Pennsylvania, county records

Berks County, Pennsylvania Public Records

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Find the right office in Berks County. Court cases, deeds and parcels, sheriff and jail records, vital records and county filings, each linked to the office that keeps them.

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Most requested Berks County records

Every card below goes to the government office responsible for that record. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.

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Showing 12 official sources

Official

Vital records

Berks County Birth Records Online

Berks County Birth Records Online, the office that issues these certificates, with the application, identification and fee rules it publishes.

berkspa.gov
Open official site Berks County Birth Records Online
Official

State records

Berks County District Attorney

Berks County District Attorney: Review, investigation and prosecution of criminal violations, on the official site of the office that keeps it.

berkspa.gov
Open official site Berks County District Attorney
Official

Federal

Berks County Veterans Affairs

Berks County Veterans Affairs: Veterans health, education, compensation and pension benefits, on the official site of the office that keeps it.

berkspa.gov
Open official site Berks County Veterans Affairs
Official

Property records

Berks Recorder of Deeds

Berks Recorder of Deeds, the office that records deeds, mortgages and land documents, with its index and copy rules as published.

berkspa.gov
Open official site Berks Recorder of Deeds
Official

Vital records

Marriage License Bureau

Marriage License Bureau, the office that issues certificates for Berks County, Pennsylvania, with the application, identification and fee rules it publishes.

berkspa.gov
Open official site Marriage License Bureau
Official

City records

Reading Regional Airport

Reading Regional Airport, run by the Reading Regional Airport Authority in Berks County, lists its flight information, its general aviation services and its contacts.

readingairport.org
Open official site Reading Regional Airport

Everything else, organized

More official Berks County record sources

24 more Berks County sources not listed above.

More county sources

Local record guide

About public records in Berks County

County profile

Berks County at a glance

State
Pennsylvania
County seat
Reading
Population
428,849
Area
866 sq mi
Founded
1752
Cities and towns
42

Berks County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Berks County Sheriff's Office is responsible for law enforcement in the unincorporated areas of Berks County. Notable programs include community outreach initiatives and specialized units such as K-9 and SWAT teams, which enhance the safety and security of Berks County residents.

Police Departments. Law enforcement in Berks County is provided by Berks County Sheriff's Office and several municipal police departments, including the Reading Police Department, Wyomissing Police Department, and Kutztown Police Department.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Berks County Sheriff's Office, headquartered at 633 Court Street, 1st Floor, Reading, PA 19601 (phone: 610-478-6390), serves civil process, provides courtroom security, and operates warrant services throughout Berks County. Berks County Jail & Rehabilitation Center, located at 1287 County Welfare Road, Leesport, PA 19533 (phone: 610-478-6390), houses county inmates and offers an online inmate locator through Berks County website at www.readingpa.gov where the public can search current inmates by name or booking number. Municipal police departments serving Berks County communities include Reading Police Department (the largest municipal force), West Reading Police, Wyomissing Police, Muhlenberg Township Police, Spring Township Police, Exeter Township Police, Bern Township Police, and numerous other municipal and regional departments totaling over 30 distinct law enforcement agencies.

Criminal Records. For an authoritative source, see Berks County - Clerk of Courts .

Arrest Records. They are maintained by the arresting agency, primarily the County Sheriff's Office and municipal police departments.

• Phone: (610) 478-6390 Berks County Assessment Office, 633 Court Street, 5th Floor, Reading, PA 19601 (phone: 610-478-6200), maintains property assessment records, tax maps, and ownership information. Property tax collection is handled by municipal tax collectors at the local level, though county tax information is coordinated through Berks County Treasurer (610-478-6210). Berks County Department of Community Development (610-478-6300) at 633 Court Street assists with economic development and can direct businesses to appropriate licensing authorities. Berks County Recorder of Deeds, located at Berks County Services Center, 633 Court Street, 3rd Floor, Reading, PA 19601 (phone: 610-478-6350), maintains land records including deeds, mortgages, mortgage satisfactions, liens, easements, rights-of-way, condominium declarations, and subdivision plats dating back to Berks County's establishment. Berks County Court of Common Pleas, located at 633 Court Street, Reading, PA 19601 (phone: 610-478-6970), is the trial court of general jurisdiction hearing civil, criminal, family, and orphans' court matters. The Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (www.greaterreadingchamber.org) is the primary business advocacy organization for Berks County. Municipal business licenses and permits vary by locality; the City of Reading requires business privilege taxes and licenses through the Reading City Revenue Bureau (610-655-6252). Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103 (phone: 724-656-3100), which maintains statewide records.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Berks County

Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.

From the old mine records

What is on record in Berks County

Old mine sites
192
Sites with no status in the records
2
Still producing
24
Worked underground, in the mine records
61
Main minerals
Iron; Limestone, General; crushed stone
Holes drawn on the old survey maps
114
Shafts and tunnels
0
What they are
open pit mine or quarry, gravel/borrow pit - undifferentiated, quarry, gravel pit
Maps surveyed
1947 to 1999
Records behind them
349 records for 332 sites, the rest are the same working written down more than once
Sources
USGS mineral file and USGS topographic mine features

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 218 named mine sites inside the county, 192 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 114 holes drawn inside the county, 0 of them shafts or tunnels. The minerals the records name are Iron; Limestone, General; crushed stone.

A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. DEP has an address lookup for mine subsidence risk at gis.dep.pa.gov/msiRisk where you enter a street address: if the site falls in a gray Underground Mining Area it is over or near a known mined area. The PHUMMIS inventory of historic underground mine maps sits at www.ahs.dep.pa.gov/Phummis and is linked from the DEP Act 54 maps page.

Berks County: the boundary from the Census Bureau, and one dot for each old mine or hole on record inside it. The purple dots come off the old survey maps and the darkest of those are shafts and tunnels; the red, green and orange ones are mine records. Hover a dot for its name.
Pennsylvania mine map and abandoned mine records
Named workings recorded in Berks County (201 shown, 14 more named and 113 unnamed on the map)

Rows taken off the old survey maps open the USGS record of what sits at that spot, because no single feature on those maps has a page of its own. Rows from the mine records open their own USGS page.

Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.

Straight answers

Berks County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where can I find mugshots or booking photos in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

Booking photos are kept by the agency that made the arrest, such as the Berks County Sheriff or a city police department in Berks County. Ask that agency for its record.

How do I get a criminal background check in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

The Pennsylvania criminal history record comes from the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History (PATCH). Run a name based PATCH check online at epatch.pa.gov or send a mail in PATCH request. Fee: $22.00 for each PATCH check; online card payments add a 2% fee.

How can I look up sex offenders in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

Search the Pennsylvania State Police Megan's Law Website, or every state at once on the National Sex Offender Public Website run by the U.S. Department of Justice.

How do I register to vote in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

Register with the county voter registration office (county board of elections) or through the Pennsylvania Department of State. You can also register online with the state online registration. You must register at least 15 days before the election.

How do I look up property records in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Berks County are kept by the Berks County recorder of deeds. Property values are set by the county assessment office, and tax bills come from the local elected tax collector; county treasurer in some counties. Source: official state page.

How do I get a birth or death certificate in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

Certified birth and death certificates for Pennsylvania come from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records. The Department of Health runs six Vital Records public offices across the state for in person requests. Online through VitalChek at mycertificates.health.pa.gov, the state's only authorized vendor, by mail to Division of Vital Records, Birth Certificate Processing Unit, PO Box 1528, New Castle, PA 16103, or in person at a Vital Records public office. Fee: $20 for each birth certificate; online orders add a $10 processing fee.

How do I find business license records in Berks County, Pennsylvania?

Business entity filings are searched with the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations. There is no general business license that all Pennsylvania businesses must obtain; licensing depends on the business activity and location, and owners contact their locality about local business licenses.

Same county

Cities, towns and neighboring counties

Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.

ReadingBlandonBirdsboroHamburgBoyertownKutztownFleetwoodMohntonWomelsdorfWernersvilleToptonTempleRobesoniaLeesportNew BerlinvilleShoemakersvilleMorgantownOleyBallyHerefordBechtelsvilleBernvilleMertztownMount AetnaMohrsvilleDouglassvilleShartlesvilleCenterportStrausstownRehrersburgBowersVirginvilleLenhartsvilleKemptonMaxatawnyBartoEarlvilleGeigertownLimekilnLyon StationSchuylkill CountyLancaster CountyLehigh CountyChester CountyMontgomery CountyLebanon County