(a)Civil Docket. The clerk shall keep the civil docket and shall enter therein each civil action to which these rules are made applicable. Actions shall be assigned consecutive file numbers. The file number of each action shall be noted on the folio of the docket whereon the first entry of the action is made. All papers filed with the clerk, all process issued and returns made thereon, all appearances, orders, verdicts, and judgments shall be entered chronologically in the civil docket on the folio assigned to the action and shall be marked with its file number. These entries shall be brief but shall show the nature of each paper filed or writ issued and the substance of each order or judgment of the court and of the returns showing execution of process. The entry of an order or judgment shall show the date the entry is made. When in an action trial by jury has been properly demanded or ordered the clerk shall enter the word "jury" on the folio assigned to that action.
(b)Indices; Calendars. Suitable indices of the civil docket shall be kept by the clerk according to law under the direction of the court.
(c)Other Books and Records of the Clerk. The clerk shall also keep such other books and records as may be required by law or by direction of the court.
(d)Land Court. In the Land Court, the clerk may assign to actions for registration and confirmation, actions for tax liens, and miscellaneous other actions, separate dockets, each having consecutive file numbers, designated respectively, "Registration and Confirmation," "Tax Lien," and "Miscellaneous."
End
Rule History
Amended December 13, 1981, effective January 1, 1982.
Reporter’s Notes
(1996)
With the merger of the District Court rules into the Mass.R.Civ.P., a minor difference which had existed between Mass.R.Civ.P. 79 and Dist./Mun.Cts.R.Civ.P. 79 (last sentence of Rule 79(a) dealing with jury trial) has been eliminated.
(1973)
Rule 79 is substantially the same as the cognate Federal Rule. It follows prior Massachusetts practice.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 79 defines the official record of a case. The clerk keeps the civil docket, enters each action with a consecutive file number, and records chronologically every paper filed, process issued and returned, appearance, order, verdict, and judgment—each entry brief but showing the nature of the paper and the substance of any order or judgment, with the date of entry. When a jury has been demanded or ordered, the clerk notes “jury” on the docket.
The clerk also keeps suitable indices and any other books the law or the court requires. In the Land Court, the clerk may keep separate dockets for registration and confirmation, tax-lien, and miscellaneous actions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the civil docket?
The clerk's official chronological record of a case. It lists the action by file number and records each paper filed, process issued, appearance, order, verdict, and judgment, with the date of each entry.
How does the docket show a case was claimed for a jury?
When a jury has been demanded or ordered, the clerk notes “jury” directly on the docket for that case.
Source & verification. Rule text, Rule History, and Reporter’s Notes reproduced
verbatim from the Massachusetts Rules of Civil Procedure as published by the Massachusetts Trial Court Law Libraries.
Promulgated by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. Last verified June 26, 2026. ·
Official text
Also known as:civil docketclerk's recordsdocket entriesfile number