Municipal Lien Certificates (MLC)

Helpful Information

The collector of taxes for any city, or for any town having more than five thousand inhabitants, as determined by the last preceding national or state census, shall, on written application by any person, and within ten days thereafter, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays furnish to such applicant a certificate of all taxes and other assessments, including water rates and other charges due (MGL Chapter 60 Section 23).


Requests

To request a Municipal Lien Certificate from the City of Lowell, please do the following:


  1. Download the Municipal Lien Certificate Form (PDF); complete it, making sure to print legibly.
  2. Send the Municipal Lien Certificate Form to:
    Office of the City Treasurer
    375 Merrimack Street, Rm 30
    Lowell, MA 01852
  3. Make sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope. You will not receive your MLC without providing this!
  4. Make sure to include a check or money order, payable to the City of Lowell, according to the following fee schedule. You will not receive your MLC without providing this!
  5. Submitting a request with the incorrect fee to be paid will result in the request being sent back.  If unsure of the proper fee for a property please contact our office at 978-674-4222.
  6. Requests should not include "Also Known As" addresses.  Only the legal address of the property and the account number provided on the Assessor's property card should be in the request which can be found here:  Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Residential Processing Fee Schedule

Municipal liens are subject to the processing fee schedule.
Type of Residence
 Fee
Condo $25.00
Single Family
 $25.00
​Two Family $25.00
Three Family $25.00
​Vacant Land $25.00
​Four or More Units $100.00
​Rooming & Boarding Houses $100.00
Residences, Halls & Dorms $100.00
Rectories, Convents & Monasteries $100.00

Tax Exempt, Commercial, Industrial & Mixed Use Property Fees

Municipal liens are subject to the processing fee schedule.
Property Type
 Fee
All Commercial, Industrial & Mixed Use
 $150.00
Tax Exempt
 $25.00

General Processing Information


  • The City of Lowell does not, under any circumstances, place rush orders on MLC requests. They are processed strictly in the order that they are received.
  • If your closing is postponed, the MLC includes per diem data for all outstanding amounts.
  • MLCs are calculated two weeks out from the day they are printed. The Treasurer / Collector's office posts receipts daily so balances may change if payment is received or rejected for that account. You may always find out any balance for current fiscal year outstanding taxes by viewing the bill at the City of Lowell's online payment site provided by Invoice Cloud.
  • MLCs can be picked up directly at the Treasurer / Collector's Office - Room 30, if requested ahead of time, rather than delivery during normal office hours.
  • Multi-unit condominiums require separate MLC request forms for each unique parcel id requested, and all of which are subject to separate $25 processing fees.
  • The average turnaround time for a MLC is five business days from the date the Treasurer / Collector's office receives the request. However, periods of heavy volume could delay processing for up to, but not exceeding, ten business days per M.G.L. Ch 60 S 23.

Additional Information

Municipal lien certificates only show total balances. For a breakdown of the current fiscal year quarters available at time of request, an additional $2 per property is required for a payment history that will show this information. You may also view the individual quarterly bills that have been released online.