reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations › Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions › Section 35 - Mortgage Defined; Commencement of Proceedings, Prerequisites; Application of Secs. 33 to 35

Section 35. For the purposes of this section and sections 33 and 34, the term ''mortgage'' includes any deed of trust or other conveyance made for the purpose of securing performance of a debt or obligation, and no proceeding shall be considered begun until a memorandum, as required by section 15 of chapter 184, has been recorded in the registry of deeds for the county or recording district in which the real estate is situated. When any mortgage includes parcels in different ownerships at the time of recording of an extension, acknowledgment or affidavit the recording shall be sufficient only for the parcels which the owner or owners executing the extension or acknowledgment or named in the affidavit then appear of record to own. When the real estate is situated in more than 1 county or district, recording in any county or district shall be sufficient only for the real estate there situated. This section and sections 33 and 34 shall not revive, preserve or extend any mortgage otherwise ineffective nor affect enforcement of the debt or obligation otherwise than against the real estate mortgaged.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title V - Statutes of Frauds and Limitations › Chapter 260 - Limitation of Actions › Section 36 - Application; Computation

Section 36. The provisions of law relative to limitations of actions shall apply to a counterclaim by the defendant. The time of such limitation shall be computed as if an action had been commenced therefor at the time the plaintiff's action was commenced.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph of this section, a counterclaim arising out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the plaintiff's claim, to the extent of the plaintiff's claim, may be asserted without regard to the provisions of law relative to limitations of actions.
This section shall apply to actions brought by the commonwealth or for its benefit.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 2 - Insolvency of Defendant

Section 2. If a discontinuance or a nonsuit is entered in an action solely in consequence of an answer of the defendant which alleges his discharge in bankruptcy or insolvency, the defendant shall recover no costs. If issue is joined upon such defence solely and judgment is rendered for the defendant, he shall recover only his costs accruing after the joinder of such issue.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 4 - Superior Court Cases

Section 4. If, in a personal action, except an action of replevin or an action under section fifteen of chapter two hundred and fifty-three, which is commenced in the superior court, the plaintiff does not recover final judgment for more than one hundred dollars as damages, he shall recover no costs, unless the right to an easement or the title to land is drawn in question and the justice before whom the action is tried so certifies.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 7 - Unnecessary Actions

Section 7. A plaintiff who brings several actions in the same or in different courts against the same defendant upon causes of action which might have been joined in one action, or who brings separate actions against defendants who might have been joined, shall recover costs in one action only, unless the court, after a hearing, otherwise orders.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 8 - Cases Tried Together

Section 8. If two or more cases are tried together in the supreme judicial court, in the superior court, in the housing court of the city of Boston, in the western division of the housing court department, the northeastern division of the housing court department, the southeastern division of the housing court department, in the housing court of the county of Worcester or in a district court, the presiding justice may reduce the witness fees and other costs; but not less than the ordinary witness fees and other costs recoverable in one of the cases which are so tried together shall be allowed.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 9 - Judgment on Certain Counts Only; Effect on Costs

Section 9. If a verdict is rendered for the plaintiff upon one or more counts upon several and distinct claims, and for the defendant upon any others, each party shall recover costs for the travel and attendance of witnesses, for depositions and for other evidence produced, examined or used on the trial of the counts upon which the verdict is in his favor, but shall not recover for the like charges incurred on the trial of the other counts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 10 - Subsequent Actions for Same Cause; Conditions Precedent for Commencement

Section 10. If a judgment for costs upon a nonsuit, discontinuance or dismissal remains unsatisfied, the court in which a subsequent action for the same cause is brought may order proceedings therein to be stayed until such costs have been paid, and may further order that the action be dismissed unless they are paid within a time fixed by the order.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 11 - Double or Treble Costs; Allowance

Section 11. If double or treble costs are allowed, the witness fees, the costs of taking depositions, of procuring evidence and of copies and all court dues, shall be taxed and recovered singly, and the remainder only of the taxable costs shall be doubled or trebled.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 13 - Discretion of Court

Section 13. In civil actions or other proceedings in which no provision is expressly made by law, the costs shall be wholly in the discretion of the court, but no greater amount shall be taxed therein than is allowed for similar charges in actions in which costs are expressly provided for by law.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 14 - Actions by State; Liability for Costs

