Writ of Attachment

Massachusetts General Law enables the Sheriff’s Department to attach real property through Writs of Attachment issued by the Superior of District Courts. These attachments are made by a Deputy Sheriff who records the attachments at the Registry of Deeds.

Writs of Attachment are valid for 30 days beginning on the date they were issued by the court. In order for an attachment to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds it must be mailed or delivered to the Sheriff’s Department in advance of this deadline.

In order to have the Sheriff’s Department record an attachment on real property, we require the original Writ of Attachment along with a cover letter outlining how you would like the Attachment to be made. Please mail or deliver these documents to the Essex County Sheriff’s Division Civil Process Division.

You must indicate whether the Writ of Attachment should be Recorded or Registered/Land Court side of the Essex County Registry of Deeds.

You must also state how you would like the Sheriff’s Department to record the attachment.

Recorded:

• General - any and all property located in the county of Essex

• General with Parcel - any and all property located in the county of Essex including but not limited to property located at a specific physical address and/or book and page number

• Specific - property located at a specific physical address and/or book and page number

Registered/Land Court:

• Always requires certificate number, book and page number

• The original Writ of Attachment will be forward back to you at completion of recording with the appropriate return of service.

You are responsible for providing the property address and book and page number references for specific attachments and for general attachments where you wish to reference a specific property.