Massachusetts Domestic Violence Records FAQs: Arrest Reports, CORI, and the DVRS

No. Under M.G.L. c. 41, § 98F, the daily police log is a public record. However, the statute requires departments to keep separate, non-public entries for domestic violence responses, for arrests for assault or assault and battery on a family or household member, and for violations of protective orders. The separate entries shall not be a public record and shall not be disclosed to the public. The arrest becomes publicly visible through the court docket after arraignment, not through the police log.

Under M.G.L. c. 41, § 97D, reports of abuse between family or household members are confidential. Access is limited to the people named in the statute. The people with access are the victim, the victim’s attorney, others specifically authorized by the victim, prosecutors, victim-witness advocates, domestic violence and sexual assault counselors, law enforcement, and bail officials. Unlawful disclosure is punishable by imprisonment for up to 1 year, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. The defense obtains the report in discovery once the criminal case begins, as explained on the firm’s domestic violence procedure page.

At arraignment. The case becomes criminal offender record information under M.G.L. c. 6, § 167 when the clerk dockets the charge and the probation department enters it into the court activity record system. Under M.G.L. c. 276, § 57, a person arrested for an act constituting abuse cannot be admitted to bail sooner than 6 hours after arrest, except by a judge in open court. An arrested defendant therefore ordinarily goes straight to arraignment. A charge brought by summons can instead go to a clerk magistrate hearing. No CORI entry is ever created for a case resolved at the clerk magistrate hearing.

Yes, until it is sealed. The entry shows the charge and the dismissal. Discretionary sealing under M.G.L. c. 276, § 100C is available for dismissed cases without a waiting period on a showing of good cause under Commonwealth v. Pon, 469 Mass. 296 (2014). Time-based sealing under § 100A is available after 3 years for misdemeanors and 7 years for felonies. The firm’s sealing and expungement page explains both kinds of sealing. A separate page explains the records a dismissed domestic violence case leaves behind, including the records that sealing does not cover.

The DVRS is a confidential registry created by St. 1992, c. 188, § 7 and maintained by the Commissioner of Probation. The DVRS holds records of the issuance and violation of protective orders, including 209A restraining orders (abuse prevention orders), and court activity records. Since 2014, the DVRS has also held the preliminary written statements of abuse entered in criminal cases under M.G.L. c. 276, § 56A. The DVRS is available to judges, clerk-magistrates, and law enforcement agencies. The DVRS is not public.

M.G.L. c. 276, § 56A requires a judge to make an inquiry before releasing or setting bail for a person arrested and charged with a crime against a person or property. The judge asks the Commonwealth whether abuse, as defined in M.G.L. c. 209A, § 1, is alleged to have occurred immediately prior to or in conjunction with the crime. The Commonwealth files a preliminary written statement if the Commonwealth alleges abuse. The judge then makes a written ruling that abuse is alleged. The statement is entered into the DVRS. The statute states that it does not modify or limit the presumption of innocence.

In Commonwealth v. Dossantos, 472 Mass. 74 (2015), the Supreme Judicial Court held that the judge must inquire into and be satisfied that there is an adequate factual basis for the Commonwealth’s allegation of abuse before making the written ruling. The judge does not need to take evidence or hold a separate hearing, but the record must show a real determination rather than automatic acceptance of the prosecutor’s allegation.

Yes. In Dossantos, the Supreme Judicial Court held that the judge must be satisfied that there is an adequate factual basis for the allegation of abuse. Defense counsel can therefore contest the designation at the first appearance, using the same police report the Commonwealth relies on. Counsel can point out that the report describes no injury, alleges no fear of imminent serious physical harm, or shows no qualifying relationship between the parties under M.G.L. c. 209A, § 1. A designation that is never entered in the DVRS never needs to be removed. The rules for removing a designation are narrow.

