Choose the right Pennsylvania record search before paying for a check
Pennsylvania separates criminal-history checks from court dockets, arrests, county jail records, state correctional records and federal background checks. If you need an official Pennsylvania criminal-history check, the Pennsylvania State Police PATCH system is usually the correct starting point. If you simply want to research charges, hearings or case dispositions, use the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System’s free public case search instead.
PATCH, court dockets and police records answer different questions
Pennsylvania’s court system explicitly warns users not to substitute a public court docket search for a criminal-history background check. The two systems overlap, but they are not interchangeable.
PATCH
Searches criminal-history information maintained in the PSP Central Repository. This is the official Pennsylvania criminal-history background-check route.
Public court dockets
Useful for researching criminal filings, offenses, hearings, docket events, dispositions and appellate cases.
Local law-enforcement records
Arrest reports, police records and other law-enforcement material may be held by the agency that created the record and can have separate access rules.
County jail custody
People held in a county jail are not included in the PA DOC inmate and parolee locator simply because they are incarcerated in Pennsylvania.
State incarceration / parole
Search state-sentenced inmates and department-supervised parolees using the official PA DOC locator.
FBI / federal courts
PATCH searches Pennsylvania criminal-history information, not nationwide FBI records or federal court cases.
When to use Pennsylvania State Police PATCH
Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History (PATCH) is operated by the Pennsylvania State Police. It compares the identifying information supplied by the requester against information maintained in the PSP Central Repository.
PATCH can be used to request a criminal-history check on yourself, a prospective employee, or another person when the request is lawful. Attorneys can also request checks for clients.
How to request a Pennsylvania criminal-history check online
Open the official PATCH website
For a normal paid search, select Submit a New Record Check. Unpaid volunteers use the separate volunteer option.
Enter requester information
PATCH asks for information about the person or organization submitting the request. Non-registered individual users enter this information for each session.
Enter the subject’s identifying information carefully
Use the person’s correct legal name, date of birth and other requested identifiers. Include maiden names or aliases when applicable.
Pay the required fee
Standard individual requests currently cost $22. Online credit-card requests are also subject to the current PATCH credit-card transaction charge described below.
Save the control number
The control number is important if the check goes into manual review. You will need it to return to the Record Check Status screen.
Print the completed certificate
Current PATCH guidance says online Record and No Record responses must be printed by the requester. PATCH no longer mails checks that were requested through the online EPATCH website.
What PATCH status messages actually mean
| Status | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No Record | PSP did not return a disseminable Pennsylvania criminal-history record based on the submitted identifiers. | Open the control number and print the certificate. |
| Record | The completed check returned criminal-history information under the applicable dissemination rules. | Open the control number and print the completed result. |
| Request Under Review | Submitted identifiers matched information requiring manual review. | Wait for review and check the request status again. |
| No Items Found | The status-search information was entered incorrectly or does not match the request. | Recheck the control number, request date and name exactly as submitted. |
Online checks needing additional review may take approximately two to four weeks according to current PSP guidance.
Current Pennsylvania PATCH fees and request types
| Request | Current fee | Method | Important detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard criminal-history check | $22 | Online or mail | PSP criminal-history check based on Pennsylvania Central Repository records. |
| Notarized standard check | $27 total | Mail only | Includes the $22 check plus $5 notarization charge. |
| Qualifying volunteer check | $0 | Online or mail | Fee waiver applies to qualifying unpaid volunteer requests. |
| Individual Access & Review | $20 | Mail only | Only the subject of the record or qualifying legal representative can request it. |
| Online credit-card transaction | 2% transaction fee | EPATCH online | Effective April 22, 2026. Registered users and qualifying mail payments are treated differently. |
Pennsylvania volunteer criminal-history checks can be free
PSP provides a fee-waived criminal-history check for qualifying unpaid volunteers. Online users should select the specific New Volunteer Record Check option rather than submitting an ordinary paid request.
A mail request can use Form SP 4-164A. The volunteer’s agency or organization must be identified on the form.
If you need a notarized Pennsylvania criminal-history check, use mail
Notarized criminal-history checks cannot currently be ordered as notarized results through the online PATCH workflow. PSP instructs requesters to submit notarized requests by mail.
Use Form SP 4-164 and choose the notarized request option. The current form lists a $27 total fee.
Pennsylvania State PoliceCentral Repository – 164
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758
Request your own complete Pennsylvania criminal history with Access & Review
A standard PATCH check is not the same as an Individual Access and Review request. PSP defines Access & Review as a review of the individual’s entire Pennsylvania criminal record, including convictions and non-convictions.
