Plymouth County criminal records live in two distinct systems: the Massachusetts Trial Court’s docket portal and the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office. Court-side records — charges, dispositions, case numbers — are searchable through MassCourts docket search. Felony matters go through the Plymouth County Superior Court; misdemeanors and lower-level criminal matters go through the Plymouth District Court. Reach the Brockton Trial Court at (508) 747-1620. Sealed or expunged records will not appear in standard searches — see the expungement section below for relief options.
If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Plymouth County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.
If your person has a history in other states
Plymouth County’s court portals only index Massachusetts cases, so records from other states — or cases that pre-date the portal’s online window — won’t appear in any local search. A nationwide criminal database search may help surface those gaps across multiple jurisdictions. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account.
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How to look up arrest records in Plymouth County
What happens when a record has been sealed or expunged? It disappears from every public-facing search — MassCourts, the Clerk’s counter, all of them. If a standard search returns nothing, that’s one possible reason; the expungement section below explains the mechanics. For records that are publicly accessible, Plymouth County offers four concrete pathways.
MassCourts docket search. The statewide MassCourts docket search covers Trial Court cases across all departments. Enter a name or case number to pull up docket entries, scheduled hearings, and disposition data. Felony cases originating in Plymouth County are docketed at the Plymouth County Superior Court; misdemeanor and lower-level criminal matters are docketed at the Plymouth District Court. The portal is free to search. Note that docket entries reflect what the court has recorded — they are not the same as a booking record held by the Sheriff.
Clerk’s Office records request. For certified copies of court documents — complaints, docket sheets, disposition records — contact the Clerk’s Office directly. The Brockton Trial Court handles Plymouth District Court matters; call (508) 747-1620 to confirm current hours, fees, and whether your request can be submitted by mail or must be made in person. Fees for certified copies vary by document type; ask the Clerk when you call. Confirm hours and fees before visiting.
Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office records request. Booking records — the Sheriff-side entry created at intake — are held separately from court dockets. The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office can be reached at (508) 949-3800. Ask specifically for a records request related to a booking or incarceration at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. The Sheriff’s Office also maintains information on the Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association Plymouth County page.
Massachusetts DOC inmate lookup. If the person served time in a state prison rather than the county house of correction, the Massachusetts Department of Correction maintains a separate inmate lookup tool. Plymouth County is also home to the Plymouth County Correctional Facility, which operates under an intergovernmental service agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a dual-function facility that houses both county detainees and federal immigration detainees.
Municipal police department records. Arrest reports generated by individual Plymouth County departments — Wareham, Rockland, Hanover, and others — stay with those agencies until forwarded to the court. The Hanover Police Department publishes a records request form for incident reports. Other departments handle requests similarly; call the relevant department directly. Confirm numbers and hours before visiting or calling.
Are Plymouth County arrest records public?
Even when a record is technically public, an expunged record is gone entirely — the court destroys it, and no public search will find it. That’s the sharpest exception to the default-public rule. For everything else, Massachusetts law sets the baseline.
Court filings are public records under M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 (with c. 4, § 7, cl. 26) — the Massachusetts Public Records Law. A criminal docket filed at Plymouth County Superior Court or Plymouth District Court is presumptively accessible to any member of the public. You don’t need to show a reason or demonstrate a legal interest to request it.
The exceptions are real and worth knowing. Sealed records are hidden from public view under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100A-100C — the court still holds the file, but it won’t appear in a standard docket search and the Clerk will not confirm its existence to a member of the public. Law enforcement retains access to sealed records; the public does not. Juvenile records carry a separate, stronger protection: cases adjudicated in the Juvenile Court are not public records and are not accessible through MassCourts or a Clerk’s counter request.
Victim-protection redactions apply in certain categories of cases. Identifying information for victims in sexual assault, domestic violence, and related matters may be withheld from public copies of court documents even when the underlying docket is otherwise public. The Clerk’s Office applies these redactions before releasing copies.
Massachusetts is notably privacy-protective compared to most states. The CORI law (M.G.L. c. 6, §§ 167-178B) restricts who can access a person’s full criminal history — employers, landlords, and most private parties face significant limits on what they can request and how they can use it. What you can pull from MassCourts is the public docket; a full CORI report requires going through the state’s iCORI system with appropriate authorization.
