Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 6 (2026)

Appointments; requisitions

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 6. Each appointment to a civil service position shall be made by an original appointment pursuant to the provisions of this section or by a promotional appointment pursuant to the provisions of section seven, except as otherwise provided by this chapter or other law.

Each such original appointment in the official service shall be made after certification from an eligible list established as the result of a competitive examination for which civil service employees and non-civil service employees were eligible to apply, except as otherwise provided by sections 6D, 26, 40, 47, 56 and 60.

An appointing authority desiring to make an original appointment in the official service shall submit a requisition to the administrator. Upon receipt of such requisition, the administrator shall certify from the eligible list sufficient names of persons for consideration of their qualifications for appointment by the appointing authority pursuant to section twenty-five and the personnel administration rules. If no suitable eligible list exists, or if the list contains the names of fewer than three persons who are qualified for appointment and willing to accept employment, the appointing authority may make a provisional appointment pursuant to sections twelve, thirteen and fourteen.

An appointing authority may requisition to fill any position by original appointment pursuant to this section, or, where a promotional appointment may be made under the civil service law and rules, it may requisition to fill a position by promotional appointment pursuant to section seven.

Any request by an appointing authority to the administrator to fill a vacancy, other than a temporary vacancy, in a permanent position shall include a statement that such position is permanent and that such vacancy is to be filled on a permanent basis.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 19 cases, 1985–2015 · leading case: Donahue v. Boston, City Of, 304 F.3d 110 (1st Cir. 2002).

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Donahue v. Boston, City Of, 304 F.3d 110 (1st Cir. 2002). “As a general matter, “original appointment” appears to be a term of art in the state civil service statutes that denotes any position that is filled from an eligible list established as the result of a competitive civil service examination.”

City of Somerville v. Somerville Mun. Employees Ass'n, 481 N.E.2d 1176 (Mass. App. Ct. 1985). · cites it 3× “” G. L. c. 31, §§ 6, 7. See Joseph v. Administrator of the Div.”

Andrews v. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 846 N.E.2d 1126 (Mass. 2006). “A tenured employee in the civil service system is one who initially occupied a position by original appointment pursuant to G. L. c. 31, § 6, and has completed the probationary period, or one who has received a “promotional appointment” on a permanent basis as provided in G.”

Mailloux v. Town of Littleton, 473 F. Supp. 2d 177 (D. Mass. 2007). · cites it 2× “Here, McCurdy’s alleged promise to hire Plaintiff is contrary to Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, sections 6 and 27, which hold that only an “appointing authority” may make appointments to civil service positions.”

Goncalves v. City of Boston, 845 N.E.2d 1201 (Mass. App. Ct. 2006). · cites it 4× “G. L. c. 31, § 6. Upon receipt of this request, HRD creates a certification list from the eligible list created after the last civil service examination.”

Crete v. City of Lowell, 418 F.3d 54 (1st Cir. 2005). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 6 . City Manager Martin, the appointing authority for the City, considered the budget and determined that the City could hire two new police officers and the appropriate request to HRD was made.”

Donahue v. City of Boston, 264 F. Supp. 2d 74 (D. Mass. 2003). · cites it 2× “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31 § 6 states: Each appointment to a civil service position shall be made by an original appointment pursuant to the provisions of this section or by a promotional appointment pursuant to the provisions of section seven, except as otherwise provided by this…”

City of Fall River v. Teamsters Union, Local 526, 541 N.E.2d 1015 (Mass. App. Ct. 1989). “G. L. c. 31, § 6. Somerville v. Somerville Municipal Employees Assn.”

Town of Dedham v. Dedham Police Ass'n, 706 N.E.2d 724 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). “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. L. c. 31, §§ 6 A-C, 9, 16, 22, 59). The authority of the commission to adjust appointment dates for remedial reasons…”

Donahue v. City of Boston, 183 F. Supp. 2d 202 (D. Mass. 2001). “The following codes are found on the eligible list: ''534C” and ''534V'' indicate people receiving an order from the Civil Service Commission placing them at the top of the eligible list regardless of preference or residency; "402A” indicates the child of a firefighter or police…”

Bradley v. City of Lynn, 443 F. Supp. 2d 145 (D. Mass. 2006). “See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, §§ 6 , 59. The personnel administrator for the HRD (the “HRD Administrator”) conducts, determines the form, method, and subject matter of, and develops the examinations, id.”

Smith v. City of Boston, 144 F. Supp. 3d 177 (D. Mass. 2015). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 6 . Under HRD’s Personnel Administration Rules, the number of candidates appearing on the smaller list is determined by the formula 2n+l, with n representing the number of vacancies.”

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