This is often useful when someone wants to understand exactly what PSP maintains before pursuing expungement, a pardon, record correction or another legal process.
Download SP 4-170
Use the PSP Request for Individual Access and Review form.
Complete the subject information
Include your identifying information, maiden name and aliases where applicable.
Include identification
Current PSP instructions require a copy of the subject’s government-issued photo ID.
Include the $20 payment
PSP’s current form requires a certified check or money order payable to Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Mail the request
Access & Review cannot currently be ordered online. Mail the completed request to the PSP Central Repository.
Central Repository – RCPU
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758
Open SP 4-170 Access & Review Form
Search Pennsylvania criminal court records for free
The Unified Judicial System Case Search provides free public access to available Pennsylvania court docket information.
Public docket sheets are available for:
- Criminal Courts of Common Pleas
- Magisterial District Courts
- Philadelphia Municipal Court
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court appeals
- Pennsylvania Superior Court appeals
- Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court matters
Use Pennsylvania’s advanced court-search fields when a name is too common
The public case-search interface contains far more than a simple first-and-last-name field. Depending on the selected search type, useful identifiers can include:
- docket number
- participant first and last name
- date of birth
- county
- judicial district
- case status
- docket type
- offense tracking number (OTN)
- police complaint number
- incident number
- citation number
- arresting agency
- judge
- state identification number (SID)
Recognize Pennsylvania criminal docket-number formats
CP criminal docket
A Common Pleas criminal docket commonly resembles:
CP-25-CR-0009999-2017
MJ docket
Magisterial docket numbers begin with MJ, for example:
MJ-51301-TR-0009999-2017
MC-51 docket
Philadelphia Municipal Court case numbers begin with:
MC-51-…
Appellate docket formats are different and typically use a sequence number, appellate district abbreviation and year.
What to check after you open a Pennsylvania criminal docket
A docket sheet can contain a large amount of information, but the most important parts for a basic criminal-record review are usually:
Case identity
Confirm county, docket number, defendant name and court before reading anything else.
Charges
Review the original offenses, grading and statute references, but do not stop there.
Disposition
Check whether each charge was convicted, dismissed, withdrawn, acquitted or otherwise resolved.
Case events
Review preliminary hearings, arraignments, trial dates, sentencing and other court events.
Sentence
When applicable, review incarceration, probation, fines, restitution or other terms.
Related dockets
Especially in Philadelphia, a Municipal Court case may have a related Common Pleas docket.
Why a Pennsylvania criminal case may not appear in the public portal
Even correctly entered search information can produce no result for a case that once existed or remains available to authorized users.
UJS identifies several important reasons:
- juvenile case restrictions
- the case has been expunged
- the case is pending expungement
- the case has been sealed
- the case is limited access under Pennsylvania law
- the record was destroyed under judiciary retention rules
- recent entries have not yet appeared online
Philadelphia criminal cases can have both MC and CP docket numbers
Pennsylvania’s UJS provides a particularly useful explanation for Philadelphia. Philadelphia Municipal Court has initial jurisdiction in processing criminal arrests, conducts misdemeanor trials and handles preliminary hearings in felony cases.
A felony matter may therefore begin under a Philadelphia Municipal Court MC docket and later proceed under a Court of Common Pleas CP docket.
Search Pennsylvania criminal appeals separately
Public appellate docket sheets are available through the same Pennsylvania UJS system, but the portal advises users to select the Appellate or Docket Number search option for appellate matters.
Criminal appeals commonly proceed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court, while additional appellate review may reach the Pennsylvania Supreme Court depending on the case.
Search Appellate DocketsThe public UJS portal is not Pennsylvania’s unrestricted statewide warrant database
Pennsylvania’s UJS offers a Statewide Warrants service, but it appears under secure eServices rather than the ordinary public portal. Access to secure services requires approved credentials.
A public docket may show warrant-related activity in a specific court case, but that should not be treated as a complete real-time statewide warrant check.
Arrest reports and police investigative records follow different access rules
A PATCH criminal-history check and a police report are different records. If you need a particular Pennsylvania State Police report or agency record, you may need the agency’s specific records-request process.
PSP’s Right-to-Know guidance specifically says a general Right-to-Know request is not the correct route for obtaining a PATCH criminal-history background check. It also states that investigative reports are not available through an ordinary PSP Right-to-Know request, although other legal processes may apply.