Section 14. In civil actions and in proceedings which are instituted by, or in the name of, the commonwealth, and not at the relation, in behalf, or for the use, of a private person, the commonwealth shall be liable for costs as is an individual.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 15 - Action by State in Behalf of Private Parties; Effect on Costs

Section 15. A private person at whose relation, for whose use or in whose behalf an action or proceeding is commenced in the name of the commonwealth or of the attorney general shall be liable for costs, as if it had been begun in his own name.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 16 - Judgment for Costs Against State; Payment

Section 16. If a judgment for costs is rendered against the commonwealth, the treasurer of the county to which the costs in such case would have been paid had the judgment been in favor of the commonwealth shall pay it upon the production of an attested copy thereof; but if the costs would have been paid to the commonwealth had the judgment been in favor of the commonwealth, the state treasurer shall pay it upon the production of an attested copy thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 18 - Arbitrators and Courts; Powers; Effect of This Chapter

Section 18. This chapter shall not affect the power of arbitrators or referees to award costs; nor the power of a court to require costs to be paid by either party as the condition of an amendment, continuance or other order which is passed upon his motion, or to withhold and refuse costs on like occasions.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 19 - Clerk; Duty to Tax Costs; Notice

Section 19. Costs shall be taxed by the clerk of the court. No costs shall be taxed without notice to an adverse party who gives seasonable notice in writing to the clerk of his desire to be present at the taxation or causes such notice to be entered on the docket. Notice given by or to the attorney in the action shall be equivalent to notice by or to the party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 21 - Execution for Costs; Bond for Costs

Section 21. If the appellant is liable for the costs, the appellee may take out execution and cause it to be satisfied, if he first gives bond with sufficient surety, who shall be approved by the clerk, in a sum equal to the costs, payable to the appellant, conditioned to repay such part of the costs as may be disallowed upon the appeal, and to perform such other order as the court or justice shall make thereon.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 22 - Appeal Costs; Allowance

Section 22. The costs incurred by the appeal may be allowed to either party by the court or justice before whom such appeal is heard, and they may be added to or deducted from the costs awarded in the principal action or may be collected upon a separate execution.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 23 - Supreme Judicial, Appeals and Superior Courts; Items of Costs

Section 23. There shall be allowed, in a civil action in the supreme judicial court, appeals court or in the superior court, in addition to other disbursements allowed by law, the following costs:
For the entry fee, an amount to be apportioned among all plaintiffs for whom entry fees have not been waived, which amount shall equal the aggregate of the entry fees paid by said plaintiffs.
For an attorney's fee, if an issue in law or fact is joined, two dollars and fifty cents; if not, one dollar and twenty-five cents.
For a term fee, five dollars for each sitting while the action is pending, not exceeding three sittings, except by an order of the court. If an action or question of law therein is carried to the full court, two additional term fees may be allowed. If the defendant is defaulted without having appeared, only one term fee shall be allowed.
For travel, such sum as the court may allow.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 24 - Trials at Designated Place

Section 24. If the shire town where a case shall be tried has been designated under section eighty-two of chapter two hundred and thirty-one, no costs shall be allowed for sittings held in any other town unless the action is actually tried in such other town by agreement of the parties.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 25a - Miscellaneous Expenses; Allowances

Section 25A. Unless the court shall otherwise determine, the prevailing party shall be allowed a sum not exceeding five hundred dollars for expenses actually incurred for plans, drawings, photographs and certified copies of public and court records, necessary and used at the trial. Except by order of the court, no such allowance shall be made unless an affidavit by the prevailing party or his attorney of record is filed with the clerk before final judgment, setting out fully such expenditures, and that said plans, drawings, photographs and copies were actually used at the trial.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 26 - District Courts; Items of Costs

Section 26. There should be allowed in a civil action in a district court, in addition to the other disbursements allowed by law, the following costs:
To the plaintiff—
For the complaint, an amount to be apportioned among all plaintiffs for whom entry fees have not been waived, which amount shall be equal to the aggregate of all entry fees paid.
For an attorney's fee, if there is an appearance for the defendant, two dollars and fifty cents: if not, one dollar and twenty-five cents.
For a term fee, three dollars, if there is an appearance for the defendant; and if not, one dollar.
For travel, such sum as the court may allow.
For attendance, such sum as the court may allow.
To the defendant—
For travel, such sum as the court may allow.
For attendance, such sum as the court may allow.
For a term fee, three dollars.
For an attorney's fee, two dollars and fifty cents.
To the trustee—
For an attorney's fee, fifty cents.
For an answer in writing, twenty-five cents.
For travel and attendance, such sum as the court may allow.
For an answer to interrogatories, such sum as the court may allow.
To an adverse claimant—
Such sum as the court may allow.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 27a - Definitions Applicable to Secs. 27a to 27g

