Massachusetts Criminal Court Records: CORI Access and Sealing

Massachusetts criminal court records are kept in a statewide system called Criminal Offender Record Information, or CORI. The courts create and maintain these records for adults aged 18 and older, and each file tracks arraignments, charges, and case outcomes.¹ How much of a record you can see, and what you can do about your own, depends on who is asking and why.

What a CORI Record Contains

By statute, CORI covers records compiled by a criminal justice agency about criminal charges, arrests, pretrial and judicial proceedings, sentencing, incarceration, rehabilitation, or release.² A record begins at arraignment. If a case is dismissed before arraignment, it does not enter CORI at all.

Two limits narrow what is in the system. The person had to be at least 18 at the time of the offense, unless a juvenile case was transferred to adult court. And offenses that carry no possible jail time are excluded.² Each entry follows the case from charge through disposition, whether that is a conviction, acquittal, dismissal, or continuance without a finding.

Who Can See What

Massachusetts sorts CORI access into tiers, and each tier shows progressively less. The tier that applies to a given requester controls what appears on the report.

Criminal Justice and Firearms Licensing

Law enforcement agencies, the Criminal Record Review Board, and firearms licensing authorities can see the full file, including sealed records.³ This is the broadest view.

Required Access

Organizations that work with vulnerable populations get expanded access above what a typical employer sees. Banks, insurance companies, hospitals, public housing authorities, and state agencies see all adult convictions and pending offenses. Schools, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and programs serving children also see non-conviction records like dismissed charges. Camps get the same view plus juvenile records. A narrow top level even includes sealed-record data.⁴

Standard Access

This is what most employers, landlords, and licensing agencies see. Standard Access shows felony convictions for ten years after the disposition or release from custody, misdemeanor convictions for five years, and any currently pending charges. One trap catches people off guard: if any one conviction is still within its lookback window, every other prior conviction stays visible for as long as that most recent one does. Violations of domestic abuse restraining orders and harassment prevention orders are treated as felonies for lookback purposes, even when the underlying charge is a misdemeanor.³

Open Access

Any member of the public can request a CORI report on someone else. This is the most restricted view. It shows:⁴

Murder, manslaughter, and sex offense convictions, regardless of age
Felony convictions punishable by five or more years in state prison, for ten years after disposition or release
Other felony convictions, for two years after disposition or release
Misdemeanor convictions, for one year after disposition or release

Sealed records never appear on an Open Access report.

Requesting Your Own Record

Requesting your own CORI is the simplest route and costs $25. You need your full legal name, date of birth, and the last six digits of your Social Security number.⁵ If you have a valid Massachusetts driver’s license or state ID, you can submit through the iCORI online portal, which accepts credit or debit cards and typically returns results within a few days, though processing can take up to ten business days.⁶

Without a Massachusetts license or ID, you download the personal request form, complete it, and mail it with a check or money order to the DCJIS address on the form.⁵ An attorney or designated advocate can request your record on your behalf using a separate representative form. If you cannot afford the $25 fee, an indigency waiver is available.

Requesting Someone Else’s Record

To look up another person’s Massachusetts criminal history, you use the Open Access process, which costs $50 per request.⁵ Download the Open Access request form from the DCJIS website, fill in the subject’s name and identifying information, and submit it by mail. The personal CORI form cannot be used for someone else. Your results are limited to the Open Access tier above.

Employers and landlords who need Standard or Required Access do not use the individual request process. They register as organizations through iCORI and must obtain written acknowledgment from the person being checked before running a search.¹

Sealing a Record

Sealing hides a record from most background checks. It does not destroy the record, but it removes it from Standard and Open Access reports, so most employers and the general public will not see it. There is no filing fee.⁷

Waiting Periods for Convictions

You can petition to seal a conviction record after a waiting period measured from the date of disposition or release from custody, whichever is later:⁸

Misdemeanors: 3 years
Felonies: 7 years
Sex offenses: 15 years after disposition or end of supervision, and only if the person was never classified as a Level 2 or Level 3 sex offender. Level 2 and 3 offenders can never seal sex offense convictions.

