When you apply to rent housing, the person or agency you apply to might get your Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) from the state.
- A public housing authority or government agency that is in charge of any federal or state-funded public or subsidized housing,
- A private landlord,
- A management company that owns housing or works for an owner, or
- A real estate agent that works for a landlord or management company.
The kind of information they get on the CORI report depends on who asks for it. For example, public housing authorities and subsidized housing complexes get more information on CORIs than private landlords get. See the full list on the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services website.
Yes. A housing authority, landlord, property management company, or real estate agent can only check your CORI if you sign a form that says you know that they are asking for it. They must give you the form to fill out before they request your CORI.
This form is called a CORI Acknowledgement Form. To fill it out:
- You need to write in your full name, date of birth, and the last 6 digits of your social security number, if you have one.
- It also asks you for other personal information like your parents' names. This is to try to make sure that it is your CORI and not someone else’s.
- After you do the CORI Acknowledgement Form, you must show identification to the person requesting your CORI.
- If you can't be there in person to show ID or sign the form, you can send in the completed form signed by a notary public.
- If you need to do this, contact the landlord or housing agency and ask if a faxed or emailed copy is OK or if you need to mail the original document with the notary’s seal. Make sure that you keep a copy for your records.
If you don’t give permission to let a housing authority, landlord, manager, or agent check your CORI, they will probably deny or not process your housing application.
No. It is against the law for anyone to ask you to give them a copy of the CORI report that you got on your own. This is because the CORI that you get on your own can include cases that housing authorities, landlords, property management companies, and real estate agents are not allowed to see and wouldn’t be on a CORI that they get.
A housing authority might ask you to get documents from your criminal case files from the court. This might include police reports and docket sheets. A docket sheet shows what you were charged with and what the outcome of the case was. But it also shows other things, like bail conditions, warrants, conditions of probation, and probation violations. You do not have to give the housing authority these documents. But, the housing authority might deny or not process your housing application if you don’t give them the documents. Try to talk to a lawyer.
A housing authority, landlord, property management company, or real estate agent may have a question on the application form that asks if you have a criminal history or have been convicted of a crime. Answer the question as truthfully as you can. If you think you have had criminal cases, but you do not remember what happened in them, you can say you are not sure. That way, you aren’t giving them more information than they will get when they request your CORI, and you are not leaving something out that they will see. Housing authorities and other housing providers may deny your application if they think you gave them the wrong information on purpose.
If your criminal record has been sealed, you can say you have no record.
If a housing provider gets your CORI and tells you they might deny your application because of what’s on it, they should give you a copy of the CORI or any other criminal record report that they have so you have the chance to fix any mistakes on it. Public housing authorities and subsidized housing providers should also give you a chance to explain what is on the CORI before they decide whether to deny you or not. Each type of housing program has its own process for this.
If you apply for public or subsidized housing, there are state and federal rules:
Federal or state public housing
The housing authority can ask for a CORI on the person applying and all adult household members.
Project-based vouchers
The housing authority can ask for a CORI on the person applying and all adult household members.
Note: Project-based vouchers are vouchers that stay with a property. Depending on the program, a tenant may be able to move with a voucher after a year of living in a project-based subsidized unit.
Mobile vouchers
The public housing authority or agency administering a mobile voucher (“Section 8” or “MRVP”) can ask for a CORI on the person applying for a voucher and all adult household members.
Once you have a voucher, when you go to use it to rent a unit, the market rate housing rules apply.
Note: A mobile voucher stays with the tenant, not the property. If the tenant moves, the voucher goes with the tenant
Market rate housing,
The landlord, property management company or real estate agent can ask for a CORI on the person applying. They ask for “open access CORI” on the other household members.9 [893 C.M.R. 5.04(4) They can also do background checks on all household members through private background check companies or consumer reporting agencies.
Yes. Arrest records or court appearances may show up in public records, such as newspaper articles that a landlord might find on the internet.
Some private background check companies or consumer reporting agencies put together arrest records and court appearances and share it with landlords. So the consumer reporting agency or landlord may tell you that there was negative information. But, it might not show what happened at the end of the case. Also, consumer reports often contain mistakes and you should have the chance to fix mistakes before you are denied housing because of that information.
You have a chance to show a landlord details they don’t see on the consumer agency report. For example, you might show that the criminal charge was dismissed. If you don’t, the landlord may use the negative information to deny you, even though it does not show that it’s not showing how the case ended up.
If you are a registered sex offender, the information about your status may be posted online or at a local police station.
No. You do not need to tell a housing provider about sealed records at all. However, if a consumer reporting agency includes a sealed record in its report, you can ask the agency in writing to update its information and remove the record because it isn’t correct. You can also ask that any potential denial of housing eligibility be put on hold until the consumer reporting agency has fixed its report.