Section 27A. As used in sections twenty-seven A to twenty-seven G, inclusive, the following words shall have the following meanings:
''Indigent'', (a) a person who receives public assistance under aid to families with dependent children, program of emergency aid for elderly and disabled residents or veterans' benefits programs or who receives assistance under Title XVI of the Social Security Act or the medicaid program, 42 U.S.C.A. 1396, et seq.; (b) a person whose income, after taxes, is 125 per cent or less of the current poverty threshold established annually by the Community Services Administration pursuant to section 625 of the Economic Opportunity Act, as amended; or (c) a person who is unable to pay the fees and costs of the proceeding in which he is involved or is unable to do so without depriving himself or his dependents of the necessities of life, including food, shelter and clothing, but an inmate shall not be adjudged indigent pursuant to section 27C unless the inmate has complied with the procedures set forth in section 29 and the court finds that the inmate is incapable of making payments under the plans set forth in said section 29.
''Fees and costs'', fees and costs shall not include attorneys' fees.
''Normal fees and costs'', the fees and costs a party normally is required to pay in order to prosecute or defend the particular type of proceeding in which he is involved shall include, but not be limited to, the following: in all civil cases, filing or entry fees, including the surcharges required by section four C of chapter two hundred and sixty-two; fees and related costs for service of process, including publications of a citation when publication is ordered; fees and costs for the issuance or service of a subpoena and witness fees for trial or deposition; jury trial fees; removal fees; costs assessed in a bill of costs; in equity, fees for the issuance of an injunction, restraining order, writ or other process; in the probate and family court department, fees for an amendment of record.
''Extra fees and costs'', the fees and costs, in addition to those a party is normally required to pay in order to prosecute or defend his case, which result when a party employs or responds to a procedure not necessarily required in the particular type of proceeding in which he is involved. They shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the cost of transcribing a deposition, expert assistance and appeal bonds and appeal bond premiums.
''Clerk'', the clerk or an assistant clerk or the register or an assistant register.
''Inmate'', a person committed to, held by or in the custody of the department of correction or a state, county or federal correctional facility or the treatment center under chapter 123A.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 27b - Affidavit of Indigency; Waiver, Substitution or State Payment of Fees or Costs; Supplementary Affidavits

Section 27B. Upon or after commencing or answering to any civil, criminal or juvenile proceeding or appeal in any court, including but not limited to civil actions, proceedings for divorce or separate support, summary and supplementary processes, and proceedings upon petitions to vacate, for review or, upon appeal in a criminal case, any party may file with the clerk an affidavit of indigency and request for waiver, substitution or payment by the commonwealth of fees and costs upon a form prescribed by the chief justice of the supreme judicial court and in accordance with the standards set forth in sections twenty-seven C to twenty-seven F, inclusive, and sworn to under oath by the affiant.
An indigent party may subsequently file one or more supplementary affidavits requesting the waiver, substitution or payment by the commonwealth of fees and costs not previously granted at any time while the case is still pending in the original court or elsewhere.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 27d - Appeal; Notice; Record; Speedy Hearing; Stay of Proceedings; Decision Final

Section 27D. In any case where the court denies a request for waiver, substitution or payment by the commonwealth of fees and costs, pursuant to section twenty-seven C or any other provision of law, the applicant may take an appeal as hereafter provided. If the matter arises in the superior, the land, the probate or the housing court departments, the appeal shall be to a single justice of the appeals court at the next sitting thereof. If the matter arises in the juvenile court department, the appeal shall be to the superior court sitting in the nearest county or in Suffolk county. If the matter arises in the district court or Boston municipal court departments, the appeal shall be to the appellate division. Upon being notified of the denial the applicant shall also be advised of his right of appeal, and he shall have seven days thereafter to file a notice of appeal with the clerk or register. Upon receipt of notice of appeal timely filed the clerk or register shall forthwith notify the judge or justice, who shall within three days set forth his written findings and reasons as provided in paragraph (4) of section twenty-seven C. The court denying the request may, with or without motion, stay proceedings pending appeal or issue any other order or process to preserve the rights of the parties pending the appeal. The clerk or register shall then forward the affidavit and request, the court's findings and reasons for denial and any other documents on file relevant to the appeal, to the clerk of the court deciding the appeal, who, upon receipt thereof, shall refer the matter to the court for speedy decision and shall promptly notify the applicant of such decision. The court deciding the appeal may enter a stay or revoke an existing stay or other order, and its decision shall be final with respect to such request.''
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 27e - Repayment; Deductions From Judgment or Settlement; Notice; Procedure

