Top Choice
Instant Checkmate
Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View RecordsCriminal Records
Criminal History Records Check Massachusetts
Choose personal CORI or Open CORI in Massachusetts according to whose record you need and the permitted access category.
Decide which Massachusetts record is supposed to answer the question
Personal CORI
For your own Massachusetts criminal offender record information, start with DCJIS personal CORI. The state lists a $25 fee and allows online iCORI registration when the individual has a valid Massachusetts driver’s license or ID.
Open-access CORI
DCJIS lists open-access CORI as a separate request type at $50. Its disclosure rules are not the same as the subject’s personal CORI, so the request category matters before payment.
Specific court prosecution
When the need is a docket entry, judgment, or filed order from one prosecution, go through Massachusetts Trial Court case access and then the office where that case was filed for the official public record.
CORI and a fingerprint-supported check are not interchangeable
| Feature | Name-based Massachusetts CORI | Case-level court record |
|---|---|---|
| Matching basis | Name plus date of birth; DCJIS expressly says the name-based CORI product is not fingerprint supported. | Case number and court identifiers are the most direct locators when known. |
| Geographic scope | Massachusetts information only; DCJIS describes available Massachusetts arraignments. | One case filed in a particular Trial Court department. |
| Useful for | A Massachusetts CORI request under the access level available to the requester. | Exact docket history, filed order, or disposition tied to a prosecution. |
| Official document path | DCJIS / iCORI issues the CORI product. | The filing court office supplies the official public court record. |
Personal CORI has a simple branch: Massachusetts ID or mail
-
01
Choose the personal request
Do not register under an organization category when the goal is your own record. DCJIS labels the individual route separately.
-
02
Use iCORI if the ID requirement is met
The current request page says a valid Massachusetts driver’s license or Massachusetts ID is required to register online as an individual.
-
03
Otherwise use the paper route
An individual without that Massachusetts ID is directed to submit the Personal Request Form by mail. The state also publishes an affidavit-of-indigency option.
-
04
Allow for state processing
DCJIS says a CORI request may take up to ten business days. That is the agency processing statement, not a promise about a third party’s later decision.
For a court case, preserve the items that let the clerk reproduce the record
-
✓
Court department and location
The Trial Court portal is most useful when you retain which court actually filed the case.
-
✓
Case number
An exact case number reduces ambiguity and is a better key than relying on a broad name match.
-
✓
Disposition date and event
If the purpose is to verify outcome, identify the final docket event or order that needs to be copied.
-
✓
Document form required by the recipient
Ask the filing office whether a plain copy or certified record is needed; a portal screen should not be relabeled as a certified judgment.
A CORI line and a court disposition answer different questions
Keep the evidentiary source visible
CORI summarizes criminal offender record information under Massachusetts access rules. A court record documents what occurred in a particular case. If a discrepancy matters, compare the case identifier and obtain the filed court document rather than assuming one source silently overrides the other.
Related Record Guides
Sources