You also must have had no new convictions in Massachusetts during the waiting period, and the petition requires a sworn statement that you were not convicted or imprisoned in any other state or federal court during that time. Certain offenses can never be sealed, including firearms licensing violations and public corruption convictions.⁸

Cases That Did Not End in Conviction

If your case ended in a dismissal, nolle prosequi, or not-guilty finding, you can petition the court to seal without waiting for a fixed period. The court weighs factors like the disadvantage the record causes you, evidence of rehabilitation, and how much time has passed. These petitions are filed at the clerk’s office of the court where the case originated.⁷

Where to File

For conviction records, you file a petition with the Massachusetts Probation Service. For non-conviction records, you file at the District Court clerk’s office where the case began, or at your local Boston Municipal Court division if the case was in BMC.¹⁰

Expungement Is Narrower Than Sealing

Expungement permanently destroys the record rather than hiding it, and Massachusetts limits it to narrow situations where the record itself was created unjustly. A court can order expungement if you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the record resulted from:9Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276 Section 100K

Identity theft or false identification
An offense that is no longer a crime under current law
Errors by law enforcement, witnesses, or court employees
Fraud committed upon the court

The court holds a hearing if requested by either the petitioner or the district attorney and must issue written findings before ordering expungement. Once granted, the court, the Commissioner of Probation, and DCJIS all destroy their copies, and the court notifies the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice with a request that they do the same. A prosecutor cannot condition a plea deal on waiving the right to seek expungement later.

Fixing an Error on Your CORI

If your CORI contains inaccurate information, you can file a complaint directly with DCJIS through its online complaint portal. You need documentation supporting your claim and a legible copy of a government-issued ID.¹¹ DCJIS staff review the complaint, decide whether there is enough information to investigate, and notify you of the outcome by email. Complaints that lack enough detail are returned.

If a third-party background check company reported the inaccurate information to an employer, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act adds another layer. The background check company must reinvestigate within 30 days of receiving your dispute.¹² If the company finds an error, it must correct the report.

What Employers Can and Cannot Hold Against You

A CORI record does not automatically bar you from a job. Massachusetts has some of the strongest applicant protections in the country.

Ban the Box

Most Massachusetts employers cannot ask about criminal history on the initial written job application. The criminal history question comes later in the hiring process. Exceptions apply where federal or state law creates a mandatory disqualification for certain convictions, such as some childcare and financial industry positions.¹³

Records Off Limits Even Later

Even after the application stage, Massachusetts law bars employers from penalizing you based on several categories of record information:¹³

Arrests that did not lead to a conviction
A first conviction for drunkenness, simple assault, speeding, minor traffic violations, affray, or disturbing the peace
Any misdemeanor conviction more than three years old, as long as you have had no new convictions in the last three years
Sealed or expunged records, which you can legally deny exist without being considered dishonest

Employers and landlords are also shielded from negligence claims based on records they were prohibited from seeing or asking about. If a record was sealed, expunged, or outside what DCJIS can lawfully disclose, the employer is presumed to have had no knowledge of it.

What CORI Does Not Cover

CORI has real blind spots. The system is name-based, so it matches on the name and date of birth you submit. A misspelling or a wrong birth date can return either no results or the wrong person’s record. There is no fingerprint verification.¹

More importantly, CORI covers only Massachusetts court records. An arrest in New Hampshire, a federal conviction, or criminal history in another state will not appear. Employers or landlords who need a broader picture usually supplement CORI with a national criminal database search or an FBI fingerprint check, each a separate process with its own limits and costs. A clean CORI report tells you only that Massachusetts courts have no matching records within the applicable lookback window.

1
Mass.gov. Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI)
2
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 6 Section 167
3
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 6 Section 172
4
Mass.gov. Levels of Name-Based Criminal Record Check Access
5
Mass.gov. Request CORI As An Individual
6
Mass.gov. CORI Frequently Asked Questions
7
Mass.gov. Request to Seal Your Criminal Record
8
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276 Section 100A
9
10
Mass.gov. Request to Seal Your Criminal Record

Expungement Is Narrower Than Sealing
Expungement permanently destroys the record rather than hiding it, and Massachusetts limits it to narrow situations where the record itself was created unjustly. A court can order expungement if you prove by clear and convincing evidence that the record resulted from:9Mass.gov. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 276 Section 100K
11
Mass.gov. File Incorrect CORI or Improper Access to CORI, CJIS, or Regulatory Violation Complaint
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
13
General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 151B Section 4