Massachusetts CORI: A 2026 Employer Compliance Guide

Massachusetts is one of the only states where the rules for getting criminal-history information and the rules for using criminal-history information are different statutes, enforced by different agencies. Most employers comply with one and quietly violate the other.

CORI: how you obtain the data

• All criminal-history information must be requested through the iCORI system operated by the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services.
• Written consent on the official iCORI Acknowledgment Form is required — generic FCRA authorization is not sufficient.
• A written CORI policy is required for any employer that runs five or more CORI requests per year, and the policy must be provided to the candidate on request.

Chapter 151B: what you may consider

• No inquiry into arrest records that did not result in conviction.
• No inquiry into first convictions for drunkenness, simple assault, speeding, minor traffic violations, or disturbing the peace.
• No inquiry into misdemeanor convictions where the date of conviction or completion of incarceration is more than 3 years old.
• Pre-employment application may not ask about criminal history at all.

The SafestHires Massachusetts package

1. iCORI Acknowledgment Form is e-signed in the candidate workflow — never the generic FCRA disclosure alone.
2. Returned CORI data is auto-filtered for the Chapter 151B exclusions before the hiring manager sees it.
3. Written CORI policy template is provided for client adoption, and the system tracks distribution to candidates.
4. Audit trail records both the iCORI request and the 151B-filtered version of the report.

Penalty exposure

CORI violations are enforced by DCJIS and can result in suspension of iCORI access. 151B violations are enforced by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination with up to $50,000 per intentional violation, plus attorney's fees. Both can be triggered by the same hire.