Massachusetts Probate Records: Search Online, Request Copies, Costs

Massachusetts probate records are public, and the fastest way to find one is the MassCourts online portal at masscourts.org, which lets you search by name or case number for free. For actual copies of the will, inventory, accountings, or other filings, you order them from the Register of Probate in the county where the decedent lived at the time of death, either in person or by mail using Form PFC 18.¹ You don’t need to be related to the decedent or have any connection to the estate.

Search MassCourts First

MassCourts covers every Probate and Family Court division. Cases go back to 2000, and document images are available from 2009 forward.² Search by the decedent’s name, the case number if you have it, or case type.

What you’ll see is the docket, a chronological log of every filing and court action in the case. In some divisions the actual document images are viewable, so you can read the will or inventory on screen. In others the docket tells you what exists and when it was filed, which is enough to request physical copies intelligently. Note the docket number before you leave the site; it makes every later step faster.

A few case types that are public at the courthouse are not on MassCourts: abuse prevention cases involving adults, and name changes filed before November 25, 2025.² Those require a visit or a written request.

Find the Right County Registry

Each of the 14 counties has its own Probate and Family Court division with its own registry. The division that holds the file is the one for the county where the decedent lived at death, not where they owned property or where the heirs live. Some counties operate more than one location; Bristol County, for instance, has divisions in both Taunton and Fall River.³ If you’re not sure which registry holds a particular case, calling the division for the county of last residence is the right first step.

Request Copies in Person or by Mail

The Register of Probate at the county courthouse handles copy requests. You can walk in and inspect the file, or you can mail Form PFC 18 with payment to the division where the case is docketed.¹ A savable version of the form exists for people who want to fill it in over several sittings, but it requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Turnaround depends on where the file lives. Recent cases with digital records may come back in a week or two. Older files kept off-site take longer because staff have to retrieve them from archives. A self-addressed stamped envelope helps.

Pay by bank check or money order. Personal checks and cash are often refused, and registries return incomplete requests unprocessed, so the amount has to match exactly.

What Copies Cost

Copy fees are set by the Trial Court’s Uniform Schedule of Fees and apply across all departments, including Probate and Family Court:

Attested (certified) copy: $2.50 per page
Unattested copy: $0.05 per page
Document emailed as a PDF: $5.00

Those are the rates for pulling existing records.⁴ Filing fees charged under G.L. c. 262, § 40 are a separate matter and apply only if you’re initiating or processing a probate action, not if you’re just getting copies.

What’s in a Probate File

Knowing what to ask for helps. A typical case file contains the will (if one exists), the petition that opened the case, the death certificate, and the court’s appointment of a personal representative. An inventory of the decedent’s assets with appraised values is filed early, giving a snapshot of what the estate was worth. As the case moves along, the personal representative files accountings showing money in and out, debts paid, and distributions made to beneficiaries. Creditor claims, notices to interested parties, objections, motions, hearing records, and judicial orders also land in the file.

Formal probate cases, which involve hearings and are used when there’s a dispute or a problem with the will, produce thicker files. Informal probate, handled by a magistrate without hearings when the will is clean and nobody objects, generates less paperwork.⁵

What You Can’t See

Not everything in the probate court’s files is public. Entire case types are sealed by statute: adoption records, child welfare cases, and abuse prevention cases involving minors. Paternity cases where the alleged father was found not to be the biological parent are confidential, and a child in a guardianship proceeding can request that the case be closed.⁶

Within otherwise public cases, specific documents are pulled from the file before the public sees it: financial statements, guardian ad litem reports, medical certificates, clinical team reports, and affidavits of indigency. In abuse prevention cases, the plaintiff’s home address, phone number, and workplace information are also protected.⁶

If you’re not a party and you need to see impounded material, you have to petition the court for an order allowing disclosure under Trial Court Rule VIII. That generally means a hearing where the court weighs public interest against privacy.⁶

Older and Historic Records

Records from roughly the mid-twentieth century forward usually stay with the local Probate and Family Court division. Earlier records may have been transferred to the Supreme Judicial Court Archives.⁷

The archives hold two kinds of historic material. Probate books are bound volumes where clerks transcribed selected wills, inventories, and guardianship papers; these have been microfilmed, digitized, and are free on FamilySearch.org. Probate file papers are the complete case files, digitized more recently and available through AmericanAncestors.org with a free guest membership. Coverage varies by county.⁷

There is no statewide index for historic records. Everything is organized by county, so if you don’t know where the decedent lived, you’ll need to narrow that down through other genealogical sources before searching probate files.⁷ For records that aren’t digitized, submit a Court Archives Information Request Form online, call the archives at (617) 557-1087, or email archives@jud.state.ma.us. If you’re not sure whether a file sits at the local court or has moved to the archives, call the division where the case was originally filed and ask.⁸

1
Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Request for Copies Form PFC 18
2
Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Access to Public Court Records
3
Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Locations
4
Mass.gov. Uniform Schedule of Fees
5
Mass.gov. Learn About the Types of Probate for an Estate
6
Mass.gov. Guide on the Disclosure of Confidential Information – Court Information – Probate and Family Court
7
Mass.gov. Get Access to Historic Probate Records
8
Mass.gov. Find Out Which Historic Probate Records Are Available Online