Section 27E. Any party on whose behalf any fees or costs have been waived or paid by the commonwealth pursuant to sections twenty-seven C or twenty-seven F, or both, shall repay the total amount thereof to the clerk or register of the court if said party shall have recovered, as a result of the proceeding in which said fees or costs were waived or paid, an amount in excess of three times the total amount of said fees and costs. In any case in which any fees or costs have been so waived or paid, the court, upon the waiver or payment of any such fees or costs shall notify all parties of the total amount of said fees and costs to date and that any money judgment or settlement in favor of the party for whom said fees or costs were waived or paid which exceeds three times the total amount thereof shall be deposited with the clerk or register of the court in the following manner. Any party obligated to pay any judgment or settlement exceeding three times the total amount of said fees and costs, or any portion of such a judgment or settlement, shall pay to the clerk or register the total amount of said fees or costs, or if more than one party is so obligated, his proportional share thereof, and deduct the same from such judgment or settlement. The clerk or register shall notify all parties when the total amount of fees and costs has been so reimbursed. When said notification is received by the party obligated to pay such judgment or settlement or portion thereof, or if no such notification is received after the expiration of thirty days after the payment by said party of such fees or costs or his share thereof, said party shall promptly forward the remainder of the judgment or settlement to the party entitled to it. This procedure shall not be construed to excuse any person on whose behalf any fees or costs have been waived or paid from the obligation to repay the same as provided in this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 27f - Substitute Documents, Services or Objects at Less Cost; Court Order

Section 27F. The court may, upon its own motion or that of any party, order that the document, service or object for which a normal or extra fee or cost would be charged shall be provided by an alternative means at lower or no cost, if the substitute thereby provided is substantially equivalent and the provision thereof does not materially impair the rights of any party. In any such order the court may direct payment by the commonwealth of the cost of any substitute to the same extent that the court would but for this section have ordered payment by the commonwealth for the document, service or object in question.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 261 - Costs in Civil Actions › Section 27g - Payment Procedure; Public Record; Report of Expenditures

Section 27G. The clerk shall receive from any indigent party or his attorney all bills and vouchers for any document, service or object rendered to said party for which an order for payment by the commonwealth has been issued, and shall transmit said bills and vouchers and an attested copy of said order to the office of the court administrator, who shall make prompt payment thereon.
The office of the court administrator shall keep a record of all payments or waivers made pursuant to this section and of all repayments made pursuant to section twenty-seven E, including therein the name of the party, his attorney if any, the names and addresses of the person or persons to whom payment is made, the dates each was rendered to the party and the charge for each, and the dates payment was made by the office of the court administrator. This record shall be a public record.
The office of the court administrator shall on or before December first of each year make a written report to the general court indicating the amounts and purposes of all expenditures under sections twenty-seven A to twenty-seven G, inclusive, and making such recommendations for change in the law as he deems necessary.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 1 - Justices of the Peace; Enumeration of Fees

Section 1. The fees of justices of the peace shall be as follows:
For a subpoena for one or more witnesses, ten cents.
For taking a deposition, fifty cents; for writing the deposition and caption, at the rate of twelve cents a page; for notice to the adverse party, twenty cents. The justice shall certify his fees and the deponent's fees on the deposition.
For administering an oath required by law, except on a trial or examination before him, to one or more persons at one time, twenty-five cents.
For the acknowledgment of a deed by one or more grantors, if taken at one time, twenty-five cents.
For taking a deposition to perpetuate testimony, each justice shall be entitled to the fees prescribed for all services which are personally rendered by him.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 2 - Fees of Clerks of District and Boston Municipal Court Departments in Civil Actions

