Suffolk County Clerk of Court Records

Why Suffolk County Has Multiple Clerks

Massachusetts runs a unified Trial Court split into departments. Each department keeps its own records through a clerk or register. So the same county can hold a felony file in Superior Court, a divorce in Probate and Family Court, and an eviction in Housing Court at the same time, with three different clerks responsible. Land records and marriage records are not court files at all and sit in their own offices.

That structure surprises searchers used to a single county clerk. The fix is simple: ask the kind of record first, then pick the office that holds it. A Suffolk County Clerk of Court page is really a map of clerk offices.

The split also matters for fee payment. Each office sets its own fee schedule, accepts different payment methods, and may run on slightly different hours. A request that names the right office, the right form of payment, and the exact document moves through far faster than one that does not.

Suffolk Superior Court Clerk

The Suffolk County Superior Court Clerk's Office handles Superior Court records: felony cases, large civil claims, equity matters, and the related dockets. The office is at 3 Pemberton Square in Boston, with public hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The phone is 617-788-8110. The clerk's office is split into civil and criminal units, so callers should ask for the right unit.

For the broader Superior Court page, see Suffolk County Superior Court.

Boston Municipal Court and District Court Clerks

Boston Municipal Court divisions handle most Boston misdemeanors, small claims, summary process, and traffic-criminal matters. Each BMC division has its own clerk-magistrate office. Chelsea District Court serves District Court matters for the Chelsea and Revere area, with its own clerk staff.

The Boston Municipal Court page above lists the divisions. The Boston Municipal Court page covers the department's records in more depth.

Probate and Family Court Register

The Probate and Family Court uses a register rather than a clerk-magistrate. The Suffolk register is at 24 New Chardon Street in Boston, with a satellite at 120 Broadway in Chelsea. The Boston office covers divorce, custody, support, estates, wills, guardianship, conservatorship, and family-court motions for the county.

See probate records and marriage and divorce records for the procedures the register applies.

Housing, Land, and Juvenile Clerks

Housing Court and Land Court have their own clerks for Suffolk matters. Housing Court hears evictions, code, and related housing claims for the Eastern Housing Court Boston session. Land Court handles registered land, title disputes, and tax lien matters. Juvenile Court keeps juvenile delinquency, care and protection, and youthful offender cases, with strict confidentiality rules limiting public access.

The Juvenile Court page above sets out who handles delinquency and child-welfare records. The Housing Court and Land Court pages cover the other two.

Registry of Deeds and Vital Records

Two more offices round out the Suffolk County Clerk picture, even though they are not court clerks. The Suffolk County Registry of Deeds holds recorded land instruments: deeds, mortgages, discharges, liens, and plans for Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop. The City of Boston Registry Division keeps Boston birth, marriage, and death records.

See Registry of Deeds for land records and the marriage and divorce records page for Boston vital records.

Which Clerk Handles What

The table below matches common Suffolk records to the right office. Sending a request to the wrong clerk leads to a polite redirect, not a denial, but it costs time.

How to Request a Certified Copy

A certified copy carries the clerk's seal and is the version most courts and agencies will accept. To get one from a Suffolk Trial Court clerk, follow these steps.

1. Identify the right department: Superior, BMC, District, Probate and Family, Housing, or Land.
2. Have the case number, filing year, and party names ready.
3. Name the exact item: docket sheet, indictment, judgment, decree, sentence, or order.
4. Call or write the clerk's office for current fee and processing time.
5. Send payment in the form the clerk accepts; many offices restrict cash by mail.
6. Pick up or receive the certified copy with the clerk's seal.

The clerk's official record controls over any online docket, so a certified copy is the right document for legal use.

Suffolk Clerk Fees and Forms

Court fees follow Trial Court schedules and statute. Each department posts its own fee detail. The categories below cover the main items; confirm current amounts with the clerk before ordering.

Court forms are posted by the Massachusetts Trial Court; the Boston Court Service Center can help self-represented people fill them out. The court does not give legal advice, but the Service Center staff can point to the right form and explain procedure.

Online docket information at MassCourts is free. The fee structure here covers in-office copies, certifications, and filings, not the search itself. For a free dock check, see the court records page on how to use MassCourts.

Suffolk Clerk Records Request Fields

Each Suffolk clerk uses similar fields when accepting a records request. The list below tracks the information a request should include, whether by phone, mail, or in person.

• Requester's name and contact information.
• Case number or, if unknown, party names and approximate filing year.
• Court and department believed to hold the file.
• Exact document requested, such as docket sheet, judgment, or order.
• Type of copy: plain or certified.
• Delivery method: pickup, mail, or electronic if allowed.
• Fee acknowledgement or indigency request if applicable.

Note: Sealed, impounded, juvenile, adoption, and abuse-prevention records may require identity proof, party status, or a court order before the clerk can release them.