Guide
About Massachusetts public records
State of Massachusetts public records guide to online resources for conducting a public search. Individual agencies link visitors to forms, steps to request official documents, criminal arrest reports, verification of information, case search for any litigation history and other personal and business background data from different government departments. Web based services are offered by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services, Court-view Access, various state and local registries. Instant searches can be found by linking to Secretary of State business entity search, Division of Professional Licensure verification, registry of deeds land searches and local recent arrest inmate searches.
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State background and court information
Massachusetts is one of the original 13 colonies and became the sixth state in the U.S. on February 6, 1788. The first settlement was made by the pilgrims of the Mayflower in 1620 with their arrival to Plymouth, MA. The early economy profited from the textile industry and production of machinery. The official state name is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is one of the 6 states that comprise New England along with Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Massachusetts has 14 Counties, 50 cities and 301 towns with a population of 6,547,629. The state has 10,555 square miles of territory making it the 44th largest in the U.S. The legislative power is comprised of the Massachusetts Senate and house of representatives. Executive power is held by the governor and other individually elected offices such as the attorney general and secretary of the commonwealth. The judicial division makes up the third branch and is the entire court system of the state. Counties have no government as of the late 1990's and exist solely as geographic regions. It is the 13th most populous state with 6.5 million residents and the 14th largest by size with a 10,555 square mile territory.
Similar to the federal freedom of information act, the Massachusetts Public Records Act and the Massachusetts Open Meetings Act offers its residents greater government transparency to its voters and general public. The Open Meetings Act opens local decisions and deliberations to its residents with records of the meeting available for public review. Government records in the state are presumed public information with few exemptions.
Criminal records are a vital part of a background check conducted in Massachusetts. Criminal records are provided by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) CORI background check system. This background check covers the entire state and what is included in the report are detailed on the official site. View the most wanted lists from the department of public safety or county sheriffs for a more local search. Locate an inmate in the Massachusetts Department of Corrections system. Requesting court records can reveal past and recent divorce filings. Civil and criminal case files are available from the Massachusetts judiciary.
The Massachusetts probate and family courts have exclusive jurisdiction over estate, support/custody, paternity, marriage dissolution, domestic violence and adoptions. The state's land and housing courts have jurisdiction over real property rights, small claims up to $2,000, misdemeanor, ordinance violation cases and handles preliminary hearings.
Juvenile courts have jurisdiction over miscellaneous domestic relations (TPR), and juvenile cases. The municipal court has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0/no maximum), small claims up to $2,000, mental health, civil trial court appeals, and miscellaneous civil cases. The Boston criminal municipal court hears felony, misdemeanor, domestic violence and traffic cases.
The district court has jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0/no maximum), small claims up to $2,000, mental health, civil trial court appeals, hears support/custody, and paternity cases. Criminal division of the district court has jurisdiction over felony, misdemeanor, traffic, domestic violence, criminal appeals cases, traffic/other violation, and juvenile cases.
The state's superior courts have jurisdiction over tort, contract, real property rights ($0/no maximum), civil appeals, and miscellaneous civil cases.
Massachusetts appeals court has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile cases, discretionary jurisdiction in interlocutory decision cases. The state's supreme court has mandatory jurisdiction in civil, criminal, judge disciplinary, advisory opinion, original proceeding cases, discretionary jurisdiction in civil, criminal, administrative agency, juvenile and interlocutory decision cases.
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Court records and filings
Massachusetts court records are maintained by the Massachusetts Trial Court system. The Superior Court handles serious felonies and civil cases over $25,000. The District Court handles misdemeanors and smaller civil matters.
Case information is available through the Massachusetts Court System online portal at masscourts.org and MassCourts case search.
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Criminal records and background checks
Massachusetts criminal records are managed by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS). DCJIS administers the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system, which provides both name-based and fingerprint-supported criminal record checks. Individuals with a valid Massachusetts driver's license or ID can use iCORI to access their personal record online. Court records are searchable through the Massachusetts Trial Court case access portal covering all trial court departments. The Sex Offender Registry Board (SORB) classifies offenders into three risk levels and maintains searchable registry information.
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Vital records
Certified copies of Massachusetts birth and death certificates are issued by the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics and by city and town clerks. Marriage records are also kept by the local office that issued the license, and divorce records by the court that granted the divorce.
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Property and asset records
Massachusetts assets can be located in various forms of government documentation. The county registry of deeds offers online property ownership information. You can obtain images of the recording or order certified copies for your records. Search business ownerships with a free online search from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Corporations Division. This division also offers free instant searches of UCC filings, trademarks and rejected filings. Order bankruptcy filing records and see information such as a person's or companies assets and liabilities.
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Government records and agencies
Mass.gov lists the state's organizations, and the General Laws are online from the Massachusetts Legislature.
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Driving and vehicle records
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles keeps driving records and handles vehicle registration.
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Expungements and record clearing
Massachusetts calls this sealing. Under G.L. c. 276, section 100A, you can ask the Probation Service to seal a misdemeanor conviction 3 years after the finding of guilt or release from jail, whichever is later, and a felony after 7 years. Charges that were dismissed or ended in a nolle prosequi have their own sealing process.
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Genealogy and historical research
For family history, start with the Massachusetts Archives and the State Library of Massachusetts.
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Missing children resources
The Massachusetts State Police post missing persons information for Massachusetts.
- Massachusetts missing personsMassachusetts State Police
- NamUsU.S. Justice Department database of missing and unidentified people
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