Where to Find Help
UPDATED October 22, 2008
In Massachusetts, during regular business hours, you can get a 209A protective order by going to the District Court nearest to where you live or to the Probate and Family Court in the county in which you live. (You may also go to the Superior Court in the county in which you live, or to the Boston Municipal Court if you live in Boston, but most 209A protective orders are taken out of the District Courts or Probate and Family Courts.) Find the civil court clerk and ask for the forms for a 209A protective order.
At the courthouse, the clerk will provide you with the forms that you need to file. If you need assistance filling out the form, ask the clerk for help. You will also find a list of the forms you will need on our Download Court Forms page. You may also get help with the court system through one of the domestic violence organizations listed on our MA State and Local Programs page.
If you need a 209A protective order at night, on the weekend, or on a holiday, call the police. They will help you get a 209A protective order from a judge on call through the "Emergency Judicial Response System." This order is good until the court is open on the next business day.
Listed below, by county, are telephone numbers and addresses for the Massachusetts District Courts. For more information on the Massachusetts Court system, go to: www.akedge.com/courts.htm.
East Boston
37 Meridian Street
East Boston, MA 02128
Phone: (617) 569-7550 x102
Town's in this court's jurisdiction: Suffolk County, East Boston, Winthrop
East Brookfield
544 East Main Street
East Brookfield, MA 01515-1701
Phone: (508) 885-6305 x109
Phone: Safe Plan Advocate: (508) 885-0908
Town's in this court's jurisdiction: Barre, Brookfield, East Brookfield, Hardwick, Leicester, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Oakham, Paxton, Rutland, Spencer, Warren, West BrookfieldWorcester
East Cambridge
PO BOX 410480
208 Cambridge Street
East Cambridge, MA 02141-0006
Phone: (617) 768-5800
Phone: Family Law Center: (617) 768-5931
Town's in this court's jurisdiction: Middlesex County, Acton, Arlington, Ashby, Ashland, Ayer, Bedford, Belmont, Billerica, Boxborough, Burlington, Cambridge, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Dunstable, Everett, Framinghamton, Groton, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lexington, Lincoln, Littleton, Lowell, Malden, Marlborough, Maynard, Medford, Melrose, Natick, Newton, North Reading, Pepperell, Reading, Sherborn, Shirley, Somerville, Stoneham, Stow, Sudbury, Tewksbury, Townsend, Tyngseborough, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, Wayland, Westford, Weston, Wilmington, Winchester, Woburn
Edgartown
Po BOX 1284
81 Main Street
Edgartown, MA 02539
Phone: (508) 627-3751
Town's in this court's jurisdiction: Dukes County, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, Tisbury, West Tisbury, Aquinnah (formerly Gay Head), Gosnold, Elizabeth Islands