Filing an Appeal

Learn about DALA's governing statute and Rules and what is required before your case moves forward.

When a state agency makes a decision that you want to appeal (challenge), the agency usually explains in writing, along with the decision, how to appeal.

If the state agency does not explain how to appeal, contact the agency and ask.

Follow the rules presented by the agency (such as sending the appeal to the right place) and meet the deadline for an appeal. Otherwise, your case could be over before you appeal it. In many types of cases, DALA has no legal authority to extend your deadline to file an appeal even if you are delayed for reasons that you cannot control and that are not your fault.

At a minimum, your appeal should list your name and address, should state that you are appealing a particular agency decision, and should include a copy of that decision. It is useful but not always required for you to include a more detailed description of the reasons for your appeal.

Rules and Laws

Cases before DALA are governed by the Massachusetts Administrative Procedures Act, General Laws chapter 30A.

Other applicable rules appear in the Standard Adjudicatory Rules of Practice and Procedure, 801 Code of Massachusetts Regulations chapter 1.00, which include a set of Formal Rules (section 1.01) and a set of Informal/Fair Hearing Rules (section 1.02). The notice of receipt of appeal you received will specify whether your case is governed by the Formal Rules or by the Informal/Fair Hearing Rules.

Each case will also be governed by a set of substantive statutes, regulations, and precedents, which will depend on the subject matter of the case. Some DALA decisions, which include discussions of various pertinent areas of the law, are collected online at https://www.mass.gov/search-all-general-jurisdiction-decisions. Other DALA decisions are collected in the databases maintained by the Social Law Library, which can be accessed from any Massachusetts public library (among other locations).

Notice of Receipt of Appeal

After you submit your appeal to DALA, you will receive a written notice of receipt of appeal. The notice of receipt of appeal provides you with the rules and logistics relevant to your case (such as the requirement that you must give DALA your current contact information and information about how to file documents with DALA).

You may be asked to take additional steps before your case moves forward. Common next steps include:

• Responding to an order to show causeif it appears that your appeal may have a legal or procedural problem (for example, if it was filed late).  This means you must send the magistrate and the other parties a written response explaining why your appeal should still be allowed to go forward.  If you do not respond, or if the magistrate determines that your response is not legally sufficient, the appeal may be dismissed.
• Submitting written arguments and evidence if the case can be decided without a hearing. See the section Resolving a Case Without a Hearing.
• Attending a pre-hearing conference to discuss the issues, schedule, deadlines, procedures, and potential settlement. See the section Prehearing Conference.
• Filing a prehearing memorandum and proposed exhibits if the case involves factual disputes and will proceed to an evidentiary hearing. See the section Prehearing Submissions.