Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 138 § 16A
Licenses issued under section twelve or fifteen shall be automatically renewed for the next annual license period upon application by the holder thereof during the month of November and shall be automatically renewed for a renewal of a seasonal license for the next seasonal licensing period upon application during the month prior to the commencement of the seasonal period upon payment of the fee, provided that said license is of the same type as the expiring license and covers the same licensed premises. If the application does not meet the conditions hereunder, it shall be treated as an application for a new license and all the procedures set forth under section fifteen A shall be applicable thereto. If in any year the number of such licenses so issuable is less than the number of such holders or former holders so applying, such applicants shall be prima facie entitled to renewals in the order of the dates of their respective applications, to the extent that the same are issuable under section seventeen. Any such application may, however, be rejected for cause, subject to appeal under section sixty-seven. A person whose application has so been rejected by the local licensing authorities shall for the purposes of section seventeen be deemed to have been granted such a license until the period for such an appeal has expired or until his appeal has been dismissed.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 138, § 16A