Pennsylvania, county records

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania Public Records

Find the right office in Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia 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

City records

Philadelphia District Attorney

Philadelphia District Attorney: Criminal prosecutions, hearings, arraignments, trials and sentencing, on the official site of the office that keeps it.

phillyda.org
Open official site Philadelphia District Attorney
Official

Federal

Philadelphia County U.S. Census

United States Census Bureau figures for Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, with population, housing, income and business counts from the latest estimates.

census.gov
Open official site Philadelphia County U.S. Census
Official

Property records

Philadelphia Recorder of Deeds

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

phila.gov
Open official site Philadelphia Recorder of Deeds
Official

City records

Philadelphia City Commissioners

Philadelphia City Commissioners: Contact information for the governing body of Philadelphia, on the official site of the office that keeps it.

philadelphiavotes.com
Open official site Philadelphia City Commissioners

Everything else, organized

More official Philadelphia County record sources

32 more Philadelphia County sources not listed above.

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Local record guide

About public records in Philadelphia County

County profile

Philadelphia County at a glance

State
Pennsylvania
County seat
Philadelphia
Population
1,603,797
Area
142 sq mi
Founded
1682

Philadelphia County offices and records

Sheriff & Law Enforcement. Philadelphia County Sheriff's Office is responsible for a range of law enforcement duties within Philadelphia County.

Law Enforcement & Arrests. Philadelphia County Sheriff's Office, located at 100 South Broad Street, City Hall Room 194, Philadelphia, PA 19110 (phone: 215-686-3560), primarily handles court security, service of legal process, and execution of warrants. The Philadelphia area Police Department, headquartered at 1 Police Plaza (phone: 215-686-3013), is the primary law enforcement agency serving all of Philadelphia County with over 6,000 sworn officers. Inmate lookup is available through Philadelphia Prison System website at www.phila.gov/prisons, where the public can search by name or booking number to find current custody status, charges, and bail information. Arrest records in Philadelphia County are maintained by the Police Department and are accessible under Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law (65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.).

Professional licenses for occupations such as contractors, electricians, plumbers, and other trades are issued by L&I and can be verified online at the city's license verification portal. The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, located at 200 South Broad Street, Suite 700 (phone: 215-545-1234, website: www.chamberphl.com), provides business resources, networking opportunities. Marriage licenses are issued by the Marriage License Bureau, located in City Hall Room 413 (phone: 215-686-2280), with a fee of $90.00 and no waiting period. Philadelphia County operates under a unified judicial system with multiple court divisions. The Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, located at City Hall, Broad and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19107 (phone: 215-686-7000), is the general trial court with jurisdiction over civil, criminal, family, and orphans' court matters. The Office of Property Assessment (OPA), Suite 300 East (phone: 215-686-9200) maintains property tax assessment records and provides a full online property search tool at property.phila.gov.

Abandoned mine records

Old mine workings in Philadelphia County

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

From the old mine records

What is on record in Philadelphia County

Old mine sites
4
Still producing
2
Main minerals
Gypsum-Anhydrite; Molybdenum; Tungsten

Is an old working under a property here?

The mine records hold 6 named mine sites inside the county, 4 of them worked out or abandoned. The minerals the records name are Gypsum-Anhydrite; Molybdenum; Tungsten.

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.

1 mile
Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia County

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

Philadelphia County public-records FAQs

Open only the answer you need.

Where to find mugshots or booking photos in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania?

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

How to get a criminal background check in Philadelphia 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 to look up sex offenders in Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania?

Deeds and other recorded land documents in Philadelphia County are kept by the Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia 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.

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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.