Jury Duty in Massachusetts: Pay, Exemptions, Excuses and What to Expect (2026)

Massachusetts draws its jurors at random from the annual resident lists every city and town sends to the Office of Jury Commissioner in Boston. If you're a U.S. citizen, 18 or older, and a resident of the judicial district (usually your county), or you live there more than half the time, you're qualified unless one of eight disqualifications applies. Most people serve under the state's one day or one trial system: if you aren't picked for a jury on your first day, you're done.

The money works differently than in most states. For the first three days, your employer must pay your regular wages. From the fourth day of a trial on, the Commonwealth pays $50 a day. Your employer can't fire, threaten or pressure you for serving, and doing so is a crime. Ignoring a summons is a crime too, with a fine of up to $2,000. People 70 or older may opt out on the summons response.

The rules are in chapter 234A of the General Laws, the Jury Management Act. Everything below is current as of November 2026.

Massachusetts jury duty at a glance

Who can serve

Section 4 makes any U.S. citizen who lives in the judicial district, or lives there more than half the time, qualified to serve on a grand or trial jury, whether or not you're registered to vote. The judicial districts are the counties unless the Supreme Judicial Court draws them differently (§ 2). Names come from the numbered resident lists that every city and town sends the Office of Jury Commissioner each June, covering residents 17 and older (§ 10).

You are disqualified if any of these applies to you (§ 4):

1. You are under 18.
2. You are 70 or older and say on your summons response that you choose not to serve.
3. You can't speak and understand English.
4. A physical or mental disability makes you unable to serve, shown by a doctor's letter.
5. You are solely responsible for the daily care of a permanently disabled person in your household, and serving would put that person's health at substantial risk.
6. You are outside the judicial district and don't plan to return during the next year.
7. You were convicted of a felony in the past seven years, you are a defendant in a pending felony case, or you are in the custody of a correctional institution.
8. You served as a grand or trial juror in any state or federal court in the past three years, or you are already scheduled to serve.

The court and the jury commissioner can check criminal history records to confirm a juror's qualifications (§ 33). Be truthful on the confidential juror questionnaire: willfully misstating a material fact to avoid or get on a jury is a crime with a fine of up to $2,000 (§ 32).

Exemptions and excuses

Massachusetts has no exemptions by occupation. Section 3 says no one may be excused because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, economic status or occupation. The Office of Jury Commissioner's juror website puts it plainly:

There are no exemptions from jury duty: doctors, police officers, students, and even judges are eligible to serve as jurors.

What the law offers instead are the disqualifications above, several of which you choose to claim:

Age 70 and older. You don't have to serve once you turn 70, but it's your choice. Section 4 lists this ground:

2. Such person is seventy years of age or older and indicates on a juror summons response an election not to perform juror service.

On the juror website, you enter your date of birth to claim it.

Medical conditions. You need a letter from a registered physician describing the disability and stating that it keeps you from serving. The law gives the doctor a test: you are able to serve if you could do a sedentary job requiring close attention for six hours a day, with short breaks, for three business days in a row. If the condition is permanent, the doctor can say so, and if the jury commissioner agrees, you're taken off the rolls for good. An accredited Christian Science practitioner counts as a physician here (§ 4(4)).

Caregivers. If you alone care daily for a permanently disabled person who lives with you, and serving would put that person's health at substantial risk, you can claim a disqualification with a physician's letter. It isn't available if you regularly work outside your home (§ 4(5)).

Hardship. Excuses for hardship are narrow. A judge may move your service date for hardship, inconvenience or public necessity, but excusing a trial juror outright takes more. Section 39 says "The court shall have authority to excuse a trial juror from juror service, in part or in full, upon a finding of extreme hardship; the court shall exercise this authority strictly." Grand jurors may be excused on the looser hardship-or-inconvenience standard, given how long they serve.

Once you're in a courtroom, the lawyers and the judge can still question you and remove you for cause or by peremptory challenge; in civil cases that process follows Mass. R. Civ. P. 47.

Where to raise it. You can claim a disqualification on the juror confirmation form or online. On your first morning, the judge also holds a private hearing for any juror, or juror's employer, who asks to be heard about excuses, postponements, time limits, pay or qualifications (§ 66).

Disabilities. People with a physical disability serve unless the court finds it isn't feasible (§ 3). A translator may help a deaf juror through orientation, trial and even deliberations (§ 69), and the juror website lets you request an assistive listening device.

Postponing jury duty

Every trial juror gets one postponement as a right. Section 34 begins:

Section 34. A trial juror shall have the right to one postponement of his term of juror service for not more than one year.

You claim it by writing the new month, day and year on your summons response, or by picking a date on the juror website's calendar. If your date doesn't work for the court, the Office of Jury Commissioner assigns one reasonably close to it. You'll get a notice of the new date within two weeks, and you then report on that date without a new summons (§ 36).

A different courthouse. You're summoned to a courthouse anywhere in your judicial district. If getting there would be a hardship, you can ask to transfer to another jury-trial location in the district (§ 35); the juror website calls this a hardship transfer and asks for a short explanation.

Later changes. Beyond the first postponement, the court or the jury commissioner may defer or advance your service for hardship, inconvenience or public necessity, as long as you commit to serving on the new date (§ 39). Top state and federal officials, from the Governor to members of Congress, get as many postponements as their official business requires (§ 37).

Juror pay

Massachusetts splits the cost of jury service between your employer and the state.

Days one through three: your employer. Section 48:

Section 48. Each regularly employed trial or grand juror shall be paid regular wages by his employer for the first three days, or part thereof, of juror service. Regular employment shall include part-time, temporary, and casual employment as long as the employment hours of a juror reasonably may be determined by a schedule or by custom and practice established during the three-month period preceding the term of service of such juror. Each self-employed trial or grand juror shall compensate himself for the first three days, or part thereof, of juror service.

Day four on: the Commonwealth. Section 51:

Each trial juror who serves more than three days shall be paid by the commonwealth for the fourth day of service and each day thereafter at the rate of fifty dollars per day of service.

A trial juror getting that $50 a day isn't also reimbursed for travel or other expenses (§ 51). Your employer may keep paying you after day three, but the statute doesn't require it.

Other details:

• If you aren't regularly employed. Retirees, homemakers, students and unemployed jurors can apply for reimbursement of reasonable travel, child care and other out-of-pocket costs, except food, for the first three days, up to $50 a day. Apply before or during the judicial discretion hearing on your first morning. Unemployment benefits aren't lost because of those three days of service (§ 50).
• If your employer can't afford it. A court can relieve an employer, or a self-employed juror, of the three-day pay duty on a finding of extreme financial hardship. The state then pays the juror reasonable compensation of up to $50 a day for those days. The hearing must happen within 30 days after you give your employer the service certificate (§ 49).
• Which days count. You're paid and credited only for days you actually appear as directed. A day missed for serious illness or another compelling reason can still be credited, and a judge can award up to $50 a day if a holiday or an unexpected adjournment costs you pay (§ 55).
• Unusual cases. The court may make special awards for unusual circumstances and covers food, lodging and transportation for sequestered jurors (§ 56).
• How you're paid. State payments come by check each week (§ 59).

The law's stated goal is to keep jury service from causing anyone financial hardship, as far as possible (§ 47). The $50 rate is the same in every county.

Your job is protected

Section 61 protects jurors from retaliation:

An employer shall not deprive a juror-employee of his employment or any incidents or benefits thereof, nor shall an employer harass, threaten, or coerce an employee because the employee has received a juror summons, responds thereto, performs any obligation or election of juror service as a grand or trial juror, or exercises any right under any section of this chapter.

It goes further than most states:

• No work piled on. An employer can't give you compulsory work assignments during your service, or do anything on purpose that substantially interferes with your attention or peace of mind while you serve (§ 61).
• It's a crime. An employer who violates § 61 can be fined up to $5,000. The jury commissioner's legal counsel can apply for a criminal complaint against the employer.
• You can sue. You can bring a civil action in superior court for damages and an injunction. If the employer acted willfully, the court can award triple damages and reasonable attorney's fees.

If your employer won't pay for the three days. You'll receive a juror service certificate for each week you serve, within 14 days after the week ends; give your employer its copy as soon as you can (§§ 57, 58). If the employer still hasn't paid 30 days after you hand it over, you can sue in superior or district court. The employer can't use extreme financial hardship as a defense unless a court excused it beforehand, and willful refusal can bring treble damages and attorney's fees (§ 60).

What happens if you don't show up

Skipping jury duty is a crime in Massachusetts. Section 42:

Any grand or trial juror who fails to appear for juror service or who fails to perform any condition of his juror service shall be guilty of a crime, and upon conviction thereof, may be punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars.

The same section lets the court issue a warrant for your arrest if it finds you won't appear. In practice, the process starts gently:

• Respond within 10 days. You must answer a summons within 10 days of getting it, by mail, phone or online (§ 24). If you don't, a final summons follows, which may be served by a sheriff or constable and must be answered within five days (§ 25).
• A delinquency notice. If you miss your date, the Office of Jury Commissioner may send a delinquency notice, whose purpose is to let you fix the problem (§ 43).
• A criminal complaint. If you're still delinquent 30 days after that notice, the office may apply to a district or superior court for a criminal complaint. You get notice of a hearing on the application (§ 44).

If you missed your date, call the juror helpline right away and reschedule; that's what the delinquency notice is for.

Your first day

Your summons and the juror website have the instructions for your courthouse. What the statute and the Office of Jury Commissioner's site tell you to expect:

• Read the handbook. The jury commissioner sends a trial juror's handbook at least ten days before your date, with maps and directions, and the law asks you to read it before you report (§ 62).
• If you're on standby, call the number you're given after 3 p.m. on the court day before your service to learn whether to come in (§ 30). Service is often cancelled when enough jurors are already scheduled; a cancelled day doesn't count as service, so you could be called again within three years (§ 28).
• Bring your paperwork. Bring your summons, your completed and signed confidential juror questionnaire, and any notice of postponement or transfer (§ 31). The juror website lets you fill out and print the questionnaire.
• Orientation and the hearing. The morning starts with an orientation, often by video (§ 64), followed by private hearings with the judge for anyone who needs to raise a problem (§ 66).
• How long. Your term is one day unless you're placed on a trial; jurors who aren't needed are let go as early in the afternoon as possible (§ 41). If a trial is expected to run more than three trial days, the judge tells you before the jury is chosen and may excuse you from that trial for hardship (§ 40). The law expects every juror to be ready to serve three trial days (§ 39).
• Proof for your employer. Your weekly juror service certificate is the proof (§§ 57-58).
• Questions. The juror helpline is 1-800-THE-JURY (1-800-843-5879) inside Massachusetts or (617) 338-6409 from out of state. Recorded messages run 24 hours a day, and operators answer on business days from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (OJC Contact Us).

We couldn't read the court system's pages on mass.gov for this guide (the site refused automated access), so dress codes, phone rules and parking aren't covered here. Check your courthouse's listing on the juror website and the handbook that comes with your summons.

Grand jury service

Grand jurors are chosen the same way and meet the same qualifications as trial jurors. A grand jury term lasts three months, which the court can extend (§ 41). Your employer pays regular wages for the first three days (§ 48). After that, the judge holds a private hearing on your first day, reviews a financial questionnaire you fill out, and sets a daily rate the state will pay of up to $50 a day (§§ 52, 53, 54). The job protections in § 61 cover grand jurors too.

Jury duty scams

Callers sometimes claim you missed jury duty and demand payment to clear a warrant. That isn't how Massachusetts handles missed service. The statute's process runs by mail or in-person delivery: a delinquency notice, then, if needed, an application for a criminal complaint with notice of a court hearing (§§ 43-44). Nothing in it involves paying a fine over the phone. If you're unsure whether a call or letter is real, call the Office of Jury Commissioner at 1-800-843-5879. The federal courts keep a juror scam warning that applies here as well.

Recent and pending changes

We found no change to chapter 234A enacted from 2024 through November 2026. Bills filed in the 2025-2026 session:

• S.1028 / H.1884, An Act improving juror compensation. Would raise the $50 daily rates (state pay from day four, the unemployed juror reimbursement and the employer-hardship award) to $100, extend the day-four state payment to grand jurors in place of the current case-by-case grand juror rate, raise the $350 check cap to $700, and require annual reports on juror pay. The Judiciary Committee reported S.1028 favorably on February 26, 2026, and it went to Senate Ways and Means. H.1884 was sent to a study order on March 26, 2026.
• H.1903, An Act addressing racial disparity in jury selection. Would remove the seven-year felony conviction disqualification and add rules against improper peremptory challenges. Sent to a study order on March 26, 2026.
• H.1778, An Act relative to juror service. Would add a disqualification for a sole business owner whose service would force the business to close. Sent to a study order on March 26, 2026.

None of these had become law as of November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How much does jury duty pay in Massachusetts?

Your employer must pay your regular wages for the first three days, and self-employed jurors pay themselves. If a trial lasts longer, the Commonwealth pays $50 a day from the fourth day on. Jurors who aren't regularly employed can be reimbursed up to $50 a day for travel, child care and similar costs during the first three days.

Can my employer fire me for jury duty in Massachusetts?

No. Under M.G.L. c. 234A, § 61, an employer can't fire you, cut your benefits, or harass, threaten or coerce you for receiving a summons or serving. A violation is a crime with a fine of up to $5,000, and you can sue for damages, which a court can triple for willful conduct.

How do I get out of jury duty in Massachusetts?

There are no exemptions by job. You can claim a disqualification if you're 70 or older and choose not to serve, have a disabling condition confirmed by a doctor's letter, are the sole caregiver of a disabled household member, or served on a jury in the past three years. Everyone else can postpone once, up to a year, and a judge can excuse a trial juror only for extreme hardship.

What happens if I miss jury duty in Massachusetts?

Failing to appear is a crime punishable by a fine of up to $2,000, and the court can issue an arrest warrant. The usual first step is a delinquency notice giving you a chance to fix things; if you don't, the Office of Jury Commissioner can seek a criminal complaint after 30 days. Call the juror helpline promptly to reschedule.

How often can you be called for jury duty in Massachusetts?

If you served as a grand or trial juror in any state or federal court in the past three years, you may claim a disqualification. A day that was cancelled before you served doesn't count, so you can be summoned again sooner. Most service lasts one day.

Is there an age limit for jury duty in Massachusetts?

You must be at least 18. There's no upper limit, but anyone 70 or older can opt out by saying so on the summons response or online. You can also choose to serve.

Where these rules live

• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 4 — qualifications and disqualifications
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 34 — postponement
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 39 — excuses and deferrals
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 41 — length of service
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 42 — failure to appear
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 48 — employer pays the first three days
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 51 — state pay from day four
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 60 — employer liability for unpaid wages
• M.G.L. c. 234A, § 61 — employer retaliation
• Massachusetts Juror Service Website — Office of Jury Commissioner

For the rules that govern Massachusetts civil trials themselves, see the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure. Other Massachusetts guides: divorce in Massachusetts and Massachusetts law schools. To compare states, visit the jury duty hub.