Patti, it depends on the type of road association you are. Some road associations have incorporated and their documents can be found within the State's Corporation pages. Some road associations were created like when a subdivision was built and all the properties have a document affiliated with their deeds which are recorded in the Registry of Deeds. But Statutory Road Associations which were created solely under Title 23 may not have any sort of recorded documentation. Some road associations are a combination of any of these.
Statutory Road Associations exist by law but there's no way to determine that do. This is why it's unknown how many road associations in the State there are. The only way to prove their existence would be to contact members or officers of that road association. The officers should be keeping and saving records, notice of meetings, minutes, voting records, bylaws (if any were adopted), etc. These records do not have to be recorded in any public location, however the officer should provide them if they are requested of a potential buyer/seller/agent or any member. If no records can be provided I suppose anyone could question the validity of the association in court? Often time banks/lenders like to see a more organized association with at least bylaws before they write mortgages, but not always. If a member of the association at any point had not paid their fees and the association filed a notice of claim in the registry of deeds for it, then that notice of claim is essentially the only public record available relating to the association.
The lack of public documentation for Statutory Road Associations is something that was discussed during the workings of LD 1311 at the State House this spring. Right now, title attorneys and real estate agents rely on trusting the word of the owner to know if a property is bound by a Statutory Road Association. The discussion to try to resolve this issue by, for example requiring road associations to document themselves in the Registry of Deeds, went no where due to many complications that brings. There are many reasons why it would be helpful for Statutory to be documented somewhere, but right now it simply does not exist.
I would recommend to all road associations that as soon as they notice a for sale sign on members' properties to be pro active and contact the realtor. Give the realtor the officers' contact info and any information/documentation about the association, fees, debts, etc. For the most part, realtors are happy to have any documents directly from the association.