Invitations to Comment
The court invites comments on the following new rules or proposed changes to existing rules. Invitations to comment that have expired are removed from the list.
Notice Inviting Comment on Proposed Amendment to Superior Court Rule 64
Comments due by: January 15, 2024
Notice Inviting Comment on Proposed Amendments to Rule 30 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure
Comments due by: December 29, 2023
Notice Inviting Comments on Proposed Amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct (Supreme Judicial Court Rule 3:07)
Comments due by: Nov. 3, 2023
Notice Inviting Comments on Proposed Amendments to Rule 63 of the Mass. Rules of Civil Procedure, Disability of a Judge
Comments due by: October 6, 2023
Rule Changes
The following are recent notices of rule changes and the date when each rule change goes into effect. Rule changes are removed from this list after the effective date has passed. Please refer to the Court's online listing of Rules of Court and Standing Orders to view updated rules and dates when rules were amended.
Juvenile Court Standing Order 2-23: Access to Records and the Role of the Judge in Family Treatment Court | Notice
Effective: December 8, 2023
Amendments to Rules 5 and 6 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure
Effective: Dec. 1, 2023
Probate and Family Court Standing Order 3-23: Co-parenting Education Course for Married and Unmarried Parents
Effective: TBD
Amendments to Rule 45 of the Massachusetts Rules of Criminal Procedure
Effective: Oct. 1, 2023
Amendments to Rules 1, 6 and 13 of the Rules of the Commission on Judicial Conduct
Effective: Sept. 1, 2023
Amendments to Superior Court Rules 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D and new Rule 9F
Effective: Sept. 1, 2023
Amendment to Rule 77 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure
Effective: Sept. 1, 2023
Amendment to Rule 35 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure
Effective: Sept. 1, 2023
Amendment to Rule 23 of the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure
Effective: Sept. 1, 2023
District Court Fourth Amended Standing Order 10-20: Court Operations for the Adjudication of Summary Process Cases
Effective: June 20, 2023
Boston Municipal Court Standing Order 1-23: Continuation of Temporary Modifications for Summary Process Cases
Effective: June 20, 2023
Probate and Family Court Standing Order 1-23: Professional Parenting Time Supervisors
Effective: June 20, 2023
Joint Standing Order 1-23 of the Boston Municipal Court Department and District Court Department: Electronic Filing of Summary Process Cases
Effective: June 5, 2023
Land Court Standing Order 2-23: Implementation of Mandatory Electronic Filing for Attorneys in Certain Case Types in the Land Court Department
Effective: June 1, 2023
Land Court Standing Order 1-23: Land Court Department Electronic Filing Procedures, Standards, and Guidelines
Effective: June 1, 2023
Approved Rescission of Land Court Standing Order 2-18: Initial Limited Electronic Filing Project
Effective: June 1, 2023
Amendments to Rule 18 of the Massachusetts Rules of Appellate Procedure
Effective: May 1, 2023
Superior Court Standing Order 1-22: Videoconferencing of Court Events
Effective: September 1, 2022
Juvenile Court Standing Order 1-22: Juvenile Court Operations
Effective: September 1, 2022
Joint Standing Order 2-22 of the Boston Municipal Court Department and District Court Department: Court Operational Order
Effective: September 1, 2022
Juvenile Court Rules for First Offense Determinations and Hearings Held Pursuant to Commonwealth v. Wallace W., 482 Mass. 789 (2019)
Effective: October 1, 2022
A listing of Rules of Court and Standing Orders are available on the court's website. Please note that not all Massachusetts Rules of Court are available online. Efforts have been taken to ensure accuracy in all rules on the court's website, but if there are discrepancies between the electronic versions of the rules found on the website and the official print versions that appear in a volume such as Massachusetts Reports, the print version should be considered authoritative.