How to Fill Out and File the Massachusetts Rule 9A Form

To complete and file the Massachusetts Rule 9A form, serve your motion and supporting papers on the other side first, wait for their opposition, then bundle everything into a single package with the 9A cover sheet on top and submit it through eFileMA. The form itself is a one-page inventory of every document in that package, and you must include it with every standard civil motion in Superior Court unless a specific exemption applies. You can download it from Mass.gov under the Superior Court forms section.¹

How Rule 9A Changes the Usual Motion Sequence

In most courts you file a motion with the clerk and then serve it. Rule 9A reverses that. You serve the motion on opposing counsel first, give them time to serve an opposition back, and only then assemble the exchanged papers and file the whole package at once. The judge sees both sides together instead of in pieces.¹

Confer Under Rule 9C Before You Draft

For motions under Rules 8(a), 12, 26, 37, 41(b)(2), and 56, Rule 9C requires counsel to confer by phone or in person and make a genuine effort to narrow the dispute before any motion is drafted. The moving party has to initiate that conference.²

Your motion must include a certificate stating that the conference happened, the date and time, and who participated. If opposing counsel refused to confer, the certificate should describe your reasonable efforts to arrange it. A motion filed without this certificate will be denied without prejudice. You can refile once you comply, but you’ve lost time.

Discovery motions carry an extra requirement under Rule 9C(c): the brief must set out the exact text of the interrogatory or document request at issue, the opponent’s response, and your argument for why the court should step in.³

Serve the Motion and Wait for the Opposition

Once the conference is done and your papers are drafted, serve the motion, memorandum, affidavits, and exhibits on opposing counsel. The other side has 10 days after service to serve their opposition on most motions, or 21 days for summary judgment. Add three days to either deadline if service was by mail, email, or other electronic means, under Mass. R. Civ. P. 6(d).¹

Fill Out the 9A Cover Sheet

The 9A form is a one-page cover sheet that functions as the judge’s table of contents for the package. It asks for:

The exact case caption as it appears on the complaint.
The docket number assigned by the Clerk’s Office.
The names of all moving parties.
A list of every document included in the package, with each title matching the title on the document itself.
The date of service — the day you sent the papers to opposing counsel.

Match the document titles exactly. Sloppy or mismatched descriptions slow the clerk’s review and can get your package bounced back. Make sure the service date on the form matches the date on your certificate of service; any discrepancy raises a red flag.⁴

Assemble the Package

After the opposition deadline passes, the moving party gathers all exchanged papers into a single filing. A complete package for an opposed motion contains:

The motion itself, with any request for a hearing.
The memorandum in support.
Any affidavits and exhibits in support.
The opposition papers, memorandum, and any opposing affidavits.
The moving party’s reply, if one was served.
A notice of filing listing the title of each document in the package.
A certificate of service confirming timely delivery to all parties.
The Rule 9C certificate, where required.

The 9A form goes on top.³

File the Package Through eFileMA

Electronic filing at eFileMA.com is the standard submission method. Upload each document in the package separately, in the order it appears on the court’s checklist, and use the correct filing code for each one:

Motion – other, for the motion.
Memorandum, for the supporting memo.
Affidavit, for sworn statements.
Opposition, for the response papers.
Reply, for the reply brief.
Certificate/Certification, for the 9C certificate.
Request, for a hearing request.
Notice, for the notice of filing and document list.

Not every checklist item applies to every motion. If there’s no cross-motion, skip those entries. But what you do include must follow the prescribed order, and using the wrong filing code creates confusion in the electronic docket.³

If No Opposition Arrives

When the response deadline passes with no opposition served, don’t file right away. Wait three business days past the expiration of the permitted response time. If nothing shows up, file your motion and supporting papers along with a sworn affidavit stating that you complied with Rule 9A and received no timely opposition. That affidavit takes the place of the opposition papers in the package.¹

In eFileMA this document is labeled a “9A Affidavit,” filed under the Affidavit code. It’s required any time a party who has appeared in the case fails to file an opposition. The absence of an opposition doesn’t guarantee the judge will grant the motion, but it does mean there are no contrary arguments in front of the court.³

Summary Judgment Motions Have Extra Requirements

If your motion is for summary judgment, the standard package isn’t enough. You also need a consolidated statement of material facts — a single, consecutively numbered document that combines all parties’ proposed undisputed facts, responses, and any additional facts from opposing parties or cross-motions. Failing to include it is grounds for denial.¹

You also need a joint appendix of exhibits with an index, and a certificate confirming the appendix contains all exhibits timely served by every party. On the opposing side, failing to dispute a specific statement of material fact means that fact is deemed admitted. In eFileMA, use the “Statements/Response” code for the consolidated statement and “Exhibits/Appendix” for the joint appendix and exhibit list.³

Requesting a Hearing

Most motions are decided on the papers. If you want oral argument, you have to ask for it, and silence counts as a waiver of any statutory or rule-based right to a hearing.²

The moving party puts the hearing request inside the motion. The opposing party puts one inside the memorandum in opposition. Cite any statute or rule that entitles you to a hearing and explain why oral argument would help. Certain categories — including motions under Rules 12, 56, 4.1, 4.2, 65, 66, and 53, and lis pendens motions — carry a presumptive right to a hearing, so those requests are ordinarily granted.²

Motions That Skip the 9A Process

Rule 9A(d) exempts a handful of motions from the serve-first-then-bundle procedure: emergency motions, ex parte motions, motions for appointment of a special process server, and motions filed by incarcerated parties. These can be filed directly with the court. If you’re unsure whether yours qualifies, the safer path is the full 9A procedure — a non-exempt motion filed without a compliant package can be returned or ignored.³

Why Packages Get Bounced

The clerk’s office is the first gatekeeper, and the court has broad discretion to refuse a non-compliant package, return it for refiling, or impose sanctions in serious cases. The recurring problems are the same few: a missing 9C certificate, no certificate of service, wrong filing codes in eFileMA, and no 9A affidavit when the opposing party didn’t respond. Run your submission against the court’s published checklist before you hit submit.¹

1
Mass.gov. Superior Court Rule 9A Road Map
2
Mass.gov. Superior Court Rule 9A – Civil Motions
3
Mass.gov. eFiling Instructions for 9A Package and for Summary Judgment
4
Massachusetts State Archives. 9A Form