Hampshire County
Hampshire County is named after the County of Hampshire in England. It is the only county in Massachusetts surrounded by several counties unlike other counties which are surrounded by neighbouring states. Hampshire County was founded in 1662 and its county seat is in Northampton. It has a population of 162,308 people according to the 2020 census.
The justice system of Hampshire County comprises Superior Court, District Courts, Probate and Family Court, Juvenile Courts, and Western Housing Courts.
The Eastern Hampshire District Court has jurisdiction over several cities within Hampshire County such as Amherst, Belchertown, Granby, Hadley, Pelham, South Hadley, Ware, M.D.C. Quabbin Reservoir, and the Watershed Area. It handles criminal, housing, juvenile, mental health, and civil matters. Criminal and civil cases in cities such as Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Goshen, and Hatfield are handled in the Northampton District Court. This court has a probate department and a separate court clerk for both civil and criminal divisions. It adjudicates matters such as felonies, child custody disputes, and divorces.
The Hampshire Probate and Family Court handles child paternity, divorce, annulment, alimony, estate administration, wills, name changes, guardianship, and trusts cases. On the other hand, the Superior Court provides jury trials for civil and criminal cases and serves all cities and towns in Hampshire County.
The Western Housing Courts are located in Springfield and Hadley. The Hadley Western Housing Court handles such cases as small claims and jury trials are held in the Springfield courthouse. The Springfield Western Housing Court conducts jury trials and filings from the Hadley Western Housing Court are sent here. Hadley and Belchertown Juvenile Courts serve different cities. Belchertown Juvenile Court serves Granby, Ware, and Belchertown cities. Hadley handles name changes for minors and accepts requests from parents, guardians, and school officials to provide court supervision for a child. Hadley Juvenile Court serves Amherst, Chesterfield, Cummington, Easthampton, Middlefield, Northampton, and many other cities.
The Hampshire County Superior Court Clerk/Clerk of Courts is in charge of filing and maintaining court records. It is the judicial responsibility of the Superior Court Clerk to allow the public access to these types of court records:
- Civil records
- Criminal records
- Family law records
- Probate records
- Small claims records
- Guardianship records
You may contact the Superior Court Clerk at:
15 Gothic Street
P.O. Box 1119
Northampton, MA 01061
(413) 584-5810
You can view Hampshire County’s District, Western Housing, Superior, and Probate and Family court records on the MassCourt website. You may also view case information, dockets, and court calendars on the websites of individual courts in Hampshire County.
