Guidance  40A Notice for Zoning Hearings

Date:	09/18/2026
Referenced Sources:	Section 48. Electronic Notifications 3 Section 49. Electronic Notifications 4

Notice required under Section 11 for individuals, boards and agencies may generally be sent electronically or by prepaid mail; publication and posting still apply. Note these changes do not affect abutter notification.

What changed

• When Chapter 40A requires notice to an individual, a specific board or another agency, the notice may generally be sent electronically or by prepaid mail.
• The waiver and affidavit-of-actual-notice language now applies when a party may not have received notice by either method.
• The newspaper publication and city or town hall posting requirements remain unchanged. Electronic notice does not replace those steps.
• It is not evident that new language in Section 11 extends the conclusiveness of an assessor’s certification of the names and addresses of “interested parties” to email addresses.

Municipalities should update hearing-notice forms and delivery logs. Where another statute, local rule or a particular proceeding expressly requires a specific delivery method, municipal counsel should confirm the appropriate procedure.