How to make a Pennsylvania State Police Right-to-Know request
For qualifying PSP public records, the agency accepts written requests through its Right-to-Know process. The request must identify the records sought with enough specificity for PSP to locate them.
Confirm PSP is the agency holding the record
Do not send a request to PSP for a city police department or unrelated local government record.
Use the PSP or Office of Open Records request form
PSP requires a written request using an accepted Right-to-Know form.
Describe the requested record precisely
Include relevant dates, locations, incident identifiers, names and the type of record when known.
Submit it to the PSP Open Records Officer
PSP currently accepts requests by mail, email, fax or in person.
Official PSP instructions: Submit a PSP Right-to-Know Request.
| PSP Right-to-Know item | Current listed fee |
|---|---|
| Ordinary duplication | $0.25 per page |
| Record certification | $2 per record |
| Postage, fax, specialized media | Actual permitted cost |
These are PSP Right-to-Know fees. A county, municipality, court or another agency may have a different lawful fee structure for its records.
Find a Pennsylvania state inmate or parolee
The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Inmate and Parolee Locator searches people who are state-sentenced or supervised by PA DOC.
The department says its locator is updated daily.
Last name or inmate number
DOC recommends searching by last name or inmate number. A first name can help narrow common surnames.
County jail inmates
Someone housed in a Pennsylvania county facility will not appear simply because they are incarcerated within the state.
County jail records must usually be searched county by county
Pennsylvania does not use the state DOC locator as a universal county-jail roster. County detention records are generally maintained by the relevant county corrections, prison, sheriff or jail authority.
For a recent arrest, first identify:
- county where the person was arrested
- arresting police agency
- county jail or prison receiving the person
- related Magisterial District Court
- Common Pleas criminal docket if the case advanced
Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law registry is a separate public system
The Pennsylvania State Police maintains the Commonwealth’s public Megan’s Law website for information that state law authorizes for public disclosure about registered sexual offenders.
The registry can contain information about qualifying registrants who live, are transient, work, carry on a vocation or attend school in Pennsylvania.
Open Pennsylvania Megan’s Law SearchClean Slate and limited-access cases may disappear from public UJS search
Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate framework allows certain qualifying criminal cases or offenses to become limited access, including through automatic processes in eligible circumstances.
A limited-access case remains part of official court records but is no longer publicly viewable in the same manner through ordinary UJS Case Search.
Limited access is not the same thing as physically destroying every government record. Criminal-justice agencies can retain access under applicable Pennsylvania law.
How the Pennsylvania criminal-record expungement process starts
Pennsylvania State Police directs people seeking criminal-record expungement to begin by obtaining their complete PSP history using the Access & Review process.
Request your Access & Review record
Complete SP 4-170, include the required ID and $20 certified check or money order, and mail the request to the PSP Central Repository.
Review the full arrest history
The returned history helps identify the arrests, charges and dispositions that may need to be addressed.
Contact the Clerk of Courts
PSP instructs applicants to follow up with the Clerk of Courts in the county where the arrest occurred for the court petition process.
Follow the court process
Eligibility depends on Pennsylvania law and the particular record. Not every conviction or arrest record qualifies for the same relief.
What to do if a Pennsylvania criminal record appears incorrect
First identify which system contains the suspected error. A mistake on a court docket and a mistake in PSP criminal-history data do not necessarily use the same correction process.
Contact the court where the case was filed
UJS states that a party or the party’s attorney who wants to correct a web docket data error should submit the appropriate correction request to the court where the case was filed.
Follow the PATCH challenge instructions
PATCH responses provide instructions for challenging criminal-history information believed to be inaccurate or incomplete. Supporting court documentation can be important when a disposition is missing or incorrect.
PATCH does not replace an FBI background check
A Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history check searches Pennsylvania records. If a purpose requires a federal fingerprint-based background check, use the specific FBI or Pennsylvania-approved fingerprint process required for that purpose.
For an individual seeking their own FBI Identity History Summary, use the FBI’s official Identity History Summary process.
FBI Identity History SummaryPennsylvania DHS FBI clearances
Certain Pennsylvania employment, foster/adoptive and volunteer clearance situations use a separate fingerprint-based FBI process through DHS and IdentoGO.
Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository contact and location
PATCH, Access & Review and criminal-record expungement requests use Pennsylvania State Police records functions based at PSP headquarters in Harrisburg.
