How Long Does a CORI Check Take: iCORI Minutes vs. Mail Weeks

How long does a CORI check take depends almost entirely on how you submit it. Online requests through the iCORI portal usually return results within minutes, though some take a few days and the outer limit is 10 business days.¹ Mail-in requests take several weeks because of postal transit on both ends and manual handling by staff at the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS).

Online iCORI Requests: Minutes to 10 Business Days

DCJIS manages all Criminal Offender Record Information requests in Massachusetts under M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 167–178L.² The iCORI system runs an automated search against the state database as soon as you submit and pay. In most cases, results appear under the “View Results” tab in your account within minutes.¹

The 10-business-day figure is the outer bound, not the norm. Plan around it if you have a hard deadline for a job, housing application, or licensing decision, but expect something much faster in practice. There is no expedited or priority option, so if you need results quickly, online is already the fastest route available.³

Mail-In Requests: Several Weeks

Mail submissions add postal transit in both directions and manual processing by DCJIS staff at 200 Arlington Street, Suite 2200, Chelsea, MA 02150. From the day you drop the envelope in the mail to the day results arrive at your home, expect several weeks.³

DCJIS does not accept mail requests that are incomplete or missing required documentation. If your form has gaps, or your payment or Affidavit of Indigency is missing, processing stops until you fix it. That can add another cycle of postal transit onto an already slow timeline, so double-check the form before sealing the envelope.

What Causes a Delay Beyond the Normal Window

The most common cause of a longer wait is a record that produces multiple potential matches in the state database. When the automated search can’t confirm a single match, a DCJIS staff member has to review the results manually before anything is released. This safeguard prevents someone else’s criminal history from being sent to you, and it is not something you can speed up.

Requests where the identifying information is thin — for example, a common name submitted without the last six digits of a Social Security number — are more likely to trigger manual review. Providing every name you have used, including maiden names and aliases, along with your date of birth and the last six digits of your Social Security number if you have one, gives the system the best chance of matching cleanly on the first pass.⁴

Which Method You Can Actually Use

The choice between online and mail is not always yours. To register for an iCORI account, you need a valid Massachusetts driver’s license or state-issued ID card. The system uses that ID to verify your identity electronically, which is why online requests skip the notarization step required for mail submissions.³

If you do not have a Massachusetts driver’s license or state ID, you must submit by mail. Download the Personal Request Form from the DCJIS website, complete it, include payment or an Affidavit of Indigency, and follow the documentation instructions on the form. Results come back by physical mail to the address you provide.

For employer or organizational CORI requests, where someone else is running the check on you, identity verification has more layers. The requestor must examine a government-issued photo ID in person, or accept a notarized CORI Acknowledgment Form, or verify by videoconference. As a last resort, the requestor can petition DCJIS for another method.⁴ Those extra steps are handled by the employer, but they can slow the front end of the process before the request even reaches DCJIS.

What You Need Before You Submit

Every CORI request, online or by mail, needs the same core identifying information:

All names you have used or been known by, including maiden names and aliases
Date of birth
Last six digits of your Social Security number, if available

The Social Security number is not mandatory. If you do not have one, you can still submit, though the match may take longer to confirm.⁴

For online submissions, register an iCORI account with your Massachusetts license or state ID, review the iCORI training materials, enter your information, and pay. For mail submissions, complete the Personal Request Form and mail it with payment to the Chelsea address.

Fees That Apply Regardless of Method

DCJIS charges the same flat fees whether you submit online or by mail:³

Personal CORI request (your own record): $25
Open access CORI request (another person’s record under the open-access category): $50
Fee waiver with an approved Affidavit of Indigency: $0

Government entities, crime victims, witnesses, and family members of homicide victims pay no fee under the statute.⁵

To qualify for the fee waiver, you complete an Affidavit of Indigency and meet at least one of four criteria: receiving public assistance such as TAFDC, SSI, EAEDC, MassHealth, or Massachusetts Veterans’ Programs; earning 125% or less of the federal poverty threshold; being unable to pay without depriving yourself or dependents of basic necessities; or being currently incarcerated. You sign the affidavit under penalty of perjury and submit it with your request.⁶

When Timing Matters for a Job or Housing Deadline

If you are pulling your own CORI to see what a prospective employer or landlord will find, use iCORI if you qualify for it. A same-day result gives you time to prepare for questions or, if the report contains errors, start a correction process. DCJIS accepts complaints about inaccurate CORI, though the agency cannot directly amend Trial Court records; those corrections have to go through the originating court.⁷

If an employer has already notified you of a potential adverse action based on your CORI, use the dispute window they are required to provide rather than waiting for a fresh request to come back. That notification comes with a copy of the report they relied on, so you may not need to order your own to see what they saw.⁸

For questions about a pending request, the DCJIS Civil Background Screening Services Unit can be reached at (617) 660-4640, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., or at icori.info@mass.gov.⁹

1
Mass.gov. CORI Frequently Asked Questions
2
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Law About Criminal Records (CORI)
3
Mass.gov. Request CORI As An Individual
4
Legal Information Institute. 803 CMR 2.11 – Requirements for Requestors to Request CORI
5
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 6 Section 172A
6
Mass.gov. Affidavit of Indigency
7
Legal Information Institute. 803 CMR 2.26 – Inaccurate CORI
8
Mass.gov. What You Need to Know About Massachusetts Criminal Records
9
Mass.gov. Request a Criminal Record Self-Audit