Section 2. The fees of the clerks of the district and Boston municipal court departments of the trial court in civil actions, shall be as follows:
For the entry of a complaint, third-party complaint, petition or other action, and for the filing of a motion to intervene as plaintiff, $180.
For the entry of supplementary proceedings under chapter 224, $30, which, together with the fees of witnesses and officers in the proceedings, shall be allowed the creditor as costs.
For the entry of a claim of trial by the superior court under section 104 of chapter 231, $180.
For approving or disapproving by the court of sureties on bonds or recognizances, $60.
For the entry of a civil appeal in the appellate division of the district court department, $180.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the entry of a complaint, petition, appeal or other action by the commonwealth, no fee shall be paid; but, if the commonwealth prevails in the action, the fee shall be taxed against the other party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 3a - Child Support Collection Services; Fee

Section 3A. The district court department shall impose a fee for child support collection services furnished under chapter two hundred and seventy-three, two hundred and seventy-three A or any other chapter in which an individual may be ordered to pay support on behalf of another. The amount of the fee and the manner in which it is imposed shall be in accordance with the provisions of 42 USC Secs. 651 to 660, inclusive, of the Social Security Act.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 4 - Fees of Clerks of Supreme Judicial, County and Appeals Courts

Section 4. The fees of the clerks of the supreme judicial court for the commonwealth and for each of the counties and for the appeals court shall be as follows:
for the entry of a complaint, petition, appeal or other action, $300;
for the filing of an application for further appellate review, $270; and
for the issuance of an injunction or restraining order, $90.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no fee shall be paid for the entry of an appeal, petition, complaint or other action and for the filing of an application for further appellate review by the commonwealth and no fee shall be charged to the commonwealth for the issuance of an injunction or restraining order, but if the commonwealth prevails in the action, the fees shall be taxed against the other party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 4a - Clerks of Superior Court Department

Section 4A. The fees of clerks of court of the superior court department of the trial court shall be as follows:
for the entry in the superior court department of the trial court of a complaint, third-party complaint, petition or other action and for the filing of a motion to intervene as plaintiff, $240;
for the filing of a petition to the county commissioners, $30, except that no fee shall be required from a municipality filing a petition to the county commissioners for the county in which it is located; and
for the issuance of an injunction or restraining order, $90.
The clerk shall collect, for every civil case, a $20 security fee.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no fee shall be paid for the entry of a complaint, petition or other action by the commonwealth and no fee shall be charged to the commonwealth for the issuance of an injunction or restraining order, but if the commonwealth prevails in the action, the fees shall be taxed against the other party.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 4b - Uniform Schedule of Fees

Section 4B. The court administrator of the trial court, shall, subject to the approval of the supreme judicial court, establish and periodically revise a uniform schedule of fees to be charged by the various departments of the trial court for court documents and services which shall include, but not be limited to, certificates of orders, decrees, rulings, judgments, attested and unattested copies of court documents, records, blank writs and summons, subpoenas, writs of habeas corpus, for other forms, for approving or disapproving sureties on bonds or recognizances, for tape cassette recordings of proceedings in the trial court department, for commissions to take depositions, and for waivers of notice of marriage. No fee pursuant to this section shall be charged to the commonwealth or a state agency; provided, however, that if an action initiated by the commonwealth or a state agency results in the appointment of a fiduciary with control over the assets of an estate, any such fees normally chargeable to an estate shall be deferred until the fiduciary is duly appointed and authorized to expend the assets of the estate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 4c - Surcharge on Filing Fees

Section 4C. Any party entering a complaint, petition or other civil action in any court of the commonwealth, except small claims cases, in which an initial filing fee is payable, and to which a separate docket number is assigned shall pay to the clerk of said court a surcharge of $15 in addition to the fee otherwise required by this chapter. A party entering a small claims action shall pay a surcharge of $10. All such charges collected pursuant to this section shall be transmitted monthly by the clerk of court to the treasurer and shall be credited to the General Fund.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 5 - Copies Provided by Clerks

Section 5. When clerks cause copies to be printed which they are required to furnish, they shall make no charge for such printed copies in excess of the amount actually paid for the printing thereof. They may require the estimated cost of said printing to be paid in advance, and they shall supervise the printing and correct the proofs without charge. All written copies, including such as are prepared for printing, shall be charged for at the rate of twenty cents a page; provided, that clerks shall, upon the request of the chief police officer of any city or town, or of any district attorney within the commonwealth, furnish without charge to such chief police officer or district attorney certified copies of criminal records in their custody.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 6 - Record of Judgment; Additional Fees