- A public housing authority or government agency that is in charge of any federal or state-funded public or subsidized housing,
- A private landlord,
- A management company that owns housing or works for an owner, or
- A real estate agent that works for a landlord or management company.
The kind of information they get on the CORI report depends on who asks for it. For example, public housing authorities and subsidized housing complexes get more information on CORIs than private landlords get. See the full list on the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services website.
Yes. A housing authority, landlord, property management company, or real estate agent can only check your CORI if you sign a form that says you know that they are asking for it. They must give you the form to fill out before they request your CORI.
This form is called a CORI Acknowledgement Form. To fill it out:
- You need to write in your full name, date of birth, and the last 6 digits of your social security number, if you have one.
- It also asks you for other personal information like your parents' names. This is to try to make sure that it is your CORI and not someone else’s.
- After you do the CORI Acknowledgement Form, you must show identification to the person requesting your CORI.
- If you can't be there in person to show ID or sign the form, you can send in the completed form signed by a notary public.
- If you need to do this, contact the landlord or housing agency and ask if a faxed or emailed copy is OK or if you need to mail the original document with the notary’s seal. Make sure that you keep a copy for your records.
If you don’t give permission to let a housing authority, landlord, manager, or agent check your CORI, they will probably deny or not process your housing application.
No. It is against the law for anyone to ask you to give them a copy of the CORI report that you got on your own. This is because the CORI that you get on your own can include cases that housing authorities, landlords, property management companies, and real estate agents are not allowed to see and wouldn’t be on a CORI that they get.
A housing authority might ask you to get documents from your criminal case files from the court. This might include police reports and docket sheets. A docket sheet shows what you were charged with and what the outcome of the case was. But it also shows other things, like bail conditions, warrants, conditions of probation, and probation violations. You do not have to give the housing authority these documents. But, the housing authority might deny or not process your housing application if you don’t give them the documents. Try to talk to a lawyer.
A housing authority, landlord, property management company, or real estate agent may have a question on the application form that asks if you have a criminal history or have been convicted of a crime. Answer the question as truthfully as you can. If you think you have had criminal cases, but you do not remember what happened in them, you can say you are not sure. That way, you aren’t giving them more information than they will get when they request your CORI, and you are not leaving something out that they will see. Housing authorities and other housing providers may deny your application if they think you gave them the wrong information on purpose.
If your criminal record has been sealed, you can say you have no record.
If a housing provider gets your CORI and tells you they might deny your application because of what’s on it, they should give you a copy of the CORI or any other criminal record report that they have so you have the chance to fix any mistakes on it. Public housing authorities and subsidized housing providers should also give you a chance to explain what is on the CORI before they decide whether to deny you or not. Each type of housing program has its own process for this.
If you apply for public or subsidized housing, there are state and federal rules:
Federal or state public housing
The housing authority can ask for a CORI on the person applying and all adult household members.
Project-based vouchers
The housing authority can ask for a CORI on the person applying and all adult household members.
Note: Project-based vouchers are vouchers that stay with a property. Depending on the program, a tenant may be able to move with a voucher after a year of living in a project-based subsidized unit.
Mobile vouchers
The public housing authority or agency administering a mobile voucher (“Section 8” or “MRVP”) can ask for a CORI on the person applying for a voucher and all adult household members.
Once you have a voucher, when you go to use it to rent a unit, the market rate housing rules apply.
Note: A mobile voucher stays with the tenant, not the property. If the tenant moves, the voucher goes with the tenant
Market rate housing,
The landlord, property management company or real estate agent can ask for a CORI on the person applying. They ask for “open access CORI” on the other household members.9 [893 C.M.R. 5.04(4) They can also do background checks on all household members through private background check companies or consumer reporting agencies.
Yes. Arrest records or court appearances may show up in public records, such as newspaper articles that a landlord might find on the internet.
Some private background check companies or consumer reporting agencies put together arrest records and court appearances and share it with landlords. So the consumer reporting agency or landlord may tell you that there was negative information. But, it might not show what happened at the end of the case. Also, consumer reports often contain mistakes and you should have the chance to fix mistakes before you are denied housing because of that information.
You have a chance to show a landlord details they don’t see on the consumer agency report. For example, you might show that the criminal charge was dismissed. If you don’t, the landlord may use the negative information to deny you, even though it does not show that it’s not showing how the case ended up.
If you are a registered sex offender, the information about your status may be posted online or at a local police station.
No. You do not need to tell a housing provider about sealed records at all. However, if a consumer reporting agency includes a sealed record in its report, you can ask the agency in writing to update its information and remove the record because it isn’t correct. You can also ask that any potential denial of housing eligibility be put on hold until the consumer reporting agency has fixed its report.
Use the Legal Resource Finder to find free legal help to seal your CORI, including CORI sealing clinics on Zoom.
Download self-help booklets about CORI, including CORI sealing, prepared by Greater Boston Legal Services.
The Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services has information, links to CORI forms, and more.