Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title II Chapter 22C
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 22C, § 26 (2026)

Promotion of uniformed members to title of noncommissioned officer or lieutenant; examination and assessment; eligibility

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 26. (a) The colonel may promote uniformed members of the state police who are deemed eligible for promotion by the colonel to the title of noncommissioned officer or lieutenant. Promotional examinations to the title of noncommissioned officer or lieutenant shall include a written test and may include an assessment process designed to evaluate a uniformed member's knowledge, skills and abilities related to the position. The assessment process, if utilized, and the written test shall be developed in consultation with, and validated by, a certified organizational psychologist. A total promotional score shall be based on the uniformed member's promotional examination score and a longevity score.

(b)(1) The colonel shall promulgate regulations on the promotional process, including, but not limited to, to the validation of promotional examinations, the specific components of promotional examinations, the weighting of such components and the calculation and weighting of longevity scores. For a uniformed member who is a veteran, the regulations shall provide for the uniformed member's promotional score on the written examination to be increased by 2 per cent and may provide for veteran status to be recognized in other ways in the promotional examination process.

(2) The colonel may promulgate regulations providing for minimum scores on the promotional examination, or portions thereof, to be met by uniformed members to be eligible for promotion. Such minimum scores shall be set in consultation with a certified organizational psychologist before or after administration of the relevant examination.

(c) To be eligible to participate in a promotional examination for the title of noncommissioned officer, a uniformed member shall, at a minimum, have completed not less than 5 years of service as a uniformed member immediately before the final date for the filing of applications for such examination and have completed, in the immediately preceding year, 1 full year of service in the next lower rank or title. To be eligible to participate in a promotional examination for the title of lieutenant, a uniformed member shall, at a minimum, have completed not less than 1 year of service in the next lower rank or title immediately before the final date for the filing of applications for such examination and have completed not less than 8 years of service as a uniformed member prior to the final date for filing applications for such examination.

(d)(1) Prior to making any promotions under this section, the colonel shall publish and distribute in the orders of the department for each title in the department a list of the members who are eligible for promotion to each such title. Each eligible list for promotion shall be used by the colonel to fill vacancies for a period of not less than 2 years and in no circumstances more than 5 years from the initial date of publication; provided, however, that the colonel may shorten the period to less than 2 years if the colonel reasonably determines that termination of the eligible list is required to avoid a violation of law.

(2) The colonel shall promulgate regulations detailing how selections for promotion are to be made from the list of eligible members. The regulations may allow for the grouping of the eligibility list into bands, based on promotional scores.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1994–2009 · leading case: Marks v. Dep't of State Police, 905 N.E.2d 580 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009).
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Marks v. Dep't of State Police, 905 N.E.2d 580 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009). · cites it 13× “All promotions at the department through the rank of captain are governed by a *221 competitive examination and a ranking process established by G. L. c. 22C, § 26. The statute requires that the candidates for promotion be ranked in accordance with certain criteria, principally…”
Doty v. Commonwealth, Dep't of State Police ex rel. Robbins, 20 Mass. L. Rptr. 1 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2005). · cites it 5× “All promotions at the State Police through the rank of captain are governed by a competitive examination and ranking process governed by G.L.c. 22C, §26. The process results in approved lists of candidates from which appointments are made by the State Police Colonel.”
Moore v. Hillman, 6 Mass. L. Rptr. 697 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1997). · cites it 15× “ies, brought this summaiy judgment motion against the defendants, Colonel Reed Hillman (the colonel) and the Department of State Police (the Department), claiming that plaintiffs, and certain members of the classes they represent, failed to receive promotions as a result of the…”
Hamill v. Henderson, 2 Mass. L. Rptr. 250 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1994). · cites it 13× “INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs are four troopers and a sergeant with the Massachusetts Department of State Police (“the Department” or “State Police”) who seek a declaration that they and others similarly situated are eligible to participate in promotional examinations conducted…”
Rand v. Hillman, 9 Mass. L. Rptr. 191 (Mass. Super. Ct. 1998). · cites it 4× “In January 1998, the Department issued a notice announcing that a written promotional examination would be conducted on April 4, 1998 for those officers eligible for promotion to captain under G.L.c. 22C, §26. 2 When the Department issued its notice, and now, there were 24…”
Costa v. DiFava, 12 Mass. L. Rptr. 45 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2000). “Pursuant to G.L.c. 22C, §26, all state police officers seeking a promotion to the rank of Captain are required to participate in a written and oral examination process, from which an eligibility list of candidates is compiled.”
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