Caution: CORI Not in Third-Party Criminal Reports

If you pay for a third-party criminal check, buyer beware! Since 2013, Massachusetts law has prohibited the release of Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) except through the iCORI platform for authorized users (we think).

This means that if you've paid for a third-party criminal report, you probably missed the fine print that said, "46 states only". These third-party reports are especially misleading because you might still see data from pre-2013. It might look like it's working but it's excluding Massachusetts data!

In fact, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Delaware, and South Dakota all restrict release of criminal records.

Here are the types of landlords who needn't worry too much:

• Landlords renting to people who have never been to MA, WY, DE, or SD before.
• Landlords who can convince prospective tenants to voluntarily disclose their complete criminal past.
• Landlords whose business strategy is either not to ask or to provide a home to known convicted criminals (hey, they gotta live somewhere!).

Otherwise, everyone else should be going to iCORI. Alternatively, ask your third-party provider to state in writing, with an indemnification against inaccurate information, that they are including the most recent Massachusetts CORI data (post 2013) in their report to you.

If you find a provider who will indemnify the user and beat the iCORI price of $25, let us know! We'll make them our recommended criminal provider.

Otherwise, we think you need to visit iCORI.