Pennsylvania State Police
1800 Elmerton AvenueHarrisburg, PA 17110
PATCH Help Line: 1-888-783-7972
Current PATCH help-line hours are listed as Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Records-related units
Expungement Unit: 717-783-5499
AFIS: 717-783-5515
Right-to-Know: 1-877-785-7771
Megan’s Law: 1-866-771-3170
The map is for navigation convenience. Verify current office-access rules before traveling because criminal-history services may require online or mail processing rather than an unscheduled walk-in visit.
Pennsylvania criminal-record search tips that prevent common mistakes
Don’t confuse UJS with PATCH
Court dockets are for case research. PATCH is Pennsylvania’s official criminal-history check.
Save your PATCH control number
You need it to retrieve an online result that goes into manual review.
Under Review is not a positive record
It only means PSP must manually compare the submitted identifiers.
Search fewer court fields first
Start with name and county, then narrow the results using DOB, status or docket information.
Check both Philadelphia dockets
A felony event may have both Municipal Court and Common Pleas case numbers.
Missing case may be protected
Clean Slate, expungement, sealing or retention rules can remove a case from public search.
County jail is not PA DOC
Recent county detainees will not necessarily appear in the state inmate locator.
Need your whole history?
Use Access & Review rather than assuming a standard PATCH check shows every non-conviction.
Federal records are separate
PATCH does not provide an FBI nationwide criminal-history summary.
Using Pennsylvania criminal-history information for employment or housing
Pennsylvania’s courts explicitly caution employers that criminal-history use is subject to Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information Act. Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act rules can also apply when a third-party consumer-reporting company supplies a background report.
Frequently asked questions about Pennsylvania criminal-history records
1. What is the official Pennsylvania criminal-history background-check website?
The Pennsylvania State Police operates Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History, commonly called PATCH or EPATCH, at epatch.pa.gov.
2. How much does a Pennsylvania PATCH criminal-history check cost?
A standard check currently costs $22. Qualifying volunteer checks are free. A notarized mailed check costs $27, and an Individual Access & Review request costs $20. Online EPATCH credit-card transactions are also subject to a 2% transaction fee effective April 22, 2026.
3. Is Pennsylvania court case search free?
Yes. The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System provides free public access to available docket sheets for Criminal Courts of Common Pleas, Magisterial District Courts, Philadelphia Municipal Court and Pennsylvania appellate courts.
4. Does a PATCH check include criminal records from other states?
No. Pennsylvania State Police says PATCH online and mail checks search Pennsylvania law-enforcement criminal-history records. Federal and other-state criminal-history searches require separate services.
5. What does Request Under Review mean on PATCH?
It means the submitted identifiers matched information requiring manual review. PSP specifically states that Under Review does not mean the individual necessarily has a criminal record. The final result will become Record or No Record.
6. Can I see my entire Pennsylvania criminal record?
Yes. The subject of the record or qualifying legal representative can submit Form SP 4-170 for Individual Access & Review. This mail-only process includes convictions and non-convictions maintained in the PSP Central Repository and currently costs $20.
7. Why can’t I find a Pennsylvania criminal court case online?
A case may be sealed, expunged, pending expungement, limited access under Clean Slate, juvenile, destroyed under court retention rules, too recent to appear online or difficult to locate because the search information is incomplete.
8. Where can I search for a Pennsylvania inmate?
Use the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Inmate and Parolee Locator for state-sentenced inmates and department-supervised parolees. County jail inmates must generally be searched through the relevant county facility.
9. Are Pennsylvania Clean Slate cases visible in public UJS Case Search?
No. The UJS says sealed, expunged and limited-access Clean Slate cases are not visible to the public through its ordinary Case Search.
10. Does PATCH include an FBI background check?
No. PATCH is a Pennsylvania criminal-history check. An FBI Identity History Summary or a purpose-specific Pennsylvania FBI fingerprint clearance is a separate process.
Official Pennsylvania sources used for this guide
- Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History — PATCH
- Pennsylvania State Police — Request a Criminal History Background Check
- Pennsylvania State Police — PATCH Overview
- PSP Form SP 4-164 — Criminal Record Check
- PSP Form SP 4-164A — Volunteer Criminal Record Check
- PSP Form SP 4-170 — Individual Access & Review
- Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania — Case Search
- Pennsylvania Courts — Court Case Information
- Pennsylvania State Police — Right-to-Know Requests
- Pennsylvania DOC — Locate an Inmate or Parolee
- Pennsylvania State Police — Megan’s Law Registry
- Pennsylvania State Police — Criