Mass. Gen. Laws » Part II Title III Chapter 208
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, § 34C (2026)

Orders to vacate marital home and orders of restraint; notice to law enforcement agencies; procedures; violations

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 34C. Whenever a division of the probate and family court department issues an order to vacate under the provisions of section thirty-four B, or an order prohibiting a person from imposing any restraint on the personal liberty of another person under section eighteen or under the provisions of section thirty-two of chapter two hundred and nine or section three, four or five of chapter two hundred and nine A or section fifteen or twenty of chapter two hundred and nine C or an order for custody pursuant to any abuse prevention action, the register shall transmit two certified copies of each order forthwith to the appropriate law enforcement agency which shall serve one copy of each such order upon the defendant. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, service shall be by delivering a copy in hand to the defendant. Law enforcement officers shall use every reasonable means to enforce such order. Law enforcement agencies shall establish procedures adequate to insure that an officer at the scene of an alleged violation of such order may be informed of the existence and terms of such order.

The court shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency in writing whenever any such order is vacated by the court and shall direct the agency to destroy all records of such vacated order and such agency shall comply with such directive.

Any violation of such order shall be punishable by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years in the house of correction, or both such fine and imprisonment. Each such order issued shall contain the following statement: VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

Any such violation may be enforced in the superior or district or Boston municipal court departments. Criminal remedies provided herein are not exclusive and do not preclude any other available civil or criminal remedies. The superior, probate and family, district and Boston municipal court departments may each enforce by civil contempt procedure a violation of its own court order.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1994–2009 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Alphas, 712 N.E.2d 575 (Mass. 1999).
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Commonwealth v. Alphas, 712 N.E.2d 575 (Mass. 1999). “eight; or section thirty-two of chapter two hundred and nine; or sections three, four, or five of chapter two hundred and nine A; or sections fifteen or twenty of chapter two hundred and nine C or a temporary restraining order or preliminary restraining or permanent injunction…”
Edge v. Commonwealth, 883 N.E.2d 928 (Mass. 2008). · cites it 2× “In a footnote, the court suggested, in dicta, that the defendant could not have been prosecuted under G. L. c. 208, § 34C, the provision of G. L.”
Commonwealth v. Stoltz, 900 N.E.2d 880 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009). · cites it 2× “Stoltz, was tried for violation of an abuse prevention order, punishable under G. L. c. 208, § 34C. He moved for a required finding at the close of the Commonwealth’s case and again at the close of all evidence.”
Commonwealth v. Smiledge, 643 N.E.2d 41 (Mass. 1994). “However, in December, 1989, in the course of the trial, the probation department disclosed that Tarantino had been convicted and sentenced for three violations of a restraining order pursuant to G. L. c. 208, § 34C (1992 ed.), and that there was an additional complaint pending.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.