deedplatState guides / Massachusetts / Suffolk County
Suffolk County property data
Where Suffolk County's property records live, how its tax and foreclosure sales work, and what Deedplat puts on one map, including Boston.
- 4Cities and towns
Where the records are
The county offices an investor deals with in Suffolk County, and what each one puts online.
Deeds and mortgages
Suffolk County Registry of Deeds. Recorded deeds, mortgages and other land records for Suffolk County can be searched on the Registry's masslandrecords.com site, which the City of Boston links to from its Assessing page.
Owners and values
City of Boston Assessing Department. Owners, assessed values and tax bills for Boston parcels are free to search in the Boston Property Lookup tool at properties.boston.gov.
Tax sales
City of Boston Collector-Treasurer and Law Department Tax Title Division. The City explains its tax title and Land Court foreclosure process online; tax balances come from the Collector-Treasurer by phone at 617-635-4131.
Foreclosure sales
City of Boston Treasury. No city or county office posts mortgage foreclosure auctions; these are private sales run by the lender, and the City's Treasury handles city monies and tax collections.
Parcel maps
Analyze Boston (City of Boston open data), Parcels 2025. The Assessing Department's 2025 parcel map is a free download (CSV, shapefile, GeoJSON, KML) and can be joined to the Property Assessment file for owner data.
How property is sold here
Suffolk County follows Massachusetts's rules, with its own calendar and offices. Read the Massachusetts guide for how the state works.
Tax sales
Massachusetts does not hold regular public tax lien or tax deed auctions in Boston. When taxes go unpaid, the Collector-Treasurer takes a tax lien (tax taking) and records it at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, then the City petitions the Land Court to foreclose; if the City wins, it takes ownership of the property. The Mayor's Office of Housing sometimes offers foreclosed city property for sale, often for income-restricted housing.
Foreclosure sales
Mortgage foreclosures in Massachusetts are usually private power-of-sale auctions run by the lender, typically held at the property, with notices published in a local newspaper beforehand. There is no county sheriff sale list for these, so investors watch newspaper legal notices and filings at the Registry of Deeds.
Assessed values
Boston assesses every property each year at full market value as of January 1 before the fiscal year, which starts July 1.
Transfer tax
Massachusetts charges a deeds excise of $2.28 per $500 of the sale price (about $4.56 per $1,000), paid with stamps at the Registry of Deeds when the deed is recorded; Boston has no added city transfer tax.
Land bank
The Boston Mayor's Office of Housing sells city-owned and tax-foreclosed property through its How to Buy City Property program, often for income-restricted housing.
Worth knowing
Massachusetts abolished Suffolk County government, so there is no county assessor or county treasurer: deeds are kept by the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, while values and taxes are handled by each city, the City of Boston's Assessing Department and Collector-Treasurer for Boston.
Worth knowing
Suffolk County is made up of Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop, and each city has its own assessor and tax collector.
Worth knowing
Boston's parcel map has about 98,500 parcels, and its FY2026 tax rates are $12.40 per $1,000 for residential and $26.96 for commercial property.
Every town in Suffolk County
The cities, towns and townships inside the county line.
- Boston city
- Chelsea city
- County subdivisions not defined
- Revere city
- Winthrop Town city
Questions
Where are deeds recorded in Suffolk County?
Deeds are recorded at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds, 24 New Chardon Street, Boston. The Registry serves Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop.
When is the Suffolk County tax sale?
Suffolk County has no regular tax sale. In Boston, the City takes a tax lien on delinquent property and forecloses through the Land Court, and the City then owns the property; the Mayor's Office of Housing sometimes sells such property later.
How do I find who owns a property in Suffolk County?
For Boston, search the City of Boston's free Property Lookup tool from the Assessing Department, then confirm the deed at the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds. Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop each have their own assessor.
Are Suffolk County property records online?
Yes. Registry of Deeds records are searchable online, and Boston's assessments, tax rates and parcel maps are free on Boston.gov and Analyze Boston.
Sources for this guide
Office hours, fees and sale dates change. We checked these sources in October 2026; confirm with the county before you act.
- boston.gov/departments/assessing
- boston.gov/departments/assessing/how-we-tax-your-property
- content.boston.gov/departments/assessing/assessing-calendar
- properties.boston.gov/
- boston.gov/departments/law/what-tax-title-process
- boston.gov/departments/treasury
- boston.gov/departments/archives-and-records-management/resources-boston-records
- masslandrecords.com/suffolk/
- mass.gov/directive/directive-95-4-enforcement-of-the-deeds-excise
- data.boston.gov/dataset/parcels-2025
- gisportal.boston.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Parcels/Parcels25/MapServer/0/query?where=1%3D1&
Every parcel in Suffolk County, on one map
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