Your CORI rights

CORI stands for Criminal Offender Record information. There is CORI on you if you have ever been charged with a crime in a Massachusetts court.

Your CORI report is a list of your criminal charges. It includes all cases even if you were found not guilty or the case was dismissed.

• Your CORI will list any open criminal offenses.
• Your CORI lists any closed criminal cases unless they were sealed or expunged.
• Your CORI will say whether each case was a misdemeanor or a felony.
• Your CORI will list the " disposition " of each case. The disposition tells you how each case ended.

It is important to know what is on your CORI report. You can get a copy of it from the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS). See How do I get a copy? DCJIS is the state agency in charge of CORI reports.

CORI makes it harder to get a job, housing, or even volunteer at your child’s school. Even if your criminal record is very old, it can still create problems.

The CORI report you get from DCJIS does not include:

• Restraining orders to prevent abuse or harassment. But if criminal charges are filed against you for violating a restraining order, those charges will be on your CORI report.
• Child abuse or neglect reports from the Department of Children and Families. Sometimes these reports are called “51A reports.”
• Any offenses from the juvenile courts unless the juvenile offense was transfrerred from the juvenile court to another court.
  

• You have the right to get a copy of your CORI report.
• You have the right to fix mistakes on your CORI report.
• You have the right t eal misdemeanors in 3 years.
• You have the right to seal felonies in 7 years.
• If you apply for housing or jobs, no one can send for a copy of your CORI report without your permission.
• It is against the law for anyone to ask you to give them a copy of a CORI report that you got on yourself.
• You have the right to know who asks for copies of your CORI.
• You have the right to say “I have no record” when your records are sealed when you apply for housing, jobs or an occupational license. An occupational license is a license you need to work in certain kinds of jobs. For example, to be a nurse or an electrician.
  

If the cases are old enough, you have a right to seal most cases by mail. You can seal cases for possession of small amounts of marijuana by mail without a waiting period.

You have the right to ask a judge to seal any case when:

• you were found not guilty,
• your case was dismissed, or
• the CORI reports says “NP” or “nolle prosequi” which means the district attorney dropped the case. The district attorney is the lawyer who tried to prove that you were guilty.

You have a right to ask a judge to seal a conviction for drug possession if it was the first time you were convicted for drug possession.

• When you first apply for a job, the law makes it illegal for most employers to ask any questions about your CORI.
• An employer must give you a copy of the CORI report before asking you about anything in the report.
• If an employer decides not to hire you because of your CORI report or criminal background report, the employer must give you a copy of the report.
• You have a right to say “I have no record” when you apply for jobs after your records are sealed. W

What employers can see on the CORI record will depend on what kind of job you applied for. Most employers only see convictions.

When you apply to rent housing, the landlord or agency that you want to rent from can ask permission to get your CORI report. The landlord or agency must give you a copy of the report before asking you about anything in the report.

If your application is denied because of your CORI, you must be given a copy of the report.

If you are not in jail you can vote.

If you were convicted of a felony and you are not in jail you can vote.

If you went to jail, but you are not in jail now, you can vote.

The only time you cannot vote is while you are in jail if you were convicted of a felony.