In general, court records are public documents and are available for public access during normal business hours.⁹

If you want to see your court record, go to the clerk’s office in the court where your file is kept. Court staff may ask you to fill out a form. If they do, you will need to give the name of your case and the docket number for the case. If you do not know the docket number, give the clerk the name of the case and ask them for the docket number.

You can also view publicly available information about your case online at Massachusetts Trial Court Case Access. You will not be able to view documents, but you can review what has happened in the case, identify the parties and lawyers, and see any upcoming court dates. If you see that there is a clerical error, use Error Correction Form (Booklet 11). 

Your courthouse should also have computer kiosks that you can use to access the same information through Massachusetts Trial Court Case Access.. You can refer to this information when requesting documents from the clerk. There is no fee to use a court computer kiosk, but it does not provide any more information than you can get online.

You are allowed to make copies of any documents in the file. The court clerk must allow members of the public to use personal electronic devices, such as a camera or a cell phone, to take still images, or make copies, of records.¹⁰ But some courts do not allow the public to bring cell phones into the court to protect the security of people in the court. See For a list of courts that do not permit the use of cell phones. [2021 update: cell phones are not banned from any courthouse in Massachusetts.]