How to Find Pennsylvania Court Records (2026)

In person. Go to the office that keeps the file: the Prothonotary for civil cases, the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases, or the Register of Wills for probate and estate matters. Most courthouses have a public terminal for the index search at no charge. Bring the case number if you have it; if not, the party names and an approximate filing year. Copies are paid at the counter.

By mail. Write to the office that holds the file with:

• the case number, or the full names of the parties and the year filed;
• which documents you need (for example, "the criminal docket and complaint" or "the final divorce decree");
• whether you need plain or certified copies; and
• a check or money order for the fee, or a request for a fee quote, plus a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Several counties (Bucks, Denton-style requests are common statewide) accept requests by fax or email in addition to mail; check the specific office's page for the accepted methods. Call first to confirm the current per-page fee, since fees are set locally and vary by county.

Online. The UJS Web Portal is free and does not require registration to view docket sheets. Some counties also run their own e-filing/document portal (for example, Montgomery County's Prothonotary e-filing site or Allegheny County's Department of Court Records) where registered users can view or download filed documents. Certified copies almost always require a request to the clerk directly.

Records older than the online index. Coverage on the UJS Portal generally goes back to the late 1990s or early 2000s depending on the county and case type. Older files are on paper or microfilm at the courthouse or in county archives, and the office may charge a search fee to locate them.

Pennsylvania court records are presumed open under the Unified Judicial System's public access policy, but the policy itself carves out categories that are not published even though a file exists:

• Clean Slate sealing. Under Act 56 of 2018 ("Clean Slate," codified with related amendments in Title 18), many non-conviction records, and certain misdemeanor convictions after a waiting period with no further serious offenses, are automatically sealed from public view, including from the UJS Portal and from PATCH background checks. Clean Slate does not destroy the record — courts, law enforcement, and some licensing bodies can still see it — and it is separate from expungement.
• Expungement. Under 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91 (Subchapter A, including Section 9122), certain arrests, summary offenses, and cases resolved without conviction can be expunged by court order, which directs the record to be destroyed or removed from the criminal history repository.
• Juvenile records. Juvenile delinquency records are confidential under the Juvenile Act (42 Pa.C.S. Chapter 63) and are not published on the public portal.
• Protection-from-abuse (PFA) cases. Most PFA dockets are excluded from public online display to protect petitioners, even though the case is a matter of court record.
• Adoption and some Orphans' Court matters. Adoption files are sealed by statute; other Orphans' Court records are generally public.

The UJS Public Access Policy explains the difference between a record being "public" (available for inspection or copying at the courthouse) and "published" (posted to the internet); a case can be the former without being the latter. Access to case records generally is governed by this court policy, not by Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law, which applies to executive-branch agencies rather than the judiciary.