Mass. Gen. Laws » Part III Title I Chapter 211D
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211D, § 11 (2026)

Compensation rates; limitation on annual billable hours payable; limitation on new appointments

✓ current as of July 2026
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[ Subsection (a) effective until August 1, 2025. For text effective August 1, 2025, see below.]

  Section 11. (a) The rates of compensation payable to all counsel, who are appointed or assigned to represent indigents within the private counsel division of the committee in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of section 6, shall, subject to appropriation, be as follows: for homicide cases the rate of compensation shall be $120 per hour; for superior court non-homicide cases, including sexually dangerous person cases, the rate of compensation shall be $85 per hour; for district court cases and children in need of services cases the rate of compensation shall be $65 per hour; for children and family law cases and care and protection cases the rate of compensation shall be $85 per hour; for sex offender registry cases and mental health cases the rate of compensation shall be $65 per hour. These rates of compensation shall be reviewed periodically at public hearings held by the committee at appropriate locations throughout the state, and notice shall be given to all state, county and local bar associations and other interested groups, of such hearings by letter and publication in advance of such hearings. This periodic review shall take place not less than once every 3 years.

[ Subsection (a) as amended by 2025, 14, Sec. 49 effective August 1, 2025. See 2025, 14, Sec. 104. For text effective until August 1, 2025, see above.]

[ Clause (1) of subsection (a) effective until August 1, 2026. For text effective August 1, 2026, see below.]

  (a)(1) The rates of compensation payable to all counsel, who are appointed or assigned to represent indigents within the private counsel division of the committee in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of section 6, shall, subject to appropriation, be as follows: for homicide cases the rate of compensation shall be $130 per hour; for superior court non-homicide cases, including sexually dangerous person cases, the rate of compensation shall be $95 per hour; for district court cases and children in need of services cases the rate of compensation shall be $75 per hour; for children and family law cases and care and protection cases the rate of compensation shall be $95 per hour; for sex offender registry cases and mental health cases the rate of compensation shall be $75 per hour. These rates of compensation shall be reviewed periodically at public hearings held by the committee at appropriate locations throughout the commonwealth, and notice shall be given to all state, county and local bar associations and other interested groups, of such hearings by letter and publication in advance of such hearings. This periodic review shall take place not less than once every 3 years.

[ Clause (1) of subsection (a) as amended by 2025, 14, Sec. 50 effective August 1, 2026. See 2025, 14, Sec. 105. For text effective until August 1, 2026, see above.]

  (a)(1) The rates of compensation payable to all counsel, who are appointed or assigned to represent indigents within the private counsel division of the committee in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of section 6, shall, subject to appropriation, be as follows: for homicide cases the rate of compensation shall be $140 per hour; for superior court non-homicide cases, including sexually dangerous person cases, the rate of compensation shall be $105 per hour; for district court cases and children in need of services cases the rate of compensation shall be $85 per hour; for children and family law cases and care and protection cases the rate of compensation shall be $105 per hour; for sex offender registry cases and mental health cases the rate of compensation shall be $85 per hour. These rates of compensation shall be reviewed periodically at public hearings held by the committee at appropriate locations throughout the commonwealth, and notice shall be given to all state, county and local bar associations and other interested groups, of such hearings by letter and publication in advance of such hearings. This periodic review shall take place not less than once every 3 years.

  (2) An agreement between private bar advocates to refuse to compete for or accept new appointments or assignments unless the rates of pay under this section are increased shall be evidence of a violation of section 4 of chapter 93; provided, that evidence of an agreement between private bar advocates to refuse to compete for or accept new appointments or assignments unless the rates of pay under this section are increased shall include, but shall not be limited to, any county where not less than 25 per cent of private bar advocates are refusing to compete for or accept new appointments or assignments.

  (b) The committee shall set an annual cap on billable hours not in excess of 1,650 hours. Counsel appointed or assigned to represent indigents within the private counsel division shall not be paid for any time billed in excess of the annual limit of billable hours. It shall be the responsibility of private counsel to manage their billable hours.

  (c) Notwithstanding the billable hour limitation in subsection (b), the chief counsel of the committee may waive the annual cap on billable hours for private counsel appointed or assigned to indigent cases if the chief counsel finds that: (i) there is limited availability of qualified counsel in that practice area; (ii) there is limited availability of qualified counsel in a geographic area; or (iii) increasing the limit would improve efficiency and quality of service; provided, however, that counsel appointed or assigned to such cases within the private counsel division shall not be paid for any time billed in excess of 2,000 billable hours. It shall be the responsibility of private counsel to manage their billable hours.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1995–2026 · leading case: Bridgeman v. Dist. Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 67 N.E.3d 673 (Mass. 2017).
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Bridgeman v. Dist. Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 67 N.E.3d 673 (Mass. 2017). · cites it 6× “G. L. c. 211D, § 11 (a). The only change to these hourly rates since 2005 has been that the rate applicable for cases in the District Court and Boston Municipal Court was increased from fifty dollars to fifty-three dollars in 2015.”
Lavallee v. Justices in the Hampden Superior Court, 442 Mass. 228 (Mass. 2004). “” Historically, these rates have been rejected by the Legislature in its general appropriation acts, pursuant to G. L. c. 211D, § 11. Instead, the Legislature has specified the rates to be paid, and has not appropriated funds to pay the rates “established]” by CPCS.”
Machado v. Comm. for Pub. Couns. Servs., 654 N.E.2d 328 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995). · cites it 3× “G. L. c. 211D, § 11, as inserted by St. 1983, c.”
Cooper v. Reg'l Admin. Judge of the Dist. Court for Region V, 854 N.E.2d 966 (Mass. 2006). “G. L. c. 211D, § 11, as amended by St. 2005, c.”
Machado v. Leahy, 17 Mass. L. Rptr. 263 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2004). · cites it 3× “; CPCS’s nonpayment of the fair rates it set in December of 2002 also constitutes a taking of property without just compensation (Count III); the current compensation rates violate plaintiffs’ equal protection rights, as CPCS pays higher rates to other service providers (Count…”
Comm. for Pub. Couns. Servs. v. Middlesex & Suffolk Cnty. Dist. Courts (Mass. 2026). · cites it 4× “See G. L. c. 211D, § 11. The rate scheme went through a couple of changes over the years.”
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 211D, § 11(d) — 1 case
Bridgeman v. Dist. Attorney for the Suffolk Dist., 67 N.E.3d 673 (Mass. 2017). “G. L. c. 211D, § 11 (a). The only change to these hourly rates since 2005 has been that the rate applicable for cases in the District Court and Boston Municipal Court was increased from fifty dollars to fifty-three dollars in 2015.”
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