Find Public Records in Worcester

Worcester public records are maintained by the City Clerk, Assessor's Office, Police Department, and other city agencies. Worcester is the second largest city in Massachusetts and the largest city in Worcester County. This page covers where to find Worcester public records, how to submit a request, and what types of documents each office holds.

Worcester City Clerk

The Worcester City Clerk keeps the official records of the city. The office is in Room 102 at City Hall, 455 Main Street. Records held by the Clerk go back to 1727 and include birth, marriage, and death certificates, business certificates (DBAs), dog licenses, voter registration files, public meeting minutes, and City Council proceedings. If you need a record tied to the formal business of city government, this is the first place to call.

Worcester City Hall is the central hub for many public records requests. The Clerk's office can point you to other city departments if the record you need is held elsewhere. Business certificates for trade names cost $65 per filing and run for four years.

Requesting Worcester Public Records

Worcester residents and anyone else can request public records under MGL Chapter 66, Section 10. The city must respond within 10 business days. Worcester's designated Records Access Officer is Michael Manning. You can reach the RAO at RAO@worcesterma.gov or by mail at 455 Main Street, Room 301, Worcester, MA 01608. The city also accepts requests at publicrecords@worcesterma.gov.

Worcester has an online public records request system at worcesterma.gov/e-services/public-records. You can submit a request, check its status, and receive documents electronically. This is generally the fastest way to get records that are already in digital form.

For paper copies, the fee is $0.05 per page. Staff time for large or complex requests is capped at $25 per hour. The first two hours of staff time are free for requests to Worcester. If a request is denied, you can appeal to the Supervisor of Records at One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, MA 02108.

Note: Most straightforward requests, such as copies of meeting minutes or simple city documents, are fulfilled well within the 10-day limit.

Worcester Vital Records

The Worcester City Clerk issues certified copies of birth, marriage, and death records dating back to 1727. Each certified copy costs $15. You can request records in person at City Hall or by mail. Mail requests should include a completed request form, a photocopy of your ID, and a check or money order payable to the City of Worcester.

You must have a qualifying relationship to the person on the record. Immediate family members, legal representatives, and people with a documented legal purpose can get certified copies. Researchers doing genealogy work may access older records under specific guidelines. For records not held locally or records older than 100 years, contact the state Registry of Vital Records and Statistics at mass.gov/orgs/registry-of-vital-records-and-statistics.

Worcester Property and Assessor Records

The Worcester Assessor's Office holds property records for all parcels in the city. These include ownership data, assessed values, tax class, lot dimensions, and building details. The Assessor is in Room 209 at City Hall and can be reached at (508) 799-1095 or assessor@worcesterma.gov. Property lookups are available through the city's online database at worcesterma.gov.

For deed records, the Worcester Registry of Deeds (Worcester South) is at 90 Front Street, Worcester, and can be reached at (508) 368-7000. You can search recorded deeds, mortgages, liens, and other instruments online through MassLandRecords.com. The screenshot below shows the Worcester Registry's online search portal.

The MassLandRecords portal for Worcester lets you search deeds and recorded documents by name, address, or document type at no charge.

Worcester Police and Court Records

The Worcester Police Department is at 9-11 Lincoln Square and can be reached at (508) 799-8600. Requests for police incident reports and accident reports go through the Records Division. Visit worcesterma.gov/police for information on submitting a records request. The department follows the same 10-business-day response rule under state law.

For court records, Worcester is home to Worcester District Court, Worcester Superior Court, and other trial court locations. All are searchable through MassCourts.org, the state's free public case access system. You can look up cases by name or case number at no charge.

MassCourts covers court cases from all Massachusetts trial courts, including those based in Worcester.

Note: Criminal background checks and CORI reports are handled by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services at mass.gov/orgs/dcjis, not by the police department.

Worcester County Public Records

Worcester is the county seat of Worcester County, the largest county by land area in Massachusetts. County-level records, including registry of deeds documents and court case records, are a key part of the public records picture for Worcester city residents. For a full guide to county resources and offices, visit the Worcester County public records page.

View Worcester County Public Records

Nearby Qualifying Cities

No other qualifying cities are located within Worcester County. Springfield, in Hampden County, is the closest large city to the west.