Jury Duty Excuse Letter in Massachusetts
A short letter asking the court to excuse you from jury duty or postpone it. Follow the instructions on your summons first, because courts handle these requests differently, and keep following the summons until the court answers.
What Massachusetts law says
| Who can be excused from jury duty | Massachusetts has no job- or status-based exemptions; you are disqualified only for one of 10 statutory reasons. They include: not a U.S. citizen or Massachusetts resident; under 18; 70 or older and choosing not to serve (you can ask online or on the Juror Confirmation Card to be permanently removed from the list); unable to speak and understand English; a mental or physical disability with a doctor's note; being the sole caregiver of a permanently disabled person in your household, with a doctor's letter (not available if you work outside the home); a felony conviction in the last 7 years, a pending felony charge, or being in custody; or having served as a state or federal juror in the last 3 years. Other hardships are raised with a judge on the day you report, or in rare cases in writing to the Office of Jury Commissioner at least 30 days before your date. this is from the official Massachusetts court page, not the statute itself. Hardship excuse: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/asking-to-be-excused-from-jury-duty |
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| Penalty for skipping jury duty | If you ignore a jury summons or miss your date, you become a delinquent juror. The Office of Jury Commissioner first sends a Failure to Appear notice, then a Notice of Delinquency; if you still do not respond, you receive notice of a show-cause hearing on an application for a criminal complaint. If you skip that hearing, a criminal complaint issues and you are summoned for arraignment, and if you miss the arraignment the court may issue a warrant for your arrest. this is from the official Massachusetts court page, not the statute itself. The fine amount in the statute was not read. |
| Jury duty pay and your job | Employers must pay full-time, part-time, temporary and casual employees their regular wages for work missed during the first 3 days of jury service; after that the state pays jurors $50 per day, and an employer that keeps paying may require the juror to turn over the state payment. A court may excuse an employer from paying if it would cause extreme financial hardship, and self-employed or out-of-state-employed jurors can ask a judge for up to $50 per day for the first 3 days. An employer may not fire an employee for jury service, give mandatory assignments that interfere with it, force the employee to reschedule or use vacation or personal days, or harass or deny benefits because of it. this is from the official Massachusetts court page, not the statute itself. See also https://www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-about-employment-obligations-during-jury-duty and https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-law-about-employment-leave-for-jury-duty |
Fill it in
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[today's date]
[your name]
[your mailing address]
[your phone or email]
To: [court or jury office name and address, from your summons]
Re: Jury summons. Juror number: [juror number from your summons]. Reporting date: [date you are told to report].
Dear [jury commissioner, clerk or judge named on your summons]:
I received a jury summons for the date above. I am asking to be [excused from / postponed from] jury service because [your reason, in one or two plain sentences].
I have attached [documents supporting your request, such as a doctor's note, or none].
If my service can be postponed, I can serve on these dates: [dates you are available].
Please tell me in writing whether my request is approved. I understand that I must follow the summons until I hear from the court.
Sincerely,
[your name]
Jury Duty Excuse Letter for other states · Massachusetts tenant rights
Last verified against official sources: October 23, 2026.
How we source this page: each state-specific rule links to the statute, court rule or official government page it comes from. A rule taken from a public copy of a state code (used only where the official code is not freely readable online) is marked as a secondary source. Spot an error? Use the contact page to report it. About our sources
General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.