Section 6. When a judgment or decree is entered up, and upon inspection it appears that the record thereof or the record of the proceedings will be of unusual length, the court may order the prevailing party to pay such amount, in addition to the entry fee, as may be just and equitable.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 8a - Annual Accounts of Deputy Sheriffs and Constables

Section 8A. Each deputy sheriff and constable shall annually on or before the fifteenth day of April file with the county treasurer an account signed by him under the penalties of perjury of all fees and money received by him under the provisions of section eight for the service of civil process, or, if two or more deputy sheriffs and constables share such fees and money between themselves, they may file such an account jointly, provided that each shall subscribe the same under the penalties of perjury.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 9 - Process; Service; Return by Mail

Section 9. If the person who delivers or forwards a process to an officer for service requests him to return it by mail or express, compensation shall not be allowed for more than twenty miles' travel in the service, unless the officer actually and necessarily travels more than that distance in serving the same, exclusive of travel from the place of service to the place of return, and an officer in such case, who properly directs such process to the place of return and sends it by mail, postage prepaid, or delivers it to an express company, shall not be liable for damages if it fails to reach its destination.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 10 - Conveyance; Necessity of Certificate

Section 10. If it is necessary in the service of civil process for an officer to use a conveyance for a distance exceeding two miles one way, he may be allowed therefor fifteen cents a mile for the distance traveled, not exceeding thirty miles. If he uses the conveyance of another person he shall be allowed the amount actually expended by him therefor; but no allowance for the actual amount so expended by him shall be made unless the officer certifies that it was necessary for him to use a conveyance, and that he actually used it for the distance, and paid therefor the amount stated in his certificate.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 12 - Deputy Sheriff; Attendance Upon Meetings of County Commissioners

Section 12. A deputy sheriff shall be allowed five dollars a day for attendance upon a meeting of the county commissioners by their order, and five cents a mile for travel out and home once a week during the attendance, to be paid by the county.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 13 - Precepts for Elections; Subpoenas of General Court; Service

Section 13. Sheriffs and other officers shall be paid by the commonwealth, for serving precepts for the election of representatives in congress, fifty cents each, and for the service of subpoenas issued by order of the general court or either branch thereof the same fees as are allowed for the service of subpoenas issued by a court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 14 - Arrest on Mesne Process and Supplementary Proceedings

Section 14. The fees of sheriffs, deputy sheriffs and constables in proceedings under the provisions of chapter two hundred and twenty-four shall be as follows:
For the service of the summons, or any other process, the fee for which is not otherwise provided by this section, for copies and for travel in serving the same, the same fees as for serving an original summons in an action at law.
For the commitment of a defendant or debtor under the provisions of said chapter two hundred and twenty-four, one dollar for each commitment, and one dollar for each copy left with the jailer.
For each day's attendance at court on the examination of a defendant or debtor in his custody, or in the service of a writ of habeas corpus under section twenty-two of said chapter, including the fee for custody, five dollars.
The necessary expense of a conveyance to and from the jail in the service of such a process.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 16 - Service of Process Issued by Land Court

Section 16. In the service of any process issued by the land court, the fees shall be one dollar for posting a copy on each parcel of land, and the same fees for copy, service and travel as are hereinbefore provided for the service of writs.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 17 - Execution of Ejectment; Service

Section 17. In the service of an execution of ejectment the fees shall be: for demand, one dollar; for delivery, one dollar; for all necessary expenses, including packing, teaming and labor; and the officer may be allowed additional compensation by an order of the court from which the execution issued.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 18 - Officers; Duty to Specify Items of Fees

Section 18. An officer receiving fees for any official duty or service, who, upon request of the person paying them, refuses or neglects to make out in writing in his return a particular account of such fees, specifying for what they respectively accrued, shall forfeit to such person three times the amount so paid.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 19 - Endorsement of Fees; Certificate of Use of Conveyance; Penalty

Section 19. No fees for the service of any process of which the officer is required to make a return shall be allowed, unless itemized and endorsed on the process; and no allowance for the use of a conveyance in the service of a civil process shall be made, unless the officer certifies that it was necessary for him to use a conveyance, and that he actually used such conveyance for the distance set forth in his certificate. An officer who makes a false certificate under this section or section ten shall forfeit thirty dollars for each offence, to the use of the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 21 - Criminal Cases; Allowance of Expenses

