Massachusetts earns a F for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Lowest bar to forfeit: The government must only show probable cause that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Massachusetts’ forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Massachusetts?
Under Massachusetts law, prosecutors’ and owners’ deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 30 days, but the wait may be longer as deadlines are not specified for filing the complaint or for the hearing itself. While you wait, the government has your property, and you have no way to seek its return.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $401 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Massachusetts Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $5,614,705 | $2,849,444 | $55,000 | $8,519,149 |
| 2001 | $7,322,901 | $2,416,212 | $603,000 | $10,342,113 |
| 2002 | $7,300,236 | $2,614,071 | $234,000 | $10,148,307 |
| 2003 | $7,592,214 | $2,012,439 | $850,000 | $10,454,653 |
| 2004 | $10,092,662 | $4,354,656 | $1,223,000 | $15,670,318 |
| 2005 | $8,803,347 | $4,563,453 | $663,000 | $14,029,800 |
| 2006 | $8,384,547 | $2,527,410 | $241,000 | $11,152,957 |
| 2007 | $9,264,064 | $3,921,974 | $814,000 | $14,000,038 |
| 2008 | $11,080,483 | $5,249,599 | $1,166,000 | $17,496,082 |
| 2009 | $13,212,877 | $2,710,133 | $832,000 | $16,755,010 |
| 2010 | $11,333,307 | $2,375,152 | $3,059,000 | $16,767,459 |
| 2011 | $10,440,564 | $13,737,792 | $981,000 | $25,159,356 |
| 2012 | $9,707,228 | $10,772,062 | $882,000 | $21,361,290 |
| 2013 | $10,226,543 | $4,237,214 | $1,193,000 | $15,656,757 |
| 2014 | $9,911,783 | $7,719,173 | $2,721,000 | $20,351,956 |
| 2015 | $10,685,869 | $6,209,584 | $2,016,000 | $18,911,453 |
| 2016 | $10,756,495 | $11,199,115 | $938,000 | $22,893,610 |
| 2017 | $8,031,978 | $4,610,382 | $2,023,000 | $14,665,360 |
| 2018 | $12,040,200 | $24,381,540 | $341,000 | $36,762,740 |
| 2019 | $10,357,862 | $4,985,364 | $1,002,000 | $16,345,226 |
| 2020 | $7,559,767 | $4,204,925 | $496,000 | $12,260,692 |
| 2021 | $6,793,623 | $3,210,896 | $652,000 | $10,656,519 |
| 2022 | $15,604,665 | $6,353,589 | $541,000 | $22,499,254 |
| 2023 | $10,819,397 | $7,000,957 | $1,018,000 | $18,838,354 |
| Totals | $232,937,317 | $144,217,136 | $24,544,000 | $401,698,453 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Massachusetts does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Massachusetts agencies have generated nearly $169 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 165 Massachusetts agencies, or an estimated 46% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Massachusetts Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Massachusetts does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Massachusetts does not report the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Massachusetts does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
DStatewide Forfeiture Reports
APenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
BAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
CFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture reports were obtained via public records requests to the state comptroller, treasurer, and district attorneys. Revenues for 2019–2023 are calculated estimates of statewide forfeiture revenues based on calendar-year deposits to the state attorney general’s and DAs’ special forfeiture trust funds, which, by law, receive half of all forfeiture proceeds. Revenues for earlier years are based on fiscal-year deposits but otherwise use the same methodology. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Probable cause.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, § 47(d); Commonwealth v. One 2004 Audi Sedan Auto., 921 N.E.2d 85, 88–90, 92 (Mass. 2010).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, § 47(d).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, § 47(d).
Process: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 94C, § 47 (forfeiture procedure); Mass. R. Civ. P. 4 (service of complaint), 12 (time to answer), 55 (default judgment); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 260, § 5 (statute of limitations); Mass. Super. Ct. R. 74 (forfeiture procedure).