SHERIFFS

M.G.L. pt. Part I, tit. Title VI, ch. c. 37

in effect

M.G.L. c. 37, § 1 Election

c. 37, § 1. Election Section 1. A sheriff shall be elected in each county, as provided in section one hundred and fifty-nine of chapter fifty-four, for six years, beginning with the first Wednesday of January following his election, and until his successor is qualified.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 2 Oath and bond

c. 37, § 2. Oath and bond Section 2. A sheriff, before performing any official act, shall be sworn and prior to being sworn, and thereafter, at intervals of not more than one year, so long as he continues to hold such office, shall give to the state treasurer a bond in such amount and with such sureties as the superior court shall order and approve, conditioned to perform faithfully his own duties and to be responsible for the official acts of his deputies. A default, malfeasance or misfeasance in office of a deputy sheriff or jailer after the death, removal or resignation of the sheriff by whom he was appointed, shall be a breach of the bond of such sheriff.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 3 Deputies; appointment; oath

c. 37, § 3. Deputies; appointment; oath Section 3. A sheriff may appoint deputies, who shall be sworn before performing any official act.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 4 Special sheriff; appointment; oath; bond; powers

c. 37, § 4. Special sheriff; appointment; oath; bond; powers Section 4. He shall appoint a special sheriff, who shall be sworn and shall give such bond to the sheriff as he may require for the faithful discharge of his duties. A special sheriff shall have the authority of a deputy sheriff. Upon his qualification, the sheriff shall send a written notice thereof, giving the name and residence of the appointee, to the state secretary, who shall record such notice in a book kept for the purpose.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 5 Special sheriffs; powers and duties

c. 37, § 5. Special sheriffs; powers and duties Section 5. If, by reason of illness, absence, interest or otherwise, the sheriff is unable to perform his official duties, they shall be performed by the special sheriff, and compensation therefor, if not otherwise provided for, shall be paid by the sheriff. During a vacancy in the office of sheriff, the special sheriff, first giving bond as required of the sheriff, shall perform all the duties of the sheriff, and the deputies of the former sheriff shall continue to exercise the powers of deputy sheriffs.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 7 Failure to post bond; penalty

c. 37, § 7. Failure to post bond; penalty Section 7. A sheriff neglecting or refusing to give bond as required in section eighteen of chapter thirty shall forfeit one hundred and fifty dollars for each month's neglect, at the suit of the attorney general. The superior court shall forthwith certify the fact of such neglect or refusal to the governor and council and to the attorney general, and, unless the sheriff satisfies the governor and council that there was reasonable cause for such neglect and gives security to their satisfaction within twenty days after the receipt of such certificate, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall remove him from office.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 8 Suits on bonds of sheriffs

c. 37, § 8. Suits on bonds of sheriffs Section 8. The holder of a judgment against a sheriff or his estate, for a cause which constitutes a breach of the condition of his official bond, or a person who has obtained an allowance of such claim against his estate, if settled as insolvent, may, at his own expense, prosecute a suit on such bond in the name of the state treasurer, and the proceedings shall be the same as in a suit by a creditor on an administration bond.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 9 Copies of sheriff's bonds; source; use as evidence

c. 37, § 9. Copies of sheriff's bonds; source; use as evidence Section 9. The state treasurer shall deliver an attested copy of the official bond of any sheriff to any person applying and paying therefor, which shall be received as competent evidence in a case relating to the bond; but if the execution of the bond is disputed, the court may require the said treasurer to produce the original in court.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 10 Suits against sheriff; procedure for satisfying judgment

c. 37, § 10. Suits against sheriff; procedure for satisfying judgment Section 10. A sheriff shall not be arrested upon mesne process or execution in a civil action. If judgment is rendered against him, either in his official or private capacity, the execution shall issue against his goods, chattels and land, but not against his body. If such execution is returned unsatisfied, the creditor may file with the governor and council an attested copy of the execution and return, and notify the sheriff. If he does not, within thirty days after such notice, pay to the creditor the whole amount of his debt, with reasonable costs of the copies and notice, the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, shall remove him from office. After the appointment of his successor, the clerk of the court from which any execution against him has issued, upon the return thereof unsatisfied, shall issue alias executions in common form, as well against the body as against the goods, chattels and land.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 11 Duties of sheriffs and deputies; service of precepts

c. 37, § 11. Duties of sheriffs and deputies; service of precepts Section 11. Sheriffs and their deputies shall serve and execute, within their counties, all precepts lawfully issued to them and all other process required by law to be served by an officer. They may serve process in cases wherein a county, city, town, parish, religious society or fire or other district is a party or interested, although they are inhabitants or members thereof.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 12 Duties of sheriffs and deputies; service of demands, notices and citations

c. 37, § 12. Duties of sheriffs and deputies; service of demands, notices and citations Section 12. They may serve by copy, by them attested, demands, notices and citations not required by law to be served by an officer, and their returns of service thereof shall be prima facie evidence.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 13 Powers and duties; requisition of aid

c. 37, § 13. Powers and duties; requisition of aid Section 13. They may require suitable aid in the execution of their office in a criminal case, in the preservation of the peace, in the apprehending or securing of a person for a breach of the peace and in cases of escape or rescue of persons arrested upon civil process.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 14 Service of writs and precepts after removal

