Is It Illegal to Dress Up as a Police Officer in Massachusetts?

October 1 is just days away and that means the spooky season is right around the corner in Massachusetts.

With Halloween knocking at our door, costume ideas for both children and adults are brewing. The costume industry in the U.S. is a $3.6 million business, which experts think could increase in 2022, two years after the pandemic put a dent in sales.

With so many choices out there for customers these days, it's somewhat surprising that timeless staples continue to be some of the most popular year after year. Last year's most popular costume for children was Spiderman and classics like witches, pumpkins, Dracula, and Freddie Krugar continue to top sales according to patch.com.

Thinking about all the costume choices out there got me wondering if there are any costumes that are illegal to wear in Massachusetts. There is certainly a laundry list of costumes that are less than tasteful, but none that I could find were actually against the law to wear.

What about dressing up like a police officer?

Is it Illegal to Dress Up as a Police Officer in Massachusetts?

The short answer, is no, it is not illegal to wear a Police Officer costume on Halloween, or any other ocassion. However, it is VERY illegal to impresonate a police officer in Massachusetts.

According to Massachusetts General Law - Part IV, Title I, Chapter 268, Section 33, it's against to law to impresonate any state or city offical, inlcuding, but not limited to, a public notary, medical examiner, sheriff, justin of the peace and of course law enforcement officers.

So bascially, you can dress up as a police officer, but you can't claim you are one or “act as such”. So you might want to skip handing out fake fines at your next Halloween party, but the costume is good to go.