3.1 230 CMR 6.01: Scope, Key Definitions, Exempt Equipment & Adopted Standards

From 520 CMR 6 to 230 CMR 6.00

The hoisting regulation used to be 520 CMR 6.00, written when hoisting licensing sat under the Department of Public Safety. Licensing moved to the Division of Occupational Licensure, and the regulation was recodified as 230 CMR 6.00, Hoisting Machinery. The current text is dated 11/21/2025 (Massachusetts Register #1561), and mass.gov notes it was "previously codified as 520 CMR 6." Older study materials, CE handouts and practice tests that cite "520 CMR 6.00" refer to the same subject, but section details changed. Study the 230 CMR text.

One consequence of the recodification is spelled out in 230 CMR 6.01(4): the Office may issue written advisory rulings, but advisories dated before November 21, 2025 are null and void.

Scope (230 CMR 6.01(1))

230 CMR 6.00 protects public safety by setting the minimum standards to obtain a hoisting license or temporary permit and the minimum safety standards to be followed while operating. It applies to hoisting machinery used on private or public property for building, altering, demolishing, repairing or maintaining buildings, structures, bridges, highways, dams, tunnels, sewers, pipelines and all other construction projects or facilities, and for other uses on private or public grounds, including warehousing and movement of materials. The one exception is machinery used exclusively for agricultural purposes.

What counts as "hoisting machinery"

The definition starts with the statute's wording (derricks, cableways, cargo-discharging machinery and temporary elevator cars, with mechanical motive power other than steam) and then lists what it includes, but is not limited to:

• tower cranes, lattice boom cranes, and telescoping boom cranes with or without wire rope;
• telehandlers, forklifts and other general industrial fork trucks;
• crawler and rubber-tired excavators, backhoes and front-end loaders;
• compact hoisting machinery;
• overhead gantry cranes and marine lifts;
• jib and other shop cranes capable of lifting more than two tons or more than 12 feet;
• specialty equipment categorized in 230 CMR 6.10; and
• any other machinery the Commissioner deems governed by MGL c. 146 § 53.

Each item includes the machine with or without manufacturer-approved attachments.

Equipment exempt from 230 CMR 6.00

The regulation lists equipment that "has not historically been deemed to be hoisting machinery":

Definitions that show up on exam questions

Regulations and standards adopted (230 CMR 6.01(3))

The operating standard for hoisting machinery is set by these documents:

The operating rules in 230 CMR 6.08(1) add that when 230 CMR 6.08 and OSHA conflict, the provision setting the higher standard for safety prevails (Section 3.2).

Applying the definitions

1. Shop jib crane, 1-ton rating, 16-foot hook travel. It can lift more than 12 feet, so it is hoisting machinery. A rated jib crane with no load chart falls under 3A.
2. Mechanic's service truck crane, 8,000-lb capacity, used for vehicle repair. Exempt, because capacity is under 14,000 pounds and it is used for vehicle repair. Used to set rooftop units, it is no longer being used for vehicle repair.
3. Wrecker towing a disabled box truck. Exempt: tow trucks used for towing any size motor vehicle.
4. 2-ton chain hoist on 120-volt power. Exempt: a portable electric chain hoist of 2½ tons or less on 240 volts or less.
5. Crane strikes a parked car, $6,500 damage, no injury. Below the $10,000 property-damage definition. Check whether any other reportable condition exists (Section 3.4).