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Your rights

Massachusetts

Massachusetts · home improvement

Your rights in Massachusetts

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 3, 2026

Deposit: one-third at most

Before work starts

The limit

1/3

A deposit paid before work starts can't be more than one-third of the price.

Exception: It can also cover the actual cost of special-order materials ordered before work starts.

Ask: Is any of this deposit for special-order equipment? If so, please put that cost in writing.

Read the full rule

Any deposit paid before work starts cannot exceed one-third of the total contract price, except that a deposit may cover the actual cost of special-order or custom-made materials that must be ordered ahead of the start of work to keep the project on schedule.

The exception

  • Special-order or custom-made materials or equipment that must be ordered before work starts: the deposit may cover their actual cost.
M.G.L. c.142A §2 · read on malegislature.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

3 business days to cancel

If you sign away from their office, for example at home

Cancel in writing. The contract must include a notice of this right.

Exceptions, such as emergencies, are not verified yet.

Day count from a mass.gov sample contract we could not open directly. Confirm with the Office of Consumer Affairs.

Read the full rule

When it applies

The contract was signed at a place other than the contractor's normal place of business.

If you sign away from the contractor's normal place of business, you can cancel in writing by midnight of the third business day after signing. The contract must include a notice of this right.

M.G.L. c.142A §2 (notice required) · read on malegislature.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

Registration number

On the contract, permits and ads

Contractors doing this kind of work on 1–4 unit homes must hold a current registration.

Registration
Read the full rule

A Massachusetts contractor doing this kind of work must hold a current HIC registration, and the registration number must be on your contract.

Who needs one: Contractors and subcontractors who solicit, bid on or perform work on existing owner-occupied residential buildings with one to four dwelling units.

Where the number must appear

  • the contract
  • building permit applications
  • advertising

Issued by: Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR), Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) Program

M.G.L. c.142A §2 · read on malegislature.gov · checked Oct 3, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: MA law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 9 in writing before you sign.

  • Signed by both of youFor work of about $1,000 or more: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Be in writing and signed by both sides, stating the entire agreement (the written-contract rule applies to work of about $1,000 or more).

  • Name, address & reg. #: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Show the contractor's name, address and Home Improvement Contractor registration number.

  • Start & finish datesWhen work begins and is mostly done: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Give the date the work is scheduled to begin and the date it is scheduled to be substantially completed.

  • Work, price & payment planPrice, payments, deposit within 1/3: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Describe the work in detail and state the total price and the payment schedule, with any deposit inside the one-third limit.

  • 3-day cancel noticeYour right to cancel, in writing: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include the notice of your three-day right to cancel.

  • WarrantiesWhat is and isn't covered: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Disclose warranties and what is and is not covered.

  • Lien noticeA required notice about liens on your home: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Include the required notice about liens and security interests.

  • Who gets the permitsWho pulls the permit, and when: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Say who is responsible for obtaining building permits.

  • "No blank spaces" warningIn bold, on the contract: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    Carry a bold warning not to sign with blank spaces left in the contract.

On signing day

  • No blank spaces
  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources5 official pages · checked Oct 3, 2026

Notes from our check

  • mass.gov returned HTTP 403 to every automated fetch on 2026-10-03, so the mass.gov pages above were not read directly; the same figures appear in mass.gov excerpts returned by web search. The figures here were read directly from the official statute text (M.G.L. c. 142A, sections 1, 2 and 17) on malegislature.gov. A person should open the mass.gov links once to confirm them.
  • Deposit wording: mass.gov excerpts say one-third of the contract price or the actual cost of special-order or custom-made materials; the statute page as fetched phrases it as the greater of the two. The app should state the one-third figure and the special-order exception, never a dollar amount, and point to the Office of Consumer Affairs.
  • Cancellation: the statute requires the contract to carry notice of the three-day right under the state's consumer-protection chapters; the 'third business day' and 'place other than the normal place of business' wording is from the mass.gov sample-contract excerpt. Exceptions (for example emergencies) were not verified, so exceptions is null, not an empty list.
  • Written-contract threshold: the statute text reads 'over $1,000' and the mass.gov excerpt reads '$1,000 or more'; the app should say 'about $1,000' or avoid the figure.

General information from the statute (M.G.L. c.142A) and the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, HIC Program. For your situation, ask that office or a lawyer.

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