No. Section 56A requires removal only after a finding of not guilty, a no bill from the grand jury, or a finding of no probable cause. The statute then states that a dismissal shall not be eligible for removal from the statewide domestic violence record keeping system. The designation stays in place after a dismissal, including the dismissal entered after a completed continuance without a finding. The difference between an acquittal and a dismissal is permanent in the DVRS. The difference should be part of every decision about how to resolve the case.

No. Sealing under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100A and 100C applies to the court and probation records that make up CORI. The 56A statement is not CORI by the statute’s own terms. The statement can be removed only under the removal rule described above. A 209A restraining order in the registry likewise remains visible to judges even after it is vacated, under Vaccaro v. Vaccaro, 425 Mass. 153 (1997). The firm’s page on expunging an order from the registry covers the narrow fraud on the court standard.

Almost never through time-based expungement. M.G.L. c. 276, § 100J excludes from expungement any violation of a 209A restraining order or 258E harassment prevention order. Section 100J also excludes assault and battery on a family or household member under c. 265, § 13M, all c. 265 felonies, and offenses causing or intended to cause serious bodily injury, among others. For most domestic violence charges, the realistic remedy is sealing. The sealing standards are collected on the firm’s sealing and expungement standards page.

A standard iCORI employment check returns no record for a sealed case. M.G.L. c. 276, § 100A also allows an applicant to answer no record to questions about sealed cases. Certain employers, licensing bodies, and government agencies have higher levels of access and see more than standard access provides. The firm’s Massachusetts criminal records page and the CORI sealing FAQs explain the levels and what each one returns.

Judges, clerk-magistrates, and law enforcement. M.G.L. c. 209A, § 7 requires a search of the DVRS when a new abuse prevention order petition is filed, so the judge deciding a future 209A restraining order case sees the designation and any order history. Judges also consult the DVRS at bail and at dangerousness hearings under M.G.L. c. 276, § 58A. A dangerousness hearing itself becomes part of CORI when the defendant is detained or released on conditions. The DVRS is not available to employers, landlords, or the public.

The criminal case becomes part of the history that a judge reviews when someone later seeks a 209A restraining order. The 56A designation, any prior orders, and any violation charges all appear in the DVRS search. The 56A designation is removed from the DVRS after an acquittal, but the designation stays after a dismissal. The firm defends the criminal case with a later judge’s DVRS search in mind, as explained on the domestic violence defense page.

Students, licensed professionals, and non-citizens each face a second process running alongside the criminal case. A college or university student faces school discipline that begins with the arrest. The discipline file is a FERPA-protected education record under 20 U.S.C. § 1232g, but campus police records created for law enforcement purposes are excluded from FERPA protection under 34 C.F.R. § 99.8. A licensed professional may have to report the charge to a licensing board. What the board sees depends on the board’s iCORI access level. A non-citizen faces immigration consequences that depend on the precise disposition. Federal immigration law can also impose consequences on the admission that supports a continuance without a finding. The school, licensing, and immigration processes should each be part of the defense plan from the first day.

Yes. Booking fingerprints are reported into the FBI’s national identification records. An active 209A restraining order is entered into the national protection order file that police in every state query. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2265, other states must enforce a Massachusetts order without registration. Customs officers query the same federal systems at the border. Customs officers can therefore ask questions at reentry even about a record that employers cannot see. For a non-citizen, the questions at reentry become admissibility questions. The FBI record is not updated automatically after a Massachusetts seal. Corrections are made through the contributing agency under 28 C.F.R. § 16.34, so the federal record should be checked after sealing.

Yes, under both federal and state law. A person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is subject to a federal possession prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9). A Massachusetts conviction under c. 265, § 13M ordinarily qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. The separate prohibition of § 922(g)(8) commonly applies to a person subject to a 209A restraining order extended after notice and a hearing. The Supreme Court upheld the § 922(g)(8) prohibition in United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680 (2024). Both federal prohibitions are enforced through the national instant check system. The Massachusetts license to carry consequences begin with the charge itself. The firearms consequences should be part of every plea discussion, as covered on the domestic violence defense page.