c. 37, § 14. Service of writs and precepts after removal Section 14. They may execute precepts in their hands at the time of their removal from office; and, upon a vacancy in the office of sheriff, every deputy in office under him, having a writ or precept in his hands, shall have the same authority to serve, execute and return the same, as if the sheriff had continued in office.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 15 Service of writs against the sheriff or deputies

c. 37, § 15. Service of writs against the sheriff or deputies Section 15. If a sheriff is a party to a suit or other proceeding, any writ, precept or process therein, required to be served or executed by a sheriff or deputy sheriff, shall be served or executed by the sheriff of an adjoining county, or his deputy.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 16 Attendance at sessions of courts

c. 37, § 16. Attendance at sessions of courts Section 16. Sheriffs, by themselves or by their deputies may attend any session of the supreme judicial and superior courts in their respective counties, as may be requested by the chief justice of the trial court, and when required, meetings of the county commissioners. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, sheriffs shall not be required to supervise any officers for attendance on the various courts.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 17 Salaries

c. 37, § 17. Salaries Section 17. The salaries of sheriffs shall be paid by their respective counties and shall, except as hereinafter provided, be in full compensation for all services rendered both as sheriff and as superintendent or keeper of the jail or house of correction. If a sheriff elects to act, or his deputy acts, as superintendent or keeper of the jail or house of correction and resides thereat, he shall be entitled to rent, heat and light, and such subsistence as he may desire out of the regular subsistence rations purchased for prisoners, together with such other maintenance as may be determined from time to time by the county personnel board. The sheriffs of the counties of Barnstable, Bristol, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk and of the former counties of Berkshire, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex and Worcester shall each receive a salary of $191,000. The sheriff of the county of Dukes shall receive a salary of $150,527. The sheriff of the county of Nantucket shall receive a salary of $120,846.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 21 Traveling expenses

c. 37, § 21. Traveling expenses Section 21. The sheriff of Nantucket county shall be entitled to receive from the county his actual traveling expenses incurred in the transportation of prisoners to and from jails and other penal institutions; and the sheriff of each other county, except Suffolk, shall be entitled to receive from the county his actual traveling expenses incurred in the performance of his official duties, exclusive of expenses incurred in the transportation of persons pursuant to section twenty-four.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 21A Travel vouchers or other verification of travel expenses

c. 37, § 21A. Travel vouchers or other verification of travel expenses Section 21A. For the purposes of paying the salary and travel expenses of a sheriff pursuant to sections 17 and 21, the commonwealth shall pay said salary and travel expenses whenever the sheriff is an employee of the commonwealth; provided, that said travel expenses shall be reimbursed only upon the submission of travel vouchers or other verification of travel expenses to the comptroller.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 22 Accounting of fees; disposition of funds

c. 37, § 22. Accounting of fees; disposition of funds Section 22. Each sheriff shall keep an account of all fees and money received by virtue of his office, and, except as otherwise provided, shall annually, on or before June fifteenth, render to the county treasurer a sworn account thereof and, except as provided in section seventeen, pay him the same.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 24 Transportation of prisoners or persons in custody; sheriffs' duties

c. 37, § 24. Transportation of prisoners or persons in custody; sheriffs' duties Section 24. The sheriffs of the several counties, and their respective deputies, shall be responsible under the provisions of this section for the transportation of prisoners or other persons in their custody including, but not limited to, the following: (a) prisoners or other persons in their custody to and from the several divisions or departments of the trial court, (b) prisoners or other persons placed in their custody by any of the several divisions or departments of the trial court under the provisions of chapter two hundred and seventy-nine, (c) prisoners or other persons placed in their custody by any of the several divisions or departments of the trial court to be remanded to any noncorrectional facility for the purpose of receiving medical, social, psychological and other related services, (d) persons under the age of 18 years placed in their custody by any of the several divisions or departments of the trial court under any of the provisions of chapter one hundred and nineteen, and (e) prisoners or other persons required to be returned from out of the commonwealth for trial or confinement under the provisions of sections eleven to twenty R, inclusive, of chapter two hundred and seventy-six. Any person placed in the custody of a sheriff who has been transported to a division or department of the trial court shall, upon the completion of such transportation, be transferred into the custody of such court.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 25 Transportation of prisoners or persons in custody; costs; appropriations; report

c. 37, § 25. Transportation of prisoners or persons in custody; costs; appropriations; report Section 25. The cost of transportation required by section twenty-four shall be borne by the commonwealth. The secretary of administration and finance shall make an annual request for an appropriation for the purpose of funding said section twenty-four and, subject to such appropriation, said funds shall be paid to the treasurer of each county who shall place said funds in a separate account within the treasury of each county. All funds deposited in said accounts and any interest accruing thereto shall be used solely for the purposes set forth in said section twenty-four. No later than March first of each year, the treasurer of each county receiving funds under this section shall file a written report with the house and senate committees on ways and means detailing expenditures made from such accounts in the preceding calendar year.

M.G.L. c. 37, § 26 Identification cards for full-time deputies

c. 37, § 26. Identification cards for full-time deputies Section 26. The sheriff shall issue to every full-time deputy employed by the sheriff an identification card bearing the deputy's photograph and identifying information. The secretary of public safety and security may adopt regulations relative to the form, content and issuance of identification cards and to the carrying thereof by deputies.

Source: Massachusetts General Court (malegislature.gov)URL: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleVI/Chapter37Fetched: 10/20/2026