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Finding a will or probate case in Massachusetts

Who holds it: Probate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates1

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. How to search and order
  2. Older records and indexes
  3. Related records in Massachusetts
  4. How Massachusetts handles it
  5. Probate and wills in Massachusetts counties with a full guide
  6. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  7. Sources

Copy fee

Trial Court uniform fee: $2.50/page attested copy, $0.05/page unattested2

How to search and order

Online
Estates and Administration cases are listed among Probate & Family Court case types on MassCourts.org; document images restricted remotely3

Older records and indexes

Older records
Older (generally pre-mid-20th-century) probate records via SJC Archives / FamilySearch; mid-20th century forward through the probate courts4
Courts: court system
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)3
Courts: statewide case search
MassCourts.org public portal (Trial Court); ma-appellatecourts.org for SJC/Appeals Court5
Courts: fees
Trial Court uniform fees: $2.50/page attested copy; $0.05/page unattested copy; $20 certificate of orders/judgments2
Death certificates: who holds it
City/town clerk where the death occurred and RVRS (1936-present); pre-1936 also at the city/town of occurrence6
Death certificates: fee
Same RVRS fees as birth: $20 in person, $32 mail, $54/$42 online6

How Massachusetts handles it

  • Courts are state, not county. Unified Trial Court with 7 departments; clerks and registers of probate are state court officials3

Probate and wills 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 CountyProbate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates7—Trial Court uniform fee: $2.50/page attested copy, $0.05/page unattested8
Hampden CountyProbate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates9—Trial Court uniform fee: $2.50/page attested copy, $0.05/page unattested10
Hampshire CountyProbate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates11—Trial Court uniform fee: $2.50/page attested copy, $0.05/page unattested12
Middlesex CountyProbate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates13—Trial Court uniform fee: $2.50/page attested copy, $0.05/page unattested14
Norfolk CountyNorfolk Probate and Family Court, Register's Office15——
Suffolk CountySuffolk Probate and Family Court, 24 New Chardon St., Boston (Register's Office (617) 788-8301)16——
Worcester CountyProbate and Family Court (state Trial Court department, with registries in each county) handles wills and estates17—Trial Court uniform fee: $2.50/page attested copy, $0.05/page unattested18

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: probate records and wills in every state. Everything else in Massachusetts: Massachusetts public records guide.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 18 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  2. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  3. Types of cases available to the public onlineMassachusetts Court Systemarchived copy
  4. Get access to historic probate recordsSupreme Judicial Court Archivesarchived copy
  5. Search Court Dockets, Calendars and Case InformationMassachusetts Court Systemarchived copy
  6. Order a birth, marriage, or death certificateMassachusetts Registry of Vital Records and Statisticsarchived copy
  7. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  8. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  9. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  10. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  11. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  12. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  13. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  14. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy
  15. Norfolk Probate and Family CourtMassachusetts Trial Court (mass.gov)
  16. Suffolk Probate and Family CourtMassachusetts Trial Court (mass.gov)
  17. Probate and Family Courtarchived copy
  18. Uniform Schedule of Fees (Trial Court, G.L. c. 262, s. 4B)Executive Office of the Trial Courtarchived copy