Mass. Gen. Laws » Part I Title VII Chapter 41
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 41, § 81P (2026)

Approval of plans not subject to control law; procedure

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MAmalegislature.gov (official) JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Section 81P. Any person wishing to cause to be recorded a plan of land situated in a city or town in which the subdivision control law is in effect, who believes that his plan does not require approval under the subdivision control law, may submit his plan to the planning board of such city or town in the manner prescribed in section eighty-one T, and, if the board finds that the plan does not require such approval, it shall forthwith, without a public hearing, endorse thereon or cause to be endorsed thereon by a person authorized by it the words ''approval under the subdivision control law not required'' or words of similar import with appropriate name or names signed thereto, and such endorsement shall be conclusive on all persons. Such endorsement shall not be withheld unless such plan shows a subdivision. If the board shall determine that in its opinion the plan requires approval, it shall within twenty-one days of such submittal, give written notice of its determination to the clerk of the city or town and the person submitting the plan, and such person may submit his plan for approval as provided by law and the rules and regulations of the board, or he may appeal from the determination of the board in the manner provided in section eighty-one BB. If the board fails to act upon a plan submitted under this section or fails to notify the clerk of the city or town and the person submitting the plan of its action within twenty-one days after its submission, it shall be deemed to have determined that approval under the subdivision control law is not required, and it shall forthwith make such endorsement on said plan, and on its failure to do so forthwith the city or town clerk shall issue a certificate to the same effect. The plan bearing such endorsement or the plan and such certificate, as the case may be, shall be delivered by the planning board, or in case of the certificate, by the city or town clerk, to the person submitting such plan. The planning board of a city or town which has authorized any person, other than a majority of the board, to endorse on a plan the approval of the board or to make any other certificate under the subdivision control law, shall transmit a written statement to the register of deeds and the recorder of the land court, signed by a majority of the board, giving the name of the person so authorized.

The endorsement under this section may include a statement of the reason approval is not required.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 83 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1964–2024 · leading case: Lee v. Bd. of Appeals of Harwich, 414 N.E.2d 619 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Lee v. Bd. of Appeals of Harwich, 414 N.E.2d 619 (Mass. App. Ct. 1981). · cites it 3× “” 3 The planning board purported to act under G. L. c. 41, § 81P, but erred because the plan, on its face, showed a lot (lot 2) with no frontage on any way and, therefore, depicted a subdivision.”
81 Spooner Road, LLC v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Brookline, 964 N.E.2d 318 (Mass. 2012). “See G. L. c. 41, § 81P (approval of plan not subject to subdivision control law).”
Raffel v. Perley, 437 N.E.2d 1082 (Mass. App. Ct. 1982). · cites it 2× “The plan was attached to the complaint and appears to have been prepared to obtain an endorsement under G. L. c. 41, § 81P, as appearing in St. 1963, c.”
Marashlian v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 421 Mass. 719 (Mass. 1996). “Under that statute, in conjunction with G. L. c. 41, § 81P (1994 ed.) (subdivision control law), a person may seek a declaration by the planning board in a city or town in which the subdivision control law is in effect, that a plan does not require approval under the subdivision…”
Gates v. Plan. Bd., 722 N.E.2d 477 (Mass. App. Ct. 2000). · cites it 3× “801 (1978), planning boards and developers of real estate have continued to present cases that raise the question whether access to a public way is “illusory” for purposes of obtaining an “ANR” (approval not required) endorsement under G. L. c. 41, § 81P This is such a case, as…”
Valcourt v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals, 718 N.E.2d 389 (Mass. App. Ct. 1999). · cites it 2× “On July 11, 1994, the planning board endorsed the plan as not requiring approval under the subdivision control law, pursuant to G. L. c. 41, § 81P. 8 On October 12, 1994, the parents conveyed parcel A to Gale Martelly, trustee of the Martelly Land Trust.”
Cape Ann Land Dev. Corp. v. City of Gloucester, 353 N.E.2d 645 (Mass. 1976). · cites it 2× “” See G. L. c. 41, § 81P. A city clerk’s certificate concerning the failure of the planning board to act seasonably, equivalent in effect to such an endorsement (G.”
Cornell v. Bd. of Appeals, 906 N.E.2d 334 (Mass. 2009). · cites it 2× “To this end, Cornell hired a registered land surveyor to prepare an “approval not required” plan (ANR), see G. L. c. 41, § 81P, which subsequently was filed with the planning board, and approved and indorsed on August 14, 2002.”
Palitz v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Tisbury, 26 N.E.3d 175 (Mass. 2015). · cites it 2× “Putziger submitted a plan to the town’s planning board and received an “approval not required” endorsement pursuant to G. L. c. 41, § 81P (§ 8IP) (ANR endorsement).”
Windsor v. Plan. Bd. of Wayland, 531 N.E.2d 272 (Mass. App. Ct. 1988). · cites it 2× “740, 743-744 (1957) (appeal from plan becoming effective after lapse of fourteen days from "approval not required" submission under G.L.c. 41, § 81P). Second, the occurrence of a constructive approval renders any subsequent filing, whether of approval or disapproval of a plan, a…”
Nextel Commc'ns of the Mid-Atl., Inc. v. Town of Wayland Massachusetts, 231 F. Supp. 2d 396 (D. Mass. 2002). “One June 2, 1998, Nextel filed an “Approval Not Required Plan” (“ANR plan”) under the Massachusetts Subdivision Control Law, G.L. c. 41, § 81P, with the Town’s Planning Board regarding BECO 111.”
Fox v. Plan. Bd. of Milton, 511 N.E.2d 30 (Mass. App. Ct. 1987). · cites it 2× “Proposing to divide the parcel into four lots, each with the frontage required by the Milton zoning by-law (150 feet) on the parkway land, Fox submitted a plan to the planning board for endorsement under G. L. c. 41, § 81P, that approval was not required.”
Show all 83 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.