Section 21. In the service of precepts in criminal cases, the officer shall be allowed the actual, reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in going or returning with the prisoner, and if he necessarily uses his own conveyance, he shall be allowed therefor twenty cents a mile for the distance traveled with the prisoner, except that in the service of such precepts of the district court of Chelsea, if he necessarily uses his own conveyance, he shall be allowed, if the distance traveled is less than ten miles, thirty cents a mile for the distance traveled, both ways; and if he uses the conveyance of another person, he shall be allowed the amount actually expended by him therefor; but no allowance for the use of a conveyance shall be made unless the officer certifies that it was necessary for him to use a conveyance and that he actually used it for the distance, and, if the conveyance of another was used, that he paid therefor the amount, stated in his certificate. If, in the service of a mittimus, the journey from the town where the prisoner is held to the town where he is to be committed can be made by railroad, no allowance shall be made for the use of any other conveyance, unless the court from which the mittimus is issued by general or special order has authorized the use thereof.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 22 - Attendance Upon Certain Courts

Section 22. The fee for attending before a district court or trial justice shall be one dollar a day, upon one warrant only, if there are two or more against the same defendant at the same time. If the defendant in a criminal case is brought in by a summons, the fee for attendance shall be the same as that taxed upon a warrant.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 23 - Examination of Sureties; Approval of Bonds

Section 23. The fees of magistrates for the examination of sureties and approval of bonds or for the taking of recognizances shall be in each case five dollars for the citation, if any, and the first day's hearing, and two dollars in addition for each adjournment thereof. These fees shall be paid in advance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 24 - Bail Fees; Persons Authorized to Take Bail; Restrictions

Section 24. (a) The maximum fee to be charged by any person authorized to take bail or release on personal recognizance in the case of a person arrested for any misdemeanor or felony shall be $40.
(b) If, in addition to recognizing for a court within the territorial jurisdiction of the magistrate authorizing the release, the arrested person is being required to recognize for a court outside of such territorial jurisdiction, the person, so authorized, may charge an additional $5 for each such extraterritorial recognizance, but in no event shall the total fee for any release exceed $50.
(c) The person authorized to take bail who goes to the place of detention where the prisoner is held shall receive the fee before completing the determination of the terms of release, regardless of whether the prisoner ultimately recognizes out-of-court, and is the only person entitled to the compensation provided for in this section. Fee splitting arrangements are prohibited. No person authorized to take bail shall administer by telephone, or otherwise than in the physical presence of the affiant, any oath or affirmation required in the course of taking bail or releasing on personal recognizance. No person authorized to take bail shall delegate the setting or taking of bail or the setting or taking of release on personal recognizance to any other person.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 25 - Compensation of Jurors

Section 25. The compensation of traverse jurors impanelled to try cases of murder in the first degree shall be sixteen dollars, and that of all other traverse jurors and of grand jurors fourteen dollars, for each day's service; provided, however, that jurors held under restraint by order of the court shall, in cases of murder in the first degree, receive twenty-two dollars and, in all other cases, twenty dollars for each day's service while under restraint. All jurors shall receive for each day of actual attendance eight cents a mile for travel out and home, but not for such time as the jury is held under restraint, by order of the court, at the expense of the commonwealth. If the expense of a juror who attends court, necessarily and actually incurred for transportation out and home once in each day, exceeds the amount of the said allowance for travel, he shall be allowed the amount of such expense in lieu of the said travel allowance. If a grand or traverse juror is required to be in attendance for five or more consecutive days he shall receive his fees not later than the end of every fifth day of such attendance.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 26 - Inquests; Service of Process

Section 26. Officers who serve subpoenas or other processes in connection with inquests held by district courts shall be paid their fees and expenses by the commonwealth as in criminal cases, in the same manner as the fees of witnesses are paid in criminal cases in said courts.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part III - Courts, Judicial Officers and Proceedings in Civil Cases › Title VI - Costs and Fees › Chapter 262 - Fees of Certain Officers › Section 27 - Juvenile Offenders; Officer as a Witness

Section 27. In cases against juvenile offenders, an officer who attends as a witness at a place other than that of his residence may be allowed by the court or justice his increased necessary expenses, not exceeding the witness fee before such court or justice, and the reasonable necessary expense of serving a mittimus.