File: ADDA-E-1

INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PROCESS IN CORRECTING A CRIMINAL RECORD

If you have undergone a background check by an agency that has received a criminal record from the CHSB, you may ask the agency to provide you with a copy of the criminal record. You may also request a copy of your adult criminal record from the Criminal History Systems Board, 200 Arlington Street, Suite 2200, Chelsea, MA 02150, by calling 617-660-4640 or go to www.mass.gov/chsb/cori/cori_forms.html#pers.

The CHSB charges $25.00 fee to provide an individual with a copy of his/her criminal record. You may complete an affidavit of indigence and request that the CHSB waive the fee.

Upon receipt, review the record. If you need assistance in interpreting the entries or dispositions, please review the disposition code and “how to read a BOP” on the CHSB’s website, www.mass.gov/chsb/cori/cori_bop.html. The CHSB does not offer “walk-in” service, but you may call Legal Division at 617-660-4760 for assistance or the CARI Unit of the Office of the Commissioner of Probation at 617-727-5300.

If you believe that a case is opened on your record that should be marked closed, you may contact the Office of the Commissioner of Probation CARI Unit at 617-727-5300 for assistance, or you may go to the Probation Department at the court where the charges were brought and request that the case(s) be updated.

If you believe that a disposition is incorrect, contact the Chief Probation Officer at the court where the charges were brought or the CARI Unite at the Office of the Commissioner of Probation and report that the court incorrectly entered a disposition on your criminal record.

If you believe that someone has stolen or improperly used your identity and were arraigned on criminal charges under your name, you may contact the Office of the Commissioner of Probation CARI Unit or the Chief Probation Officer in the court where the charges were brought. For a listing of courthouses and telephone numbers, please see www.mass.gov/chsb/cori/cori_codes_court.html.

In some situations of identity theft, you may need to contact the CHSB to arrange to have a fingerprint analysis conducted.

If there is a warrant currently outstanding against you, you need to appear at the court and ask that the warrant be recalled. This cannot be done telephonically.

If you believe that an employer, volunteer agency, housing agency or municipality has been provided with a criminal record that does not pertain to you, the agency should contact the CORI Unit for assistance at 617-660-4640.

[Adopted: December 2005]

[Reviewed: March 2011]

Legal Reference: MGL Ch. 71, 38R, Ch. 6, 172I