Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 66 - Public Records
Section 8 - Preservation and Destruction of Records, Books and Papers

Section 8. Every original paper belonging to the files of the commonwealth or of any county, city or town, bearing date earlier than the year eighteen hundred and seventy, every book of registry or record, except books which the supervisor of public records determines may be destroyed, every town warrant, every deed to the commonwealth or to any county, city or town, every report of an agent, officer or committee relative to bridges, public ways, sewers or other state, county or municipal interests not required to be recorded in a book and not so recorded, shall be preserved and safely kept; and every other paper belonging to such files shall be kept for seven years after the latest original entry therein or thereon, unless otherwise provided by law or unless such records are included in disposal schedules approved by the records conservation board for state records or by the supervisor of public records for county, city, or town records; and no such paper shall be destroyed without the written approval of the supervisor of records. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the register of deeds in any county may, without such written approval, destroy any papers pertaining to attachments or to the dissolution or discharge thereof in the files of his office following the expiration of twenty years after the latest original entry therein or thereon, unless otherwise specifically provided by law, and he may destroy all original instruments left for record and not called for within five years after the recording thereof.

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