Public Records in Plymouth County

Plymouth County public records include property deeds, land court documents, court case filings, and government records for 27 cities and towns in southeastern Massachusetts. The county is served by three separate Registry of Deeds offices, located in Brockton and Plymouth. This page explains which registry serves each town, how to search Plymouth County public records online, and how to submit a public records request to the appropriate office.

Plymouth County: Three Registry Districts

Plymouth County has three Registry of Deeds offices. The Brockton Registry serves the northern cluster of Plymouth County towns. The Plymouth Registry covers the larger southern and coastal portion of the county. A third district also operates within the county structure. Before searching for a deed or land record, you need to know which district covers the town where the property is located. Searching in the wrong district returns no results even if the document exists.

Both active primary registries are part of the statewide MassLandRecords system. The Brockton Registry is searchable at masslandrecords.com/Brockton and the Plymouth Registry at masslandrecords.com/Plymouth. Both portals are free to use and do not require an account to view document images.

Plymouth County government was abolished in 1998. The three Registry offices now report to the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the same as other Massachusetts registries.

Brockton Registry of Deeds

The Brockton Registry of Deeds is at 50 Belmont Street in Brockton. Mailing address: P.O. Box 1677, Brockton, MA 02303-1677. Phone: (508) 587-0420. Plan counter: (508) 587-0424. Land Court: (508) 587-0423. Fax: (508) 587-0445. Email: brockton.registry@sec.state.ma.us. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The RAO is Amy Potter.

The Brockton Registry covers 10 municipalities: Brockton, Abington, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Hanson, Stoughton, West Bridgewater, Whitman, and two additional communities. Online records at masslandrecords.com/Brockton go back to approximately the 1960s. For older records, contact the office directly. Land Court documents for these municipalities are also searchable through the same portal.

Brockton is the largest city in Plymouth County and one of the major cities in southeastern Massachusetts. The Brockton Registry serves a concentrated urban area with high document volume. The office handles deeds, mortgages, discharges, plans, and land court filings for all 10 municipalities in its district.

Plymouth Registry of Deeds

The Plymouth Registry of Deeds is at 50 Obery Street in Plymouth. Mailing address: P.O. Box 340, Plymouth, MA 02362. Phone: (508) 747-4000. Plan counter: (508) 747-4005. Land Court: (508) 747-4003. Fax: (508) 747-4004. Email: plymouth.registry@sec.state.ma.us. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The RAO is C.J. Kivlehan.

The Plymouth Registry covers 17 municipalities: Plymouth, Carver, Duxbury, Halifax, Hanover, Kingston, Lakeville, Marion, Marshfield, Mattapoisett, Middleborough, Norwell, Pembroke, Plympton, Rochester, Rockland, Scituate, and Wareham. This is a large geographic area extending along the South Shore coastline and inland toward Middleborough and Marion. Online records are available at masslandrecords.com/Plymouth from approximately the 1960s to the present.

The MassLandRecords statewide portal shown in the image below at masslandrecords.com provides access to both the Brockton and Plymouth Registry databases. The same search interface works for both districts.

Searching is free. Document images are free to view. Certified paper copies cost $1 per page and require a direct request to the registry. You can also request copies by mail by sending your request with a check or money order.

Plymouth County Recording Fees

All Plymouth County Registry offices use the standard statewide fee schedule. Fees are the same at both the Brockton and Plymouth registries. Standard recording fees include: Deed $155, Mortgage $205, Discharge of Mortgage $105, Homestead Declaration $35, Declaration of Trust $255, UCC Filing $75, Federal Tax Lien $5, Plans $105 per sheet, Municipal Lien Certificate $80, Certified Copies $1 per page. Excise tax on deed recordings is $4.56 per $1,000 of the sale price, paid at the time of recording.

Coastal Plymouth County communities like Scituate, Duxbury, and Marshfield often see high excise tax amounts due to waterfront and vacation property values. For a property selling at $750,000, the excise tax alone is $3,420 in addition to the recording fee. Title companies factor these costs into their closings.

Note: If you need to record a document on a specific date, call ahead to confirm hours. Both offices close at 4:30 PM but recording procedures may have an earlier cut-off for same-day processing.

Plymouth County Court and Public Records

Court records for Plymouth County are part of the Massachusetts Trial Court system. The Plymouth County Superior Court handles major civil and criminal cases. The Plymouth County Probate and Family Court handles estates, guardianships, divorce, and family law matters. Several District Courts serve municipalities across the county. All case records are searchable at no cost through MassCourts.org. You can search by name or case number and see case status, parties, and docket entries without an account.

For state-level public records: vital records come from the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, or from the local city or town clerk where the birth, death, or marriage occurred. CORI checks are available through the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services. The sex offender registry is searchable at mass.gov/sorb. Property tax records are at each city or town assessor's office. For corporate filings and business entity records, the Secretary of the Commonwealth maintains business registration data online.

Public Records Requests in Plymouth County

Under MGL Chapter 66, Section 10, any person may request public records from a Plymouth County government agency. Each Registry of Deeds office has its own RAO listed above. For Plymouth County Sheriff, District Attorney, or municipal government records, contact those agencies directly to identify their RAO. Agencies must respond within 10 business days.

The first two hours of search time are free for municipalities with more than 20,000 residents. After that, the charge is up to $25 per hour. Copies cost $0.05 per page. Electronic records can often be provided at no charge. If a request is denied or not answered on time, appeal to the Supervisor of Records at One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, MA 02108. Phone: (617) 727-2832. Email: pre@sec.state.ma.us. Appeals must go in within 90 days of the denial or missed deadline.

Cities in Plymouth County

Brockton and Plymouth are the two largest cities in the county and both have their own public records pages.

Other communities in Plymouth County include Middleborough, Marshfield, Scituate, Duxbury, Rockland, Wareham, and Kingston. All of these access land records through the Plymouth Registry of Deeds at 50 Obery Street in Plymouth.

Nearby Counties

Plymouth County borders several other Massachusetts counties to the north and west. Check the correct county registry when researching properties or cases near county boundaries.