Appealing a Denial of Access to Public Records in Massachusetts

You have the right to appeal to the Supervisor of Records if you are denied access to public records.  To start an appeal, you will need to send the Supervisor of Records copies of the following:

  1. The written request you made to the records custodian. Your request must be over ten (10) days and under ninety (90) days old;
  2. The written response, if any, that you received from the records custodian; and

  3. A brief letter from you to the Supervisor of Records detailing the reason for the appeal.

The address of the Supervisor of Records is:

Supervisor of Records
Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth
McCormack Building, Room 1719
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

For more information, please see 950 CMR 32.08 (2) under A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law (PDF) on this web site, or call 617-727-2832.