Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title III Chapter 30A
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 1 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 1. For the purposes of this chapter—

(1) ''Adjudicatory proceeding'' means a proceeding before an agency in which the legal rights, duties or privileges of specifically named persons are required by constitutional right or by any provision of the General Laws to be determined after opportunity for an agency hearing. Without enlarging the scope of this definition, adjudicatory proceeding does not include (a) proceedings solely to determine whether the agency shall institute or recommend institution of proceedings in a court; or (b) proceedings for the arbitration of labor disputes voluntarily submitted by the parties to such disputes; or (c) proceedings for the disposition of grievances of employees of the commonwealth; or (d) proceedings to classify or reclassify, or to allocate or reallocate, appointive offices and positions in the government of the commonwealth; or (e) proceedings to determine the equalized valuations of the several cities and towns; or (f) proceedings for the determination of wages under section twenty-six T of chapter one hundred and twenty-one.

(2) ''Agency'', any department, board, commission, division or authority of the state government or subdivision of any of the foregoing, or official of the state government, authorized by law to make regulations or to conduct adjudicatory proceedings, but does not include the following: the legislative and judicial departments; the governor and council; military or naval boards, commissions or officials; the department of correction; the department of youth services; the parole board; the division of dispute resolution of the division of industrial accidents; the personnel administrator; the civil service commission; and the appellate tax board.

(3) ''Party'' to an adjudicatory proceeding means:— (a) the specifically named persons whose legal rights, duties or privileges are being determined in the proceeding; and (b) any other person who as a matter of constitutional right or by any provision of the General Laws is entitled to participate fully in the proceeding, and who upon notice as required in paragraph (1) of section eleven makes an appearance; and (c) any other person allowed by the agency to intervene as a party. Agencies may by regulation not inconsistent with this section further define the classes of persons who may become parties.

(4) ''Person'' includes all political subdivisions of the commonwealth.

(4A) ''Proposed regulation'', a proposal by an agency to adopt, amend or repeal an existing regulation.

(5) ''Regulation'' includes the whole or any part of every rule, regulation, standard or other requirement of general application and future effect, including the amendment or repeal thereof, adopted by an agency to implement or interpret the law enforced or administered by it, but does not include (a) advisory rulings issued under section eight; or (b) regulations concerning only the internal management or discipline of the adopting agency or any other agency, and not substantially affecting the rights of or the procedures available to the public or that portion of the public affected by the agency's activities; or (d) regulations relating to the use of the public works, including streets and highways, when the substance of such regulations is indicated to the public by means of signs or signals; or (e) decisions issued in adjudicatory proceedings.

(5A) ''Small business'', a business entity or agriculture operation, including its affiliates, that: (i) is independently owned and operated; (ii) has a principal place of business in the commonwealth; and (iii) would be defined as a ''small business'' under applicable federal law, as established in the United States Code and promulgated from time to time by the United States Small Business Administration.

