Pennsylvania Public Records

How the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law Actually Works

Pennsylvania's public records law is codified at 65 P.S. § 67.101 (Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law). It gives any person — resident or not, citizen or not, journalist or not — the right to inspect and copy public records held by state and local agencies. In most cases, you do not have to explain why you want the record.

Response time: 5 business days; extendable to 30 days for review. The agency's response is not necessarily a deadline to deliver records — it tells you whether the records exist and when they'll be produced.

Fee rules: $0.25/page; no charge for first 100 pages for commonwealth agencies. Agencies cannot inflate charges to discourage requests.

If your request is denied or unreasonably delayed, the law typically provides a mechanism to appeal — either administratively or by filing a petition in state court. Many states award attorney's fees to requesters who prevail on a wrongfully denied request.

What You Cannot Get in Pennsylvania (the honest answer)

Many directory sites promise things Pennsylvania law specifically restricts. Here's what's actually true:

• Rap sheet access: Patch public name-based search $22. Third-party "instant background check" sites that promise a full Pennsylvania criminal history are typically aggregating older court data — not the official state record.
• Sealed and expunged records: records cleared under Pennsylvania's expungement law (18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 et seq.) are removed from public criminal history reports.
• Juvenile records are generally confidential under Pennsylvania law and not available without court order.
• Active investigation records, attorney-client privileged documents, draft notes, and personnel files are exempt under standard exceptions to the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law.
• Booking photos (mugshots) have increasingly restricted commercial use across Pennsylvania and most states — paid "mugshot removal" sites are exposed to civil liability in many jurisdictions.

Expungement and Record Clearing in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's record-clearing law is found at 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 et seq..

Eligibility: non-convictions and summary offenses; misdemeanor sealing under Act 5 of 2016; Clean Slate automatic sealing eff. 2019.

The petition or application is typically filed in the court of conviction. Filing fees, waiting periods, and exclusions vary by offense type — serious violent crimes and most sexual offenses are commonly excluded. Many states are moving toward automatic ("Clean Slate") sealing for qualifying records.

If you believe your Pennsylvania record contains an error or includes an offense that should have been cleared, you have the right to challenge it through the state criminal history repository — typically by submitting a written claim with documentation.

How to Get Your Own Pennsylvania Criminal Record

If you need your own Pennsylvania criminal history — for an employer, a licensing board, an immigration application, or just to know what's there — the state record is maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Central Repository.

Walkthrough:

1. Choose your method: PSP PATCH online $22 (name-based) or fingerprint $20 + Live Scan.
2. Complete the required form (most states use a standard request form available from the Pennsylvania State Police website).
3. Submit your request along with the fee. Fingerprint-based methods provide the most complete and accurate record but take longer.
4. Turnaround: PATCH online: typically 1-3 days; fingerprint: 2-3 weeks.
5. Review the response. If you find errors, the law at 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101 provides procedures for correcting or challenging inaccurate criminal history information.

Fingerprint-based criminal history checks are considered the official record. Name-based checks are faster and cheaper but can miss records or include records belonging to people with similar names — verify identity carefully.

Notable Pennsylvania Record Laws You Should Know

• Clean Slate Law (Act 56 of 2018): Pennsylvania was the first U.S. state with automatic record sealing, eff. June 2019.
• 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101: the statute governing the maintenance, dissemination, and inspection of state criminal history records in Pennsylvania.
• Federal interaction: the FBI maintains a separate national criminal history database (the Identification, Information & Investigation Services / NGI). Some Pennsylvania background checks include a fingerprint forward to the FBI for $13–$32 additional fee, depending on purpose.