Personal records in Massachusetts sit in four different places: town and city clerks hold the original vital records, the Department of Public Health holds the statewide copies, the Probate and Family Court handles name changes and court-ordered corrections, and the Commissioner of Probation holds criminal history. This article explains which office holds what, what a certified copy costs and how long it takes, how a record gets corrected, and how a name change ripples through the rest of your documents.
What counts as a personal record, and who holds it
A vital record is the state’s permanent entry for a birth, marriage, or death. Massachusetts registers each event twice: once with the clerk of the city or town where it happened, and once with the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics at the Department of Public Health. Under M.G.L. c. 46, § 19, a copy of the departmental record signed by the Commissioner of Public Health or the state registrar is admissible in court as evidence of the record. A copy from the town clerk carries the same weight for most purposes, which is why two offices can answer the same request.
Older records are split differently. Records of births, marriages, and deaths from 1931 through 1935 were transferred to the Massachusetts State Archives, and pre-1936 birth and death records are often still available at the city or town where the event occurred, according to the Registry. Pre-1936 marriage records may be held by the city or town where the marriage intentions were filed rather than where the ceremony took place.
Three other categories round out what most people mean by “my records”:
– **Court records.** The Probate and Family Court holds name change petitions, adoption files, and complaints to correct a birth record.
– **Criminal history.** The Commissioner of Probation maintains criminal offender record information, known as CORI, covering court appearances and dispositions in Massachusetts.
– **Identity credentials.** The Registry of Motor Vehicles issues driver’s licenses and Mass ID cards, and the Social Security Administration maintains the name on your Social Security number.
Everything else held by a state agency or a municipality falls under the public records law, which has its own request procedure and its own exemptions.
## Ordering certified copies of birth, marriage, and death records
The Registry issues only certified copies. There is no public index to browse online, and the Registry does not release uncertified printouts regardless of what the record is for. Ordering runs through four channels, and the price depends on which one you use. As of 2026, the Registry’s published fees are $20 per copy in person, $32 per copy by mail, $54 for the first copy ordered online or by phone, and $42 for each additional copy on an online or phone order.
Timing follows the same pattern. Most orders are filled within two to three weeks. Orders placed through the Registry’s online vendor typically process in 7 to 10 business days, with next-day expedited service available for an extra charge, per the Registry’s ordering page. Walking into the Registry office or the town clerk’s counter is the fastest route and the cheapest.
Every request needs the subject’s name, the date of the event, the place of the event, and proof of the requester’s identity (a driver’s license or government photo ID, which the Registry accepts even if expired). Requests for someone else’s record may also require documentation of the relationship.
One option gets overlooked. Additional procedures in this area will be linked here as they are published. No. Massachusetts registers only events that occurred in Massachusetts. The Registry of Vital Records and Statistics holds births, marriages, and deaths that took place in the Commonwealth, and a record of an event in another state is held by that state’s vital records office. If the Registry cannot find a Massachusetts record, it issues a Negative Statement, which is the document used to establish a delayed record. The timeline depends on the county’s Probate and Family Court schedule rather than on a statutory deadline. Sealing closes the record to most requesters while the entry continues to exist; expungement destroys it. The administrative sealing route in It is the underlying proof, but each agency updates its own file. Social Security processes a name change by issuing a replacement card, which arrives 5 to 10 business days after the request is completed, per the Social Security Administration. The Registry of Motor Vehicles then requires original, unlaminated documents showing the change before it issues a credential in the new name, per its identification requirements. Not through the Registry. It maintains its indexes and records on site and publishes no searchable index online, and it issues only certified copies regardless of the intended use, as its ordering page states. Genealogical research hours are available at the Registry for people who want information rather than a certified copy, and records from 1931 through 1935 are held by the Massachusetts State Archives. The obligation is a deadline, not a courtesy. M.G.L. c. 46, § 19 entitles a requester to an abbreviated record, an abstract of the birth, marriage, or death without the parents’ names, on request. The same section lets the person named on a birth record, or either parent, ask in writing for a certified copy that contains no reference to the color of the person or the parents.
## Correcting or amending a vital record
A vital record that is missing a fact or states one incorrectly is fixed administratively, not by lawsuit, in most cases. Under M.G.L. c. 46, § 13, the town clerk or the state registrar accepts an affidavit supplying the missing or corrected facts from the person who was required to furnish the original information, or from credible persons with knowledge of the case. The affidavit must be accompanied by documentary evidence substantiating the facts beyond a reasonable doubt, and the minimum evidence required is set by regulation.
The first year after the event is easier. Section 13(b) allows a record filed under chapter 46 to be amended, corrected, or supplemented within one year of the event without the affidavit and documentary evidence, where the Department of Public Health’s regulations permit it. After that year, the evidentiary standard applies.
Section 13 also carries specific rules for parentage. A birth record is amended to read as though the person was born to married parents when the parents later marry and the father acknowledges the child, or when a court or administrative agency adjudicates paternity. Separate provisions cover records where the mother and her husband file an affidavit denying that the husband is the father, or where a court adjudicates non-paternity.
Some corrections are beyond the registrar’s authority and go to court instead. A Complaint to Correct Birth Record filed in the Probate and Family Court carries a $240 filing fee plus a $15 surcharge, under the court’s published fee schedule. That route is used when the underlying facts are contested or the documentary evidence the registrar requires does not exist.
## Changing your legal name
Massachusetts routes adult and minor name changes through the Probate and Family Court. M.G.L. c. 210, § 12 provides that a petition for a change of name may be heard by the probate court in the county where the petitioner resides, and that the change “shall be granted unless such change is inconsistent with public interests.” That standard is deliberately permissive: the court is not weighing whether the new name is a good idea, only whether granting it would cut against the public interest, creditor avoidance and evasion of a criminal record being the usual concerns.
The cost is set by the Trial Court rather than by statute. As of 2026, a change of name petition costs $150 plus a $15 surcharge, and a change of name requested by motion during the nisi period of a divorce costs $100 with no surcharge, according to the Probate and Family Court fee schedule. Each citation the court issues adds $15, each summons adds $5, and the petitioner pays any publication costs the court orders.
Marriage and divorce are the two situations that avoid the petition entirely. A person marrying in Massachusetts can adopt a spouse’s surname on the strength of the marriage certificate, and a divorce judgment can restore a former name. Outside those two events, the petition is the mechanism.
## Criminal record information and sealing
CORI is the record of criminal court appearances and dispositions on file with the Commissioner of Probation. It is what employers, landlords, and licensing boards see when they run a Massachusetts background check, and the categories of requester who can see how much of it are set by statute.
Sealing is the administrative path to closing older entries. Under M.G.L. c. 276, § 100A, a person may ask the Commissioner of Probation, on a form the Commissioner furnishes and signed under the penalties of perjury, to seal the file. The Commissioner must comply when the waiting periods have run: the court appearance and disposition for a misdemeanor, including any period of incarceration or custody, must have occurred not less than 3 years before the request, and for a felony not less than 7 years. The person also must not have been found guilty of another Massachusetts offense within that same window, other than motor vehicle offenses carrying a penalty no greater than a $50 fine.
Several rules inside the section change the arithmetic. An offense that was a felony when committed and has since become a misdemeanor is treated as a misdemeanor. An offense that is no longer a crime is eligible for sealing immediately, unless the conduct remains criminal under a different name. Later entries disposed of as “not guilty,” “dismissed,” “nol prossed,” or “no bill” do not interrupt the running of the waiting period. Sex offenses as defined in M.G.L. c. 6, § 178C are not eligible for 15 years after disposition, and a person ever classified as a level 2 or level 3 sex offender is never eligible to seal a sex offense, under the same section.
Section 100A does not reach everything. It excludes convictions for the firearms provisions at sections 121 to 131H of chapter 140 and for violations of chapter 268 or chapter 268A, except convictions for resisting arrest. Cases that fall outside the administrative route are handled by petition to a court instead.
## Identity documents that depend on these records
A certified vital record is usually a means to an end: a REAL ID, a passport, or a corrected Social Security card. The Registry of Motor Vehicles requires an in-person appointment at an RMV Service Center or a AAA branch for a REAL ID driver’s license or REAL Mass ID, along with 1 document proving lawful presence in the United States, 1 document proving your full 9-digit Social Security number, and 2 documents proving Massachusetts residency, per the RMV’s identification requirements.
The Social Security record usually moves first, because the RMV verifies the number and name against it. Social Security handles a name change by issuing a replacement card, and the replacement arrives by mail 5 to 10 business days after the agency completes the request, per the Social Security Administration. Some requests can be made online; others require an appointment at a local office.
Order matters more than most people expect. Court decree, then Social Security, then the RMV, then banks and employers is the sequence that avoids repeat visits, because each office in the chain verifies against the one before it.
## Public records requests
Records held by a Massachusetts agency or municipality that are not covered by a specific statute fall under the public records law. M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 requires a records access officer to permit inspection or furnish a copy of a public record, or any segregable portion of one, not later than 10 business days after receiving the request, provided the request reasonably describes the record, the record is in that entity’s possession, and the requester pays a reasonable fee. Requests can be delivered by hand, by first class mail, or by email to the address the agency or municipality posts.
A refusal carries the same clock. If the entity does not intend to produce the record, or the request is burdensome enough that it cannot respond in time, section 10(b) requires a written response within 10 business days that confirms receipt, identifies records it does not hold, names the entity that may hold them, and identifies what it intends to withhold along with the specific exemption relied on.
Vital records, CORI, and court files are not obtained this way. Each has its own statute, its own custodian, and its own eligibility rules, and a public records request addressed to the wrong office produces a referral rather than a record.
## Specific procedures and topics
Specific procedures and topics
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a Massachusetts birth certificate if I was born in another state?
How long does a name change take in Massachusetts?
M.G.L. c. 210, § 12 sets no time limit; it establishes only that the petition is heard by the probate court where the petitioner resides and is granted unless the change is inconsistent with public interests. Courts commonly issue a citation with a return date several weeks out, and each citation adds $15 to the cost, per the court’s fee schedule.What is the difference between sealing and expunging a record in Massachusetts?
M.G.L. c. 276, § 100A opens 3 years after a misdemeanor disposition and 7 years after a felony disposition, and it is handled by the Commissioner of Probation on a form signed under the penalties of perjury. Expungement is a narrower court-ordered remedy with its own eligibility rules and is not available through section 100A.Does a marriage certificate alone change my name everywhere?
Can I look up Massachusetts vital records online for free?
What happens if an agency ignores my public records request?
M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 requires the records access officer to produce the record or send a written response within 10 business days of receiving the request, and the written response must identify each withheld category and the specific exemption claimed. A requester who receives no response, or a response that omits the required elements, can appeal to the Supervisor of Public Records in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Sources
- M.G.L. c. 46, § 19 (certified copies and abbreviated records of vital events)
- M.G.L. c. 46, § 13 (correction and amendment of vital records)
- M.G.L. c. 210, § 12 (petitions for change of name)
- M.G.L. c. 276, § 100A (requests to seal criminal files)
- M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 (inspection and copies of public records)
- Registry of Vital Records and Statistics: Order a birth, marriage, or death certificate
- Massachusetts Probate and Family Court filing fees
- Massachusetts RMV identification (ID) requirements
- Social Security Administration: Change name with Social Security