Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title IV Chapter 31
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 59 (2026)

Municipal police officers and fire fighters; examinations; appointments and promotions

✓ current as of July 2026
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  Section 59. Original and promotional appointments in police and fire forces of cities and of such towns where such forces are within the official service, including appointments to the position of chief or similar position where the civil service law and rules are applicable to such position, shall be made only after competitive examination except as otherwise provided by sections 59A and 60 and by sections 36 and 36A of chapter 48.

[ Second paragraph effective until August 5, 2025. For text effective August 5, 2025, see below.]

  An examination for a promotional appointment to any title in a police or fire force shall be open only to permanent employees in the next lower title in such force, except that if the number of such employees, or the number of applicants eligible for the examination is less than 2, the examination shall be opened to permanent employees in the next lower titles in succession in such force until either 2 such eligible employees have applied for examination or until the examination is open to all permanent employees in lower titles in such force; provided, however, that no such examination shall be open to any person who has not been employed in such force for at least 1 year after appointment and performance of the job duties in the lower title or titles to which the examination is open; and provided, further, that no such examination for the first title above the lowest title in the police or fire force of a city or town with a population in excess of fifty thousand shall be open to any person who has not been employed in such force in such lowest title for at least three years after certification.

[ Second paragraph as amended by 2025, 14, Sec. 20 effective August 5, 2025. For text effective until August 5, 2025, see above.]

  An examination for a promotional appointment to any title in a police or fire force shall be open only to permanent employees in the next lower title in such force, except that if the number of such employees, or the number of applicants eligible for the examination is less than 2, the examination shall be opened to permanent employees in the next lower titles in succession in such force until either 2 such eligible employees have applied for examination or until the examination is open to all permanent employees in lower titles in such force; provided, however, that no such examination shall be open to any person who has not been employed in such force for at least 1 year after appointment and performance of the job duties in the lower title or titles to which the examination is open; and provided, further, that no such examination for the first title above the lowest title in the police or fire force of a city or town with a population in excess of fifty thousand shall be open to any person who has not been employed in such force in such lowest title for at least 3 years after appointment and performance of the job duties.

  Persons referred to in this section as being permanent employees in the lowest or lower title shall include only full-time members of the regular force and shall not include members of the reserve or intermittent police or fire force or members of the call fire force unless the appointing authority certifies to the administrator that the number of permanent full-time members of the regular force is insufficient to allow adequate competition in an examination and the administrator determines that the circumstances warrant opening the examination to permanent members of the reserve, intermittent or call force, as the case may be. Upon the request of the appointing authority, the administrator may include service actually performed while a permanent member of a reserve, intermittent, or call force in computing length of service required for admission to an examination for promotional appointment to the first title above the lowest title. The appointing authority shall submit with such request payroll records proving that such service was actually performed. For purposes of this section, two hundred and fifty days, or the equivalent thereof, of such service shall be equivalent to one year of service on a full-time basis in such regular force.

  All promotional appointments to fill positions in regular police or fire forces shall be made on a full-time basis. No such promotional appointments shall be made on a permanent intermittent basis. No examination shall be required for promotional appointments of call men within any call fire force to which the civil service law and rules are applicable.

  An eligible list established as a result of any examination shall not be used for an original or promotional appointment to any position in a police or fire force unless the announcement of such examination identified such position as one to be filled from such list. Notwithstanding the provisions of any law or rule to the contrary, a member of a regular police force or fire force who has served as such for twenty-five years and who passes an examination for promotional appointment in such force shall have preference in promotion equal to that provided to veterans under the civil service rules.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 13 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1983–2024 · leading case: Lopez v. Massachusetts, 588 F.3d 69 (1st Cir. 2009).
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Lopez v. Massachusetts, 588 F.3d 69 (1st Cir. 2009). · cites it 2× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, §§ 59 , 65. HRD is given statutory authority to establish the form and content of these examinations.”
Thomas v. Ralph v. Civil Serv. Comm'n & Another., 100 Mass. App. Ct. 199 (Mass. App. Ct. 2021). · cites it 11× “[202-204] A police officer's prior experience as an auxiliary police officer and as a special police officer did not qualify him for additional points on a promotional examination for twenty-five years of service under G. L. c. 31, § 59, where, read as a whole, the statutory…”
Sciuto v. City of Lawrence, 452 N.E.2d 1148 (Mass. 1983). “Under G. L. c. 31, § 59, Patrick Schiavone would have been eligible to take the civil service examination for chief only if at least one, and perhaps both, of these appointments had been made.”
Town of Dedham v. Dedham Police Ass'n, 706 N.E.2d 724 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “31, § 8), eligibility to sit for the competitive examination to establish the promotional list (G. L. c. 31, § 59), and in determining the training-experience component of the performance evaluation that is one of the weighting factors in computing final grades (G.”
City of Lawrence v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 847 N.E.2d 360 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). · cites it 4× “The issue presented is whether certain officers in the regular police force of the city of Lawrence (city) met the three-year employment requirement necessary to take a promotional examination for the position of sergeant pursuant to G. L. c. 31, § 59. *310 In 2000, the human…”
Patch v. Mayor of Revere, 492 N.E.2d 77 (Mass. 1986). “See G. L. c. 31, § 59 (1984 ed.). The chief of police ordered the plaintiffs, each of whom had taken and passed the examination, to submit to a polygraph examination in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation.”
Smith v. City of Boston, 144 F. Supp. 3d 177 (D. Mass. 2015). “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Personnel Administrator of the Human Resources Division (“HRD”), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 1 , is responsible for “conducting] examinations for purposes of establishing eligible lists” for promotion.”
Donahue v. City of Boston, 264 F. Supp. 2d 74 (D. Mass. 2003). “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31 § 59. 64 . Mass. Gen.”
Bd. of Selectmen v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 641 N.E.2d 714 (Mass. App. Ct. 1994). “Section 31 affords Jones no comfort, nor can the department’s policies reasonably be deduced from G. L. c. 31, § 59, which equates 250 days of service to one year of service for purposes of promotion eligibility.”
Goncalves v. City of Boston, 845 N.E.2d 1201 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). “The judge correctly determined that since the plaintiffs were not within the BPD, they could not have been promoted pursuant to G. L. c. 31, § 59. 12 Judgment affirmed. The plaintiffs originally sued Boston and “James Harnett, Jr.”
Weinburgh v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 893 N.E.2d 77 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008). · cites it 5× “In this case, we consider the proper construction of G. L. c. 31, § 59, as appearing in St. 1989, c.”
Marc Savage v. City of Springfield & Others. (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 2× “59 does not limit HRD from taking retroactive measures to assure statutory compliance," the 5 Under G. L. c. 31, § 59, a promotional examination in the fire department is open "only to permanent employees in the next lower title in such force, except that if the number of such…”
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