never used as the current rule. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S006","urls":["https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/pubs-regs/public-hearings.htm?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S006","Source / issuer":"Secretary prospective-regulations history","Direct official route":"Notices of Public Review of Prospective Regulations","Exact material actually read":"Current page through publication dated10/23/2026; historical entries include the12/8/2023 940CMR38 proposal; later listed AGO rules include CMR34,39,40, but no later940CMR38 proposal located.","Status / limitations":"Primary official later-history search route. Absence is bounded negative evidence, not a certified complete amendment-history statement. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Secretary of State"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S007","urls":["https://www.mass.gov/law-library/940-cmr?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S007","Source / issuer":"940CMR compilation, Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries","Direct official route":"Trial Court Law Libraries 940 CMR index","Exact material actually read":"Page updated7/17/2026; lists “940CMR38 Unfair and deceptive fees.”","Status / limitations":"Official government legal-research/currentness corroboration, but not the filing record. Access2026-10-24. \nMassachusetts Government"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"},{"source_id":"S_MA-P2-S008","urls":["https://archives.lib.state.ma.us/entities/publication/4eacd4f3-03c6-428e-96ed-38b68738030f?utm_source=chatgpt.com"],"researcher_record":{"Source ID":"S_MA-P2-S008","Source / issuer":"AGO 940CMR38 guidance, State Library archive metadata","Direct official route":"State Library archived AGO guidance record","Exact material actually read":"Metadata identifies AGO author/publisher,2025 issuance; abstract states regulation takes effect9/2/2025.","Status / limitations":"Official agency guidance, not regulation. Used only as corroboration, not to change text. Access2026-10-24. \nState Library of Massachusetts"},"coordinator_verification_status":"not_yet_checked"}],"coverage":[{"topic":"Recover final operative940CMR38 text","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Recover final operative940CMR38 text","Status after PASS-02":"Answered","Claim IDs":"C001–C011","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"None for ordinary substantive use; printed official Register could add format-level authentication only."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_accepted_blanket_answer; replaced byPASS03 partial coverage, earlier text/currentness held"},{"topic":"Identify issuing authority","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Identify issuing authority","Status after PASS-02":"Answered","Claim IDs":"C001","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"AGO; MGLc.93A§2(c)."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Establish adoption/final-filing record","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Establish adoption/final-filing record","Status after PASS-02":"Answered","Claim IDs":"C001,C010","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"RegisterIssue1543,3/14/2025; proposal separately identified."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Establish operational/enforcement date","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Establish operational/enforcement date","Status after PASS-02":"Answered","Claim IDs":"C002","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"§38.09:9/2/2025."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Distinguish proposal from final","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Distinguish proposal from final","Status after PASS-02":"Answered","Claim IDs":"C010","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Do not use2023 draft as present law."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Determine whether regulation contains a debt-settlement fee cap","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Determine whether regulation contains a debt-settlement fee cap","Status after PASS-02":"Answered: no such cap in this regulation","Claim IDs":"C005,C011","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Separate state-law fee sources remain separate investigations."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Determine whether it can reach debt-relief services","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Determine whether it can reach debt-relief services","Status after PASS-02":"Answered textually, fact-specific application","Claim IDs":"C003–C004","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Actual consumer/service facts if provider-specific analysis is later requested."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Determine fee-presentation consequences","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Determine fee-presentation consequences","Status after PASS-02":"Answered","Claim IDs":"C005–C008","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Transaction-specific implementation only."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Relation to other financial laws/preemption","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Relation to other financial laws/preemption","Status after PASS-02":"Answered within this rule","Claim IDs":"C009","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Separate underlying provider-permission rules remain unaffected."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Later adopted amendments through10/24/2026","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Later adopted amendments through10/24/2026","Status after PASS-02":"No later amendment located; bounded","Claim IDs":"C012","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"For archival-grade certification, inspect every post-1543 Massachusetts Register cumulative table or obtain official Secretary history; not necessary to characterize current searchable text but remains the exact residual currentness dependency."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"DMB/noncustodial precedent","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"DMB/noncustodial precedent","Status after PASS-02":"Excluded by assignment","Claim IDs":"P1-C031 remains","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Later pass."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"209CMR18 / nonprofit formation / professional fee rules","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"209CMR18 / nonprofit formation / professional fee rules","Status after PASS-02":"Excluded","Claim IDs":"P1-C033 remains","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"Later passes."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"Whole Massachusetts dossier","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"Whole Massachusetts dossier","Status after PASS-02":"Open","Claim IDs":"—","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"PASS-02 does not imply completion."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"},{"topic":"A066 acceptance","researcher_record":{"Assigned item":"A066 acceptance","Status after PASS-02":"Open","Claim IDs":"—","Remaining dependency / exact next action":"No acceptance implied."},"coordinator_acceptance":"not_yet_reviewed"}],"annotations":{},"corrections":[],"resolved_corrections":[],"review_history":[]}