The Massachusetts Public Records Law, found under Chapter 66, Section 10 of the Massachusetts General Laws, applies to all records made or received by a Massachusetts governmental entity. Every record that is made or received by a government entity or employee is presumed to be a public record unless a specific statutory exemption permits
or requires it to be withheld in whole or in part. A list of exemptions may be found under Chapter 4, Section 7(26) of the Massachusetts General Laws. There are non-statutory exemptions as well called common law exemptions. Non-statutory exemptions include, but are not limited to, common law attorney client privilege and work product privilege.

Under the public records law, a municipality is required to designate one or more records access officer (RAO) to respond to requests for public records. Pursuant to the Public Records Law, the City of Chicopee has designated each department head as a RAO. Contact information for each department head is listed on the department specific webpage. All public records requests should be directed to the department head for the department you are seeking records from. Public records requests may be made in-person, via first class mail, fax or electronic mail.

Birth certificates, Death Certificates and Marriage Certificates must be requested from the City Clerk directly.  

The Law Department's record access officers are as follows:

Marshall T. Moriarty, Esq. - mmoriarty@chicopeema.gov
Kevin Q. Corridan, Esq. – kcorridan@chicopeema.gov

17 Springfield Street
Springfield, MA 01013
Phone: 413-594-1520

 A Guide to Public Records -  AG's Office