Service of legal process in all judicial and administrative
proceedings against a foreign corporation doing business in the Commonwealth
shall be made by an officer authorized to serve legal process upon the
Division. Service of legal process may be made upon the Division against a
foreign corporation no longer doing business in the Commonwealth if the
proceeding involves a liability alleged to have been incurred by the foreign
corporation while it was doing business in the Commonwealth. If the foreign
corporation has designated a resident agent in its most recent certificate
filed with the Division then service of process shall not be deemed to have
been completed until the resident agent has received the service of process
from the Division, unless the resident agent cannot be found at the designated
address or unless the resident agent refuses to act as such.
When legal process is served upon the Division by an officer
authorized to serve such process, the Division shall take the following steps
pursuant to M.G.L. c. 181, § 15:
(1) Notice of such service and a copy of the
legal process shall be sent to the foreign corporation by regular
mail;
(2) A fee of five dollars
shall be paid to the Division and an additional fee of five dollars shall be
paid to the Division in order to receive a certificate from the Division
indicating compliance with the law;
(3) The Division shall keep a record of all
such process which shall show the day and hour of service.
In the event that the foreign corporation is not registered to
do business in the Commonwealth and the plaintiff or his attorney has not
furnished the address of the foreign corporation, the Division shall return the
notice and copies of the process to the plaintiff or his
attorney.