Booking photos (mugshots) are not routinely published by Plymouth County. For the current policy on booking photo releases, call the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office at (508) 949-3800 — the policy isn’t posted online.
What’s in a Plymouth County arrest record?
What does the record actually show when you pull it up? The answer depends on which system you’re looking at — and the two systems don’t mirror each other.
Court-side docket entries are what you see in MassCourts or at the Clerk’s counter at the Plymouth County Courthouse. A docket entry typically includes: the case number (formatted by court department and year), the defendant’s name and date of birth, the charging instrument (complaint or indictment), each charge with the applicable statute, all scheduled and completed hearing dates, the attorney of record (if one has appeared), and the disposition — guilty, not guilty, dismissed, continued without a finding, nolle prosequi, or other outcome. If the case is still open, you’ll see the next scheduled event. If it’s closed, you’ll see the final disposition and any sentence imposed.
Docket entries at the Plymouth County Superior Court cover felony matters. The Plymouth District Court docket covers misdemeanors, lower-level felonies, and arraignments. A single arrest can generate entries in both courts if the case is indicted up from District to Superior Court.
Sheriff-side booking entries are a separate record created at intake at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility. A booking entry typically includes: the booking date and time, the arresting agency, the charges as listed at booking (which may differ from the charges ultimately filed in court), bail information, and housing assignment. Booking entries are not automatically visible in MassCourts — they live in the Sheriff’s records system. To obtain a booking record, contact the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office directly at (508) 949-3800.
A practical consequence: a person can have a booking entry with no corresponding court docket entry if charges were never filed. Conversely, a court docket can show a case that originated with an arrest in a different county if venue was transferred. Always check both systems when completeness matters.
Federal cases — matters prosecuted in U.S. District Court rather than the Massachusetts Trial Court — won’t appear in MassCourts at all. Federal dockets for Plymouth County defendants are accessible through the PACER Case Locator at the U.S. Courts.
How to expunge an arrest record in Plymouth County
Non-conviction dispositions — dismissals, not-guilty findings, nolle prosequi entries, no-probable-cause findings — are the most straightforward cases for relief. Massachusetts law under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100E-100U allows expungement of these records without a waiting period in many circumstances, and sealing under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100A-100C carries no waiting period for non-convictions either. If your Plymouth County case ended in a dismissal or acquittal, you can petition to seal it now — you don’t have to wait.
Post-conviction sealing works differently. A conviction can be sealed after a waiting period measured from the completion of the sentence (the disposition date plus the end of any incarceration or custody). The waiting period is 3 years for a misdemeanor conviction and 7 years for a felony conviction, with a 15-year wait for sex offenses. There is no fee to petition for sealing in Massachusetts.
Expungement — which permanently destroys the record rather than merely hiding it — is narrower. Under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100E-100U, expungement requires that the offense occurred before the petitioner’s 21st birthday, the same 3-year/7-year waiting periods apply, and the petitioner may have no more than two records total. Several serious offense categories are excluded from expungement entirely: offenses causing death or serious bodily injury, sex offenses, firearms violations, OUI, restraining-order violations, and domestic assault. If your case falls into one of those categories, sealing (not expungement) is the available path.
Where to file. Petition to the court where the matter was adjudicated — for most Plymouth County criminal cases, that means Plymouth District Court or Plymouth County Superior Court. The Commissioner of Probation effects the order once the court grants it. The Clerk’s Office at the relevant court can provide the petition form; the Massachusetts Trial Court also publishes sealing and expungement forms on Mass.gov.
Self-petition vs. attorney-assisted. Many people successfully petition to seal non-conviction records without an attorney, particularly for straightforward dismissals. Post-conviction sealing and expungement petitions involve more procedural complexity — a hearing may be required, and the DA’s office has an opportunity to object. If your case involved a conviction, or if you have multiple records, consulting an attorney is worth considering. The Massachusetts lawyer referral service is at mass.gov/info-details/finding-a-lawyer. If you cannot afford an attorney, the Committee for Public Counsel Services can be reached through the state public defender locator.
What remains accessible after sealing. A sealed record is hidden from public searches — MassCourts will not show it, and the Clerk will not confirm it to a member of the public. Law enforcement agencies retain access. The record still exists in the court’s files; it is simply not publicly visible. An expunged record is destroyed and cannot be accessed by anyone, including law enforcement, once the order is executed.
| Resource | What it confirms | What it cannot confirm | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| MassCourts docket search | Case numbers, charges, dispositions, hearing dates for Trial Court cases | Sealed/expunged records; booking entries; federal cases; pre-portal records | Search by name or case number; free, no account needed |
| Plymouth County Superior Court Clerk | Certified copies of felony docket sheets, complaints, indictments | Sealed records; misdemeanor cases (those are at District Court) | Call (508) 747-1620 to confirm hours and fees |
| Plymouth District Court Clerk | Certified copies of misdemeanor docket sheets and lower-level criminal records | Sealed records; felony Superior Court cases | Call (508) 747-1620 to confirm hours and fees |
| Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office | Booking entries, intake records, incarceration history at Plymouth County Correctional Facility | Court dispositions; records from other facilities | Call (508) 949-3800 to submit a records request |
| Massachusetts DOC inmate lookup | Current and past state prison incarceration | County jail bookings; court dockets; federal detentions | Search by name on Mass.gov DOC inmate lookup |
| Nationwide database search (affiliate) | May surface records from other states, federal cases, or records pre-dating the MassCourts online window | Completeness not guaranteed; not a substitute for official certified records | Use the search form above; preliminary scan is free |
Related Plymouth County resources
- Plymouth County warrant search — for readers who want to check for an active warrant.
- Plymouth County inmate search — for readers locating someone in custody.
Nearby counties
Sources used for this page, verified 2026-07-06:
- MassCourts docket search — statewide Trial Court docket and case information portal.
- Plymouth County Superior Court — felony court contact information and Clerk’s Office details.
- Plymouth District Court — misdemeanor and lower-level criminal court contact information.
- Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office (via Massachusetts Sheriffs’ Association) — booking records and correctional facility information.
- Massachusetts Department of Correction inmate lookup — state prison incarceration records.
- Hanover Police Department records request — example of municipal-level arrest report request process in Plymouth County.
- Massachusetts lawyer referral service — for attorney-assisted sealing and expungement petitions.
- Committee for Public Counsel Services — public defender access for those who cannot afford an attorney.
- M.G.L. c. 66, § 10 (with c. 4, § 7, cl. 26) — Massachusetts Public Records Law governing default-public status of court filings.
- M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100A-100C and §§ 100E-100U — Massachusetts sealing and expungement statutes, including waiting periods and eligibility criteria.
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Frequently asked questions about Plymouth County arrest records
How do I find out what’s on my own Plymouth County arrest record?
Search your name in the MassCourts docket search to see what the court system shows publicly. For a complete picture — including cases that may have been sealed or records held by the Sheriff rather than the court — you can request your own CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) through the state’s iCORI system, which gives you access to your own full record. For booking records specifically, contact the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office at (508) 949-3800. The MassCourts search is free and requires no account; CORI self-requests are also available at no charge through Mass.gov.
Can a Plymouth County arrest record be sealed or expunged, and what’s the difference?
Sealing hides a record from public view but does not destroy it — law enforcement can still see it. Expungement permanently destroys the record. Under M.G.L. c. 276, §§ 100E-100U, non-conviction dispositions (dismissals, not-guilty findings) can often be sealed immediately with no waiting period. Conviction sealing requires 3 years for a misdemeanor or 7 years for a felony, measured from the end of the sentence. Expungement is available only for offenses that occurred before age 21, subject to the same waiting periods, and excludes serious offense categories including sex offenses, firearms violations, OUI, and domestic assault. File your petition at the Plymouth County court where the case was adjudicated; there is no filing fee for sealing. The Massachusetts lawyer referral service at mass.gov/info-details/finding-a-lawyer can connect you with an attorney if you want professional help with the petition.
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