How do I use fillable online PDF forms?
It is recommended that you use Microsoft Edge to navigate to the online form. Adobe Acrobat Reader automatically opens in Microsoft Edge when you click on a PDF. It will enable you to complete the form and attach it to an e-mail to send to the Commission. Other web browsers will allow you to open and complete an online PDF form through the browser instead of Adobe Acrobat Reader, but you will not be able to submit the form to the Commission. Any form completed from a web browser instead of Adobe Acrobat Reader will not attach to an e-mail.
To verify that the online form has opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will observe red borders surrounding all the required data fields. If red borders do not surround the required data fields, the form has instead opened from your browser. You will not be able to submit the form to the Commission even if you are able to fill out the data fields.
Using Adobe Acrobat Reader, once you complete the required data fields, you will click the Submit button at the bottom of the form. You may be prompted to select the type of e-mail account to use to submit the form. Once selected, your e-mail will open with the completed online form attached and the Commission’s e-mail address pre-filled.
If a new e-mail does not open with the Commission’s e-mail address pre-filled and your form attached, the form did not complete using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
What if Adobe Acrobat Reader did not open the online form?
If you are not using Microsoft Edge, you may need to adjust your web browser settings to allow PDFs to be downloaded with Adobe Acrobat Reader instead of opening from your browser. Both Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers allow you to open PDFs from the browser, and you may be able to complete the online form using the browser, but the form will not attach to your e-mail as this feature is only available using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
To verify that the online form opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will see a red border surrounding each blank data field. If a red border does not surround the blank data fields, the online form opened in your browser. Look for a small prompt window on the web page asking if you wish to open or download the online form in Adobe Acrobat Reader or to open the form in a different PDF viewer. Click the prompts to either Open the form in Adobe Acrobat Reader or to Select Adobe Acrobat Reader as the PDF viewer. The form should open with red borders surrounding the blank data fields.
If you do not receive the prompts, you may need to install Adobe Acrobat Reader updates from Adobe Updater by doing the following:
- Launch Acrobat Adobe Reader
- Choose Help > Check for Updates
- Follow the steps in the Updater window to download and install the latest updates
You should also verify that you have the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader available on your device at https://get.adobe.com/reader and check your browser extensions or add-ons to verify that Adobe Acrobat Reader has been enabled to view PDFs. To do so, try the following:
Google Chrome
- Open the menu [ ⋮ ] at the top right of the browser
- Click “Settings”
- Click “Privacy and security” on the left side panel
- Click “Site Settings”
- Scroll down and click “PDF documents”
- Enable “Download PDF files instead of automatically opening them in Chrome”
- Close and reopen Chrome and navigate to the online form
- Click the online form link, then click the “Open in Acrobat” prompt
- When you open the form, it should open in Adobe Acrobat Reader with a red border around each blank data field
If you are unable to open the online form in Adobe Acrobat Reader, complete the form from your browser, then save it as a PDF document to your computer. Attach the form to an e-mail and send it to complaint@mass.gov to file a complaint or requestadvice@mass.gov to request advice.
Mozilla Firefox
- Open the menu at the top right of the browser
- Click “Options”
- Scroll down to the “Applications” section
- Click “Portable Document Format (PDF)” and select “Adobe Acrobat” in the drop-down menu
- Close and reopen Firefox and navigate to the online form
- When you open the form, it should open in Adobe Acrobat Reader with a red border around each blank data field
Microsoft Edge
Since Microsoft Edge does not support browser extensions, you cannot use Edge to complete the online PDF form. Instead, please do the following:
- Open the menu [ … ] at the top right of the browser
- Click “More Tools”
- Click “Open with Internet Explorer”
- Navigate to the online form
- When you open the form, it should open in Adobe Acrobat Reader with a red border around each blank data field
If you are unable to open the online form in Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can complete the form from your browser, then save it to your computer as a PDF document. Attach the form to an e-mail and send it to complaint@mass.gov to file a complaint or requestadvice@mass.gov to request advice.
Safari
- Open Safari
- Click “Preferences”
- Click “Security”, then click the “Website Settings” button for Internet plug-ins
- Select “Adobe Reader” from the list of plug-ins
- Under the option “When visiting other Websites” in the drop-down menu, select “Allow Always”
- Click “Done”
- Close and reopen Safari and navigate to the online form
- When you open the form, it should open in Adobe Acrobat Reader with a red border around each blank data field
File a Complaint or Request Advice
Complaint form [PDF]
Advice request form [PDF]