Dear Friends of the Registry, Registry Stakeholders, and Norfolk County Residents, I wanted to take a moment and share with you some history and information about the Community Preservation Act that I think you might find interesting.

The Community Preservation Act (CPA) is the result of more than two decades of work to create legislation that would provide all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns with a tool to preserve their most unique natural, community, and physical infrastructures in the face of rapid expansion and development.

The CPA allows cities and towns to establish a Community Preservation Fund to preserve open space, historic preservation, affordable housing, and outdoor recreation. The CPA Act also creates a statewide Community Preservation Trust Fund, which is managed by the Department of Revenue (DOR) and makes annual contributions to municipalities that have signed on to the CPA.

The Community Preservation Act was signed into law on September 14, 2000. Today, there are 194 Massachusetts communities that have adopted this act. Of the 28 communities that make up Norfolk County, 19 communities have adopted the law. As of December 31, 2019, fees collected for the Community Preservation Act were increased to $50.00 for most land documents recorded and $25.00 for municipal lien certificates. The Registry of Deeds, at no additional cost to the Commonwealth or local communities, collects these revenues once a land document is recorded and forwards the monies to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue on a monthly basis. The funds forwarded to the Commonwealth are then redistributed back to the communities that have adopted the Community Preservation Act. 

The fees for the CPA are set by the State Legislature on land documents recorded here at the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds. The following chart provides an illustration of the funds generated by the CPA in your community based on recorded real estate filings for that community during the 2022 calendar year. Click here to view funds generated by the CPA by each Norfolk County community in 2022. CPA SURCHARGES BY TOWN 2022

The Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, which is located at 649 High Street, Dedham, is the principal office for real property in Norfolk County. The Registry is a resource for homeowners, title examiners, mortgage lenders, genealogists, municipalities, and others with a need for secure, accurate, and accessible land record information. For assistance, please contact our Customer Service Center at (781) 461-6101, or visit our website at www.norfolkdeeds.org.