How Does a No Trespass Order Work in Massachusetts?

A no trespass order in Massachusetts is a written notice under General Laws Chapter 266, Section 120 that a property owner or other person in lawful control issues to bar a specific individual from their land or building. Once the person has been notified, entering or staying on the property becomes a criminal offense punishable by a fine of up to $100, up to 30 days in jail, or both.¹ The order only works if the paperwork and delivery are done correctly, so the details matter.

Who Can Issue One

Section 120 gives the power to “the person who has lawful control” of the property.¹ That covers homeowners, residential tenants over their leased space, commercial property managers, and authorized agents such as attorneys. You don’t need to be on the deed.

Massachusetts courts don’t require elaborate proof of that authority. In Commonwealth v. Wolf, the Appeals Court found that a clinic employee acting on behalf of the managing partner had enough authority to order protesters off the front steps, noting that “more detailed proof of authority is not required.”² Still, keep documentation of your authority on hand — a lease, management agreement, or written authorization from the owner — in case the notice is later challenged.

Two Ways to Forbid Entry

Section 120 recognizes direct notice and posted notice, and each fits a different situation.¹

Direct Written Notice

Direct notice targets one person by name. You prepare a written document identifying who is excluded and from what property, then deliver it. This is the usual approach when you know exactly who you want to keep out, such as a former tenant, a disruptive neighbor, or someone involved in a personal dispute. Most local police departments offer template forms that walk you through the required details.³

Posted Notice

Posted notice works as a general warning to everyone. Instead of naming an individual, you place signs on the property forbidding entry. The Massachusetts Trial Court’s model jury instructions say the sign must be “reasonably distinct” and placed in a “reasonably suitable” location so that “a reasonably careful trespasser would see it.”⁴ The statute doesn’t dictate sign dimensions or exact wording, but a faded, ambiguous sign hidden behind a bush won’t hold up. Posted notice suits vacant land, construction sites, and properties where you can’t predict who might wander on.

What to Put in the Written Notice

The statute itself doesn’t list specific form requirements, but police templates and practical experience point to a standard set of details:

Full name and address of the person being excluded
Name and address of the person issuing the notice
Street address or clear description of the property covered
Explicit language forbidding the person from entering or remaining on the property
Date of issuance
Signature of the person in lawful control or an authorized agent

The Falmouth Police Department template, representative of forms used across the state, includes each of these fields along with a warning that any future presence on the property “will constitute a trespass, and the Police department will be contacted.”³ Accuracy protects you. A misspelled name or the wrong property description gives a defense attorney room to work.

How to Deliver It

A notice that sits in a drawer accomplishes nothing. The person has to actually receive it, and you need proof of that.

Constable or deputy sheriff. A professional process server delivers the notice in person and provides a Return of Service. Police instructions list local constables and the county sheriff’s civil process department as options when the person refuses to accept the notice or is hard to find.³
Certified mail with return receipt. The signed green card creates a paper trail showing when the notice was delivered and who signed for it.³
Direct personal delivery. You can hand it over yourself, but bring a witness. Without one, delivery becomes a credibility contest later.

Keep at least one copy of the notice and the proof of delivery. Then bring a copy to your local police department. That filing step is what turns a private warning into something officers can act on when you call.

What Happens When Someone Violates It

Once a person has been properly notified, coming back onto the property without permission is a crime. The penalties are a fine of up to $100, imprisonment for up to 30 days, or both, and they apply even if no damage occurs.¹ The offense is the unauthorized entry itself.

To convict, the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person entered or remained on the property without right, and that someone with lawful control of the premises had forbidden it.⁴ Your filed notice and proof of delivery handle the second element.

The statute lets a sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or police officer arrest anyone “found committing” a trespass.¹ That phrase is narrower than it sounds. Officers generally need to catch the person in the act, not just take a report after they’ve left. Once arrested, a person can be held up to 24 hours (Sundays excluded) until a complaint issues and a warrant is signed. This is why filing your notice with the police in advance matters: when an officer responds, they can confirm the notice on file, identify the person, and make the arrest without slowing down to sort out authority.

The Tenant Exception

One part of Section 120 gets misunderstood constantly. The statute’s final paragraph says it does not apply to tenants or occupants who entered the property lawfully at the start of their tenancy and remain after that tenancy ends or is allegedly terminated.¹ A landlord cannot use a no trespass order to remove a holdover tenant. The statute directs that the landlord “may recover possession thereof only through appropriate civil proceedings” — a formal eviction.

A tenant who stops paying rent or whose lease has expired isn’t a trespasser under this statute, no matter how frustrating the situation. Attempting a self-help eviction, like changing locks or shutting off utilities, creates separate legal liability. The proper path is a summary process action in housing court.

How Long a Notice Lasts

The statute sets no expiration date. In practice, the notice stays in effect until the person who issued it revokes it in writing. The Falmouth Police template states that the notice “shall remain in full force and effect” until the owner or their attorney provides written communication waiving it, and that “no such waiver shall exist if made orally and not reduced to writing.”³

If you change your mind and want to let the person back, put the rescission in writing and file a copy with the same police department that has the original. A verbal invitation won’t protect them if an officer arrives and only sees the written notice still on file.

Limits on What a Notice Can Do

A no trespass order is powerful, but it has edges worth knowing.

The statute covers dwellings, buildings, boats, improved or enclosed land, wharves, piers, and school buses. The Wolf decision confirmed that exterior features like steps, porches, and decks count as part of the building.² Wild, unimproved, unenclosed land generally falls outside the statute. If your property has ambiguous edges, such as an unfenced field next to the house, describe the boundaries clearly in the notice.

Residential property receives the strongest protection, and the right to exclude is nearly absolute. Businesses open to the public have more latitude than many people assume, though exclusions based on race, disability, religion, or other protected characteristics can trigger civil rights liability regardless of whether the trespass notice itself is technically valid. Property that has become “so functionally akin to public property” that the owner has effectively opened it for general public use may also face some First Amendment limits, though the Supreme Court has held in Hudgens v. NLRB that shopping malls “are private property in the eye of the law.”⁵

Overlap With Restraining Orders

Section 120 also treats entry in violation of a Chapter 209A abuse prevention order, or an order under Chapter 208, Section 34B in a divorce proceeding, as criminal trespass.¹ The court’s own notice to the restrained person satisfies the notice requirement, so a separate no trespass letter is unnecessary in that situation. If a 209A order is already in place, issuing a separate notice is generally redundant, though some people do it to build an extra layer of documentation.

1
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 266 Section 120
2
Justia Law. Commonwealth vs. William H. Wolf
3
Falmouth Police Department. Notice of No Trespass Instructions
4
Massachusetts Trial Court. Massachusetts G.L. c. 266 Section 120 – Trespass
5
Constitution Annotated. Quasi-Public Places