(6) ''Substantial evidence'' means such evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 608 cases (80 in the last 5 years), 1959–2026 · leading case: Forsyth Sch. for Dental Hygienists v. Bd. of Reg. in Dentistry, 534 N.E.2d 773 (Mass. 1989).
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Forsyth Sch. for Dental Hygienists v. Bd. of Reg. in Dentistry, 534 N.E.2d 773 (Mass. 1989). · cites it 12× “In its complaint in the Superior Court, and on appeal, the school asserts that the board failed to accord it the adjudicatory proceeding to which it claims it was entitled under G.L.c. 30A, §§ 1 and 11, and that it is entitled to review under the standards of G.”
Arthur D. Little, Inc. v. Comm'r of Health & Hospitals, 481 N.E.2d 441 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 12× “The State Administrative Procedure Act (APA), G.L.c. 30A, §§ 1 et seq. (1984 ed.), is inapplicable to actions taken by the commissioner pursuant to G.”
Purity Supreme, Inc. v. Attorney Gen., 407 N.E.2d 297 (Mass. 1980). · cites it 6× “The Attorney General’s office is an “agency” as defined in the State Administrative Procedure Act, G. L. c. 30A, § 1 (2). An agency’s powers to promulgate regulations “are shaped by its organic statute taken as a whole and need not necessarily be traced to specific words.”
Global NAPs, Inc. v. Awiszus, 930 N.E.2d 1262 (Mass. 2010). · cites it 6× “Guidelines issued by an administrative agency, on the other hand, do not have the same status as regulations adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, G. L. c. 30A, § 1 (5). [11] As pertinent to the present matter, the MCAD Guidelines represent MCAD's interpretation…”
Carey v. Comm'r of Corr., 95 N.E.3d 220 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 4× “The plaintiffs, who are visitors to correctional facilities who are not attorneys, allege that this canine search policy (policy) violated the department's existing regulations and that the department failed to follow requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), G. L.…”
Borden, Inc. v. Comm'r of Pub. Health, 448 N.E.2d 367 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 5× “See G. L. c. 30A, § 1 (1) (definition of adjudicatory proceeding).”
Doe, SORB No. 523391 v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 120 N.E.3d 1263 (Mass. App. Ct. 2019). · cites it 2× “2d 9 , quoting G. L. c. 30A, § 1 (6) ("Substantial evidence is 'such evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion' "); Covell v.”
Commonwealth v. Trumble, 483 N.E.2d 1102 (Mass. 1985). · cites it 4× “[4] The defendants argue that the roadblock guidelines constituted "regulations" as that word is defined in G.L.c. 30A, § 1 (5) (1984 ed.), [5] and that therefore the guidelines are invalid because they were not promulgated as required by the State Administrative Procedure Act.”
Westland Hous. Corp. v. Comm'r of Ins., 225 N.E.2d 782 (Mass. 1967). · cites it 10× “was reached in an adjudicatory proceeding" within G.L.c. 30A, § 1 (1), that the plaintiffs had standing to seek review of that decision in the Superior Court under G.”
Embers of Salisbury, Inc. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 517 N.E.2d 830 (Mass. 1988). · cites it 4× “" G.L.c. 30A, § 1 (6) (1986 ed.). The ABCC's decision is supported by substantial evidence.”
Doe, Sex Offender Registry Bd. No. 68549 v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 470 Mass. 102 (Mass. 2014). · cites it 2× “” G. L. c. 30A, § 1 (6). A decision does not satisfy the “substantial evidence” requirement if “the evidence points to no felt or appreciable probability of the conclusion or points to an overwhelming probability of the contrary.”
Boston Edison Co. v. Boston Redevelopment Auth., 371 N.E.2d 728 (Mass. 1977). · cites it 2× “The sole issue before the court was whether this hearing was an adjudicatory proceeding, as defined in G.L.c. 30A, § 1 (1). The court concluded that it was not adjudicatory because c.”
Show all 608 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 1(1) — 20 cases
Namay v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 475 N.E.2d 419 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985).
Sch. Comm. v. Comm'r of Educ., 462 N.E.2d 338 (Mass. App. Ct. 1984).
Cast Iron Soil Pipe Inst. v. Bd. of State Examiners of Plumbers & Gas Fitters, 396 N.E.2d 457 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979).
Vinal v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 430 N.E.2d 440 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982).
Stowe v. Bologna, 592 N.E.2d 764 (Mass. App. Ct. 1992).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 1(2) — 26 cases
Clark v. Leisure Woods Estates, Inc., 45 N.E.3d 908 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).
Buteau v. Norfolk Cnty. Ret. Bd., 394 N.E.2d 993 (Mass. App. Ct. 1979).
Cepulonis v. Comm'r of Corr., 445 N.E.2d 178 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983).
Herrick v. Essex Reg'l Ret. Bd., 861 N.E.2d 32 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007).
Town of Swansea v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 683 N.E.2d 695 (Mass. App. Ct. 1997).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 1(3) — 1 case
Sturbridge Bd. of Health v. O'Leary, 25 Mass. L. Rptr. 171 (Mass. Super. Ct. 2009).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 1(5) — 14 cases
Amato v. Dist. Attorney for Cape & Islands Dist., 952 N.E.2d 400 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011).
Grand River Dam Auth. v. State, 645 P.2d 1011 (Okla. 1982).
Evans v. Mayer Tree Serv., Inc., 46 N.E.3d 102 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).
Minuteman Health, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 291 F. Supp. 3d 174 (D.D.C. 2018).
Greenleaf Fin. Co. v. Small Loans Regulatory Bd., 385 N.E.2d 1364 (Mass. 1979).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 1(6) — 186 cases
Narducci v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 860 N.E.2d 943 (Mass. App. Ct. 2007).
Lisbon v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 670 N.E.2d 392 (Mass. App. Ct. 1996).
Merisme v. Bd. of Appeals on Motor Veh. Liab. Policies & Bonds, 539 N.E.2d 1052 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989).
Seagram Distillers Co. v. Alcoholic Beverages Control Comm'n, 401 Mass. 713 (Mass. 1988).
Doe v. Sex Offender Registry Bd., 966 N.E.2d 826 (Mass. App. Ct. 2012).
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