Harassment Prevention Orders in Massachusetts: Three Acts to Count and a Hearing Date Printed on the Order
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Massachusetts · Last updated October 22, 2026
Massachusetts calls its version a harassment prevention order, or a 258E order after G.L. c. 258E, and its ordinary route works by counting: three or more acts of wilful and malicious conduct aimed at you, meant to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property, and actually causing it. It is a court order telling someone you are not in a domestic relationship with to stop abusing or contacting you and to stay away from your home or workplace. No physical harm and no relationship are required, but a single act does not carry the ordinary route. One act can suffice only where it is one of the listed sexual offences or criminal harassment and stalking offences in G.L. c. 258E, section 1. If the person harassing you is a spouse, former spouse, someone you live or lived with, a relative, a co-parent or a dating partner, this is the wrong order and you want an abuse prevention order under G.L. c. 209A instead. The Probate and Family Court cannot issue a 258E order at all. Filing is free (G.L. c. 258E, section 3(c)). A court can enter a temporary order without notice and must hear the other side within 10 court business days (section 5). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Massachusetts
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
How many incidents do I need for a Massachusetts harassment prevention order?
On the ordinary route, three or more acts of wilful and malicious conduct aimed at a specific person, intended to cause and actually causing fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property (G.L. c. 258E, section 1). A single act can qualify only if it is one of the listed offences, such as certain sexual offences.
How long does a Massachusetts harassment prevention order last?
A final order cannot exceed one year (G.L. c. 258E, section 3(d)). Each order states on its face when it expires and the date and time the matter will be heard again. At that hearing the court may extend it for additional time reasonably necessary or enter a permanent order.
Does a Massachusetts harassment prevention order cost anything to file?
No. G.L. c. 258E, section 3(c) says no filing fee shall be charged for the complaint. The plaintiff also cannot be charged for certified copies of orders entered by the court, or for file copies reasonably needed for future court action or to replace lost copies.
Does the other person need to be a relative or partner in Massachusetts?
No. Chapter 258E has no relationship requirement, which is why the Probate and Family Court cannot issue these orders. Proceedings go to the District Court, Boston Municipal Court or Superior Court, or to the Juvenile Court when the defendant is under 18 (G.L. c. 258E, section 2).
Massachusetts harassment prevention order rules at a glance
Massachusetts has two statutes where most people expect one, and the choice between them turns on arithmetic as much as on relationship. A harassment prevention order under G.L. c. 258E restrains someone you are not in a domestic relationship with from abusing or contacting you, and asks nothing about how you know each other. The cost of that openness is the count: three acts on the ordinary route. An abuse prevention order under G.L. c. 209A needs a family or household relationship but can rest on a single act, and since 2024 its definition of abuse also reaches coercive control, which a 258E order cannot reach. Being easier to qualify for on relationship does not make the 258E route easier to prove, and the court decides which facts fit.
A youth hockey parent in Worcester and the third incident that made the count
A Worcester mother has coached alongside another team parent for two seasons with no history between them beyond the rink. After a dispute over ice time, that parent posts her home address in a team group chat, turns up at her office lobby twice, and then leaves a note on her car. She counts three separate acts of hostile conduct that frightened her, writes each one down with its date, and files the Chapter 258E Complaint Packet at the District Court that covers her residence, paying nothing. The order she is given shows an expiry date and a second hearing date. Whether the court finds the three acts proved is for the judge to decide, and she plans to attend that second date.
Relevant Laws
G.L. c. 258E, section 1 (definitions of harassment and malicious)
Defines harassment as three or more acts of wilful and malicious conduct aimed at a specific person, committed with the intent to cause fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property and that does in fact cause it, or a single act that forces involuntary sexual relations or violates a listed offence in G.L. c. 265 or G.L. c. 272, section 3. Malicious means characterized by cruelty, hostility or revenge.
G.L. c. 258E, section 2 (courts with jurisdiction)
Provides that proceedings are filed, heard and determined in the superior court department or the divisions of the district court department or the Boston municipal court department having venue over the plaintiff's residence, and gives the juvenile court exclusive jurisdiction where the defendant is under 18.
G.L. c. 258E, section 3 (relief, fee and duration)
Lets a person suffering from harassment file a complaint seeking orders to refrain from abusing, harassing or contacting the plaintiff and to remain away from the plaintiff's household or workplace. Subsection (c) bars any filing fee. Subsection (d) limits relief to one year, requires the expiry and next hearing date on the face of the order, and lets the court extend or enter a permanent order.
G.L. c. 258E, section 5 (temporary orders)
Allows temporary orders on filing, and orders without notice where the plaintiff shows a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment. The defendant must have an opportunity to be heard not later than 10 court business days after entry, and the temporary orders continue without further order if the defendant does not appear.
G.L. c. 209A, section 1 (the abuse prevention order, for routing)
The domestic violence statute. Defines abuse between family or household members to include physical harm, fear of imminent serious physical harm, involuntary sexual relations by force, threat or duress, and coercive control. Family or household members are people who are or were married, residing together, related by blood or marriage, have a child in common, or are or were in a substantive dating or engagement relationship.
G.L. c. 265, section 43A (criminal harassment)
The criminal harassment section that chapter 258E, section 1 cross-references as one of the single-act grounds. Its subsection (b) addresses distribution of nude or sexual images, and the current Chapter 258E Complaint Packet lists that ground.
Trial Court Chapter 258E Complaint Packet, form TC0073 (11/24)
The standardized Trial Court packet used in the Boston Municipal Court, District Court, Juvenile Court and Superior Court. It contains the Complaint for Protection from Harassment, an Affidavit, a Plaintiff Confidential Information Form and a Defendant Information Form, and states that filing is free.
Regional Variances
Massachusetts civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Harassment prevention order, commonly called a 258E order, under G.L. c. 258E. It is the general non-domestic track. The domestic track is a separate abuse prevention order under G.L. c. 209A.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
There is no relationship test. Chapter 258E opens with the words a person suffering from harassment may file a complaint (section 3(a)). The relationship test sits on the 209A side, which covers family or household members. The Probate and Family Court cannot issue a 258E order.
The standard
Three or more acts of wilful and malicious conduct aimed at a specific person, intended to cause and actually causing fear, intimidation, abuse or damage to property. A single act suffices only for the listed sexual and criminal offences in section 1. The plaintiff carries the burden by a preponderance of the evidence.
Temporary order
Temporary orders may issue on filing. Without notice, the plaintiff must show a substantial likelihood of immediate danger of harassment, and the defendant must be offered a hearing within 10 court business days. If the defendant does not appear, the temporary orders continue without further order (G.L. c. 258E, section 5).
Duration
Relief may not exceed one year. The order states on its face the time and date it expires and the date and time the matter will again be heard. If the expiry falls on a day the court is closed, it does not expire until the next court business day (section 3(d)).
Renewal
Built into the order. If the plaintiff appears at the stated expiry date and time, the court decides whether to extend for additional time reasonably necessary or to enter a permanent order. A period without harassment is not, in itself, sufficient ground to deny an extension (section 3(d)).
Court and form
District Court, Boston Municipal Court or Superior Court with venue over the plaintiff's residence, and the Juvenile Court where the defendant is under 18. The form is the Chapter 258E Complaint Packet, TC0073 (11/24).
Filing fee
None. No filing fee is charged, and the plaintiff is not charged for certified copies of orders or for file copies reasonably required for future court action or to replace lost copies (section 3(c)).
Service
The court notifies the defendant when a temporary order issues without notice (section 5). Ask the clerk's office how service is arranged in your court, because this page does not state a service procedure.
Firearm provision
The Trial Court Law Libraries list for the chapter shows sections 4A, 4B and 4C, added by St. 2024, c. 135, section 92, dealing with firearm licences on a 258E order. Read their current text and ask the court before relying on them.
Violation
An order directs behaviour and carries legal consequences if it is violated. Keep a copy with you and report any violation to the police. This page does not state a penalty.
Not yet in force
St. 2026, c. 179, section 59 inserts G.L. c. 258E, section 11A, effective November 4, 2026, concerning an on-behalf-of order for a minor that remains in effect after the age of majority. The posted chapter did not show it on October 22, 2026, and it should not be treated as current law before that date.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Massachusetts guides
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Asset Protection Planning in Massachusetts (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Massachusetts (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Massachusetts: A Tax Taking, a Land Court Case, and One Date That Sets Your Rate
Expunging a Criminal Record in Massachusetts (2026)
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