Supreme Judicial Court Rules  Massachusetts Rules of Electronic Filing Rule 6: Electronic filing and service of civil case initiating documents

Where permitted by a court, case initiating documents, such as a complaint or petition, may be submitted for filing through the e-filing system, accompanied by electronic payment of the required filing fee. Motions to waive fees may be submitted through the e-filing system in accordance with Rule 8(d).

Upon acceptance of a case initiating document for filing, a case number will be assigned and the document will be processed. If the case initiating document is rejected, the User will be informed as provided in Rule 4(d).

Unless otherwise determined by the court, or unless the responding party has consented in writing to accept electronic service or service by some other method, case initiating documents shall be served by conventional methods, together with a notice to the responding party stating that the case has been electronically commenced.