Filing Documents with DALA

Learn about the different ways to start the appeals process.

Filing Documents

There are four ways to file documents at DALA—by mail, by hand delivery, by email, or by fax.

Be sure to include the name of the case and your docket number on all your filings. Both the name of your case and your docket number can be found on the first page of the notice of receipt of appeal you received. A case name includes the party appealing the decision and the party responding to the appeal (i.e., Smith v. Agency). A docket number is a sequence of letters and numbers that is special to your case (i.e., AA-00-000).

Unless the magistrate asks for a duplicate copy, file documents only once. If you file by fax or email, for example, do not send another copy by mail or in person unless the magistrate asks for it.

You must send copies of all filings to all other parties, and include a “certificate of service” confirming that you have done so. See the section You Must Give Documents to the Other Party.

Filing Confidential Documents

You must remove or obscure the following information from documents before you file them in a proceeding that is open to the public: any government-issued identification numbers; any parent’s birth surnames, if identified as such; any financial account numbers; and any credit card numbers. Additional details about these instructions appear in the “notice regarding public access and confidentiality” that you received from DALA along with the notice of receipt of appeal.

Removing or obscuring specific information from a document is called redaction. Sometimes, an entire document should be confidential. If a document needs to be filed, but is also confidential, it should be filed “under seal” and marked as confidential. Do not file confidential documents by fax. The magistrate may provide additional, case-specific instructions about filing confidential documents and information.

Filing by Mail

If you want to file your document by mail, please mail it to:

Division of Administrative Law Appeals
14 Summer Street, 4th Floor
Malden, MA 02148

Your document must be in the mail and postmarked by the due date.

Filing by Hand Delivery

If you want to file your document in person, you may deliver it to:

Division of Administrative Law Appeals
14 Summer Street, 4th Floor
Malden, MA 02148

Filing by Email

If you want to file your document by email, please send it to [e-mail].

Filing by Fax

If you want to file your document by fax, please use [phone].

You Must Give Documents to the Other Party

The same day you file a document with DALA, you must deliver, or “serve,” a copy of what you are filing to every party involved in your case. The other party will generally be a state agency. Deliver the agency’s copy to the agency’s lawyer, not to anyone else you may have dealt with at the agency. The name of the lawyer will be on the notice of receipt of appeal you received.

If you aren’t sure of a party’s or attorney’s address, you can ask DALA at [e-mail] or [phone].

When you file a document with DALA, you must include a statement that you have given that document to all the other parties. This is called a “certificate of service,” and it is usually found after your signature.

Here is an example:

Certificate of Service

I, [your name], certify that on [date], I sent a copy of [document title] to [name of party’s representative] by [mail at their address or email at [e-mail]].

What Happens if I Forget to Include a Certificate of Service on Something I file with DALA?

If you do not include a certificate of service, DALA may decline to consider your filing.