Instructions for using the Land Court public access site

Publicly available Land Court case information can be located via the internet or at a Trial Court, Registries of Deeds or Probate public access computer.

The internet eAccess website address is: www.masscourts.org.

I. Using the Land Court Reports link

Listed below a yellow banner on the left-hand side of the screen entitled Links, is a link to the Land Court Reports. Click on this link to access three prepared lists of the most recently filed cases. These reports include the address of the property involved. The three case types with a listing are: 

• Servicemember cases
• Tax Lien cases
• Miscellaneous cases

II. Searching for cases

1. On the home page, click the "Click Here" button and the Search Page appears.
2. In the Court Department selection box, select Land Court. The Court Division and Location selection boxes fill in automatically.
3. If desired, change the number of results that will display on each page. (25, 50 or 75)
4. The search tabs are now active. Each one represents a different way to search for a case.

• Name Search = search using name of party
• Case Type Search = search using type of case, dates of filing, and city/town
• Case Number Search = search using the case/docket number Ticket/Citation # search does not apply to Land Court cases.

Name Search

Tip: Use this method to search for cases by party name. 

1. Click the Name Search tab.
2. Complete the following fields.
   1. Last Name: Enter the last name, formatting it with an initial capital letter followed by lower case letters.
   2. First Name: Enter the first name, formatting it with an initial capital letter followed by lower case letters.
   3. Company Name: If a company is a party, enter the company in the Company Name field.
   4. (Optional) Case Type: To narrow the search by case type, select the case type from the Case Type selection box.
   5. (Optional) Case Status: To narrow the search by case status, such as open or closed, select the case status from the Case Status selection box.
   6. (Optional) Party Type: To narrow the search by type of party, such as Plaintiff or Defendant, select that party type.
   7. Date of Birth and Date of Death Search Ranges do not apply to Land Court cases.
   8. h. (Optional) File Date Search Range: Click the calendar icons to select dates.
3. Click Search, and skip to the section of this quick reference card titled “Accessing the Public Case Information.”

Case Type Search

Tip: Use this method to search for cases filed between certain dates. The date range cannot exceed 12 months. 

1. Click the Case Type Search tab.
2. Complete the following fields.
   1. Begin Date field: Click the calendar icon to select the desired starting date, or type the date, ex: 01/01/2011.
   2. End Date field: Click the calendar icon to select the desired ending date, or type the date.
   3. Case Type: In the Case Type selection box, select the desired case type.
   4. City/Town: For Land Court, select the desired city/town to narrow the search or leave it as an All Cities search.
3. Click Search, and skip to the section of this quick reference card titled “Accessing the Public Case Information.”

Note that the Land Court is located at 3 Pemberton Square in Boston on the fourth, fifth and eleventh floors. Daily courtroom assignments are posted in the lobby of each floor. The Recorder’s Office public counter is located on the fifth floor with public office hours of 8:30 – 4:30, Monday through Friday, and a main phone line of [phone].

For questions on how to use this site (not instant) please select “Email a Question” in the Links section on the left-hand side of the eAccess site.

Case Number Search

Tip: If you know the case number (also known as the docket number), using the Case Number tab to search by case number is the easiest way to find your case.

1. Click the Case Number Search tab.
2. Complete the Case Number field. The number must be entered in exactly the correct format, with correct capitalization, spacing, and hyphens. For example:

• Miscellaneous 07 MISC 123456
• Permit 08 PS 123456
• Registration 09 REG 123456
• Servicemembers (thru 2014) 10 MISC 123456
• Servicemembers (as of 2015) 15 SM 000123
• Severed 11 REG 123456
• Subsequent 11 SBQ 00021 11 – 001
• Tax Lien 07 TL 123456
• *Other Court varying formats – It is best to search for these via case name.

3. Click Search, and skip to the section of this quick reference card titled “Accessing the Public Case Information.”

* “Other Court” includes cases originated and remaining in other court departments (such as Superior Court) to which a Land Court judge has been assigned.

Accessing the Public Case Information

The search results appear in a list similar to the screen shot pictured.

Each result listed represents a party in a case. Therefore, case numbers may appear multiple times in the search results. 

At the top left of the results screen, you will find a message such as, “Displaying all 27 matches” or “Displaying 200 of 306 total matches.” The system displays a maximum of 200 results for each search, even when more than 200 matches are found. If the total number of matches exceeds 200 and the case you are seeking does not appear, try narrowing the search criteria to a range that returns 200 or fewer results. 

To find a case in the list of results, take the following steps.

1. In the lower left, find the total results retrieved and the number of items displayed per page.

2. In the lower right, find a navigation bar. Navigate through the pages by clicking on the arrows or the page numbers.

3. Click the column headers to sort the search results.

Note: The red up/down arrows next to the column headers indicate ascending/ descending order.

Take the following steps to view more information about a particular case. 

1. Click the desired case hyperlink, which is a blue, underlined case number.
2. The case selected opens and displays all the public information about the case. Each section has a corresponding tab and clicking on each tab displays specific case information.

3. Click on the word Print at the top right corner of each screen to print a page.
4. To find other cases, click on the blue menu items at the top of the page. Choose:
   1. Back to Search Results to return to the list of retrieved cases,
   2. Revise Current Search to modify the search criteria or to select a different search method,
   3. New Search to search for cases in a different court,
   4. Home to return to the welcome page.