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Massachusetts court records

Who holds it: Unified state court system: Supreme Judicial Court, Appeals Court and a statewide Trial Court with 7 departments (BMC, District, Housing, Juvenile, Land, Probate & Family, Superior)1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How the courts keep their files
  2. Fees
  3. What is public and what is sealed
  4. Older records and indexes
  5. Related records in Massachusetts
  6. How Massachusetts handles it
  7. Court records in Massachusetts counties with a full guide
  8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  9. Sources

Fees

Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments2

Statewide case search

MassCourts.org public portal (Trial Court); ma-appellatecourts.org for SJC/Appeals Court3

How the courts keep their files

Criminal search limit
Most criminal cases are searchable online only by docket number1
Payment
Checks payable to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts; fees vary by court department4

Fees

Fee authority
Fees set by the Trial Court Court Administrator under G.L. c. 262, § 4B2

What is public and what is sealed

What is public
Online: civil, criminal, small claims, summary process etc. in BMC/District/Superior; Housing, Land and Probate & Family case types listed by court; Probate & Family document images restricted remotely1
Sealed and confidential records
Criminal records can be sealed: misdemeanor 3 years, felony 7 years after conviction or release (G.L. c. 276, § 100A)5

Older records and indexes

Older records
SJC Court Archives hold historic civil and criminal case files and historic divorce, naturalization, probate and name-change records6
Criminal history checks: state repository
Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) - CORI (name-based Massachusetts court arraignment records) via iCORI7
Criminal history checks: online portal
iCORI at criminalhistory.mass.gov (requires a MyMassGov account)8
Criminal history checks: fee
$25 per personal CORI request (your own record); $50 per Open Access CORI request (on someone else); $0 with an affidavit of indigency (personal requests)9
Divorce records: who holds it
Probate and Family Court in the county where the divorce was granted10
Probate: who holds it
Probate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates11

How Massachusetts handles it

  • Vital records kept by cities and towns, not counties. Vital records are held by city/town clerks and the state RVRS; Archives directs pre-1841 requests to town clerks12
  • Land Court registered land. Registered (Torrens/Land Court) land searched separately from recorded land13
  • Courts are state, not county. Unified Trial Court with 7 departments; clerks and registers of probate are state court officials1

Court records in Massachusetts counties with a full guide

The local office, its official online search and its own fee, for each county with a full guide. Local fees can differ from the statewide figures above.

CountyOfficeSearch onlineFee
Essex County——Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments14
Hampden County——Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments15
Hampshire County——Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments16
Middlesex County——Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments17
Norfolk County—Norfolk County Superior Court (Massachusetts Trial Court), Dedham18Trial Court uniform fees: attested copy $2.50 per page; unattested copy $0.05 per page19
Suffolk County—Suffolk County Superior Court20Trial Court uniform fees: attested copy $2.50 per page; unattested copy $0.05 per page21
Worcester County——Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments22

For any other county, see the county list on the Massachusetts guide.

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Massachusetts office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Rules in other states: court records in every state. Everything else in Massachusetts: Massachusetts public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 22 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Types of cases available to the public onlineMassachusetts Court Systemarchived copy
  2. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  3. Search Court Dockets, Calendars and Case InformationMassachusetts Court Systemarchived copy
  4. Court Filing Fees & Payment InformationMassachusetts Court Systemarchived copy
  5. Find out if you can seal your criminal recordMassachusetts Probation Servicearchived copy
  6. Accessing Court ArchivesMassachusetts Court System / Supreme Judicial Courtarchived copy
  7. Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI)DCJISarchived copy
  8. iCORI (legacy address notice)DCJIS
  9. Request CORI as an individualMass.gov / Department of Criminal Justice Information Servicesarchived copy
  10. Get a copy of your divorce recordProbate and Family Courtarchived copy
  11. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  12. Researching Vital Records at the Massachusetts Archives (Vital Records, 1841-1935)Massachusetts Archives (Secretary of the Commonwealth)archived copy
  13. How to Get a Copy of Your DeedSuffolk Registry of Deeds
  14. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  15. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  16. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  17. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  18. Search Court Dockets, Calendars and Case InformationMassachusetts Court Systemarchived copy
  19. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  20. Search court dockets, calendars, and case informationMassachusetts Court System
  21. Uniform Schedule of FeesMassachusetts Trial Court
  22. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy