There shall be established a separate session of the land court department, which shall be known as the permit session of the land court department.

Sessions of the permit session shall be held in Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Worcester and Hampden counties, and other counties as the chief justice of the land court department shall from time to time designate.

[Third paragraph effective until March 1, 2026. For text effective March 1, 2026, see below.]