Request for Criminal Record

On August 6, 2010, Governor Patrick signed into law Chapter 256 of the Acts of 2010, commonly known as CORI Reform, making significant changes to the CORI law. The law changes who will have authorized access to CORI and how CORI will be accessed. Most of the new provisions go into effect on May 4, 2012.

CORI

The Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS) is the Massachusetts agency statutorily designated to oversee the authorized release of CORI to the non-criminal justice community and provide a public safety information system and network to support data collection, information sharing, and interoperability for the Commonwealth's criminal justice and law enforcement community. The DCJIS is working to roll out a new secure, web-based service called "iCORI", which will replace the existing CORI system.

iCORI

After May 4, 2012, all governmental agencies will request and receive CORI via the iCORI service. In most cases, responses to these requests will be returned instantaneously.

Also after May 4th, employers, volunteer organizations, landlords, and individuals will request, pay for, and receive CORI online using iCORI.

• Employers will have "Standard Access" to CORI – "Standard Access" means access to information on any criminal charges pending as of the date of the request; felony or misdemeanor convictions; convictions that have not been sealed; and any murder, manslaughter, and sex offenses.
• Landlords will have the same access as standard employers to screen applicants for housing. This will only include adult leaseholders, not other members of the household. Public housing authority CORI access will not change.
• Certain employers will have "Required Access" to CORI - Employers who must comply with statutory, regulatory, or accreditation requirements regarding employees' criminal records, e.g. hospitals and banks, will have access to additional adult CORI information dating back to an individuals' 17th birthday. Employers that currently receive CORI under federal or state law authorizing or requiring them to conduct CORI checks will continue to have the same access, e.g. schools, camps, day care centers, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.
• The public will have limited access to CORI through "Open CORI".

For additional information please contact the CORI Unit at 617-660-4640 or visit Department of Criminal Justice Information Services.

Request Fee

A fee per name is charged for all public access requests, regardless of whether or not a record is available and released.