Confidentiality of Records

State law requires police to fingerprint any youth or adult arrested for a felony. However, police logs of youth arrests are not published on public arrest logs.

• Fingerprint-based arrest records are automatically transmitted to the FBI and shared with federal law enforcement, employers and private background check companies.

• The level of access an employer has is governed by the state of the requesting employer. In other words, the confidentiality protections afforded under Massachusetts law would not apply if the requesting agency is outside of Massachusetts, and vice versa.

• Arrest records often DO NOT include the disposition — or the final outcome — of the case, even if the case ended favorably which has harmful consequences.

A juvenile record is created when a young person is arraigned in the juvenile court, for an offense prior to a child’s 18th birthday. Prior to September 2013, the records of 17-year-olds were considered criminal records and will appear on a CORI.

• Juvenile records are more confidential than criminal records and do not appear on a CORI.

• A juvenile court record is not created if a case of a youth is diverted by the prosecutor or a juvenile court judge prior to arraignment.

• As of October 2018, all Youthful Offender (Y.O.) cases originating in juvenile court are not longer reported on a CORI. If you were denied employment or housing in the past due to a Y.O. record, the record will not appear on a new CORI request.

• Who can access a Juvenile Record?

  • Most employers, landlords, banks, hospitals and the general public can not see juvenile records, even if unsealed

  • Camps can see juvenile records of staff and job applicants, but can not see sealed juvenile records

  • police, prosecutors and the courts for “law enforcement purposes” can access all juvenile records, including sealed records

  • Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) can see juvenile records of staff and job applicants to child care and other child-serving agencies, including sealed records

  • Department of Children and Families (DCF) can see juvenile records of staff and volunteers and can see juvenile records of all members of a foster and adoptive families who are 15 years or older, even if sealed.

A criminal record is created when an individual is arraigned in district or superior court. The records of children who are indicted in Superior Court will be treated as a criminal record and will appear on a CORI.

• All employers, landlords and the general public can have access to a criminal record of an open cases, and all misdemeanor convictions (less than 3 years) or felony convictions (less than 7 years)

• Some employers can access all convictions and non-convictions, even those older than 3 or 7 years old.

• Agencies working with children and elderly persons, law enforcement and camps can access all criminal records, even if they did not end in a conviction and even if they are sealed.

Types of Record Clearance

• The record is physically or electronically kept confidential

• If ever questioned about the record, the court will respond that it does not exist, but with exceptions.

• The law allows some people or agencies to access sealed records. For example, law enforcement, military, child-serving agencies, and child care agencies

• Sealing orders must be sent to the FBI, so the arrest record can be sealed (but still accessible by some agencies).

• The record is completely destroyed from the court, law enforcement and other agency files

• If ever questioned about the record, the court will respond that it does not exist.

• No one can access the record, even agencies that can access sealed records

• Expungement orders must be sent to the FBI, so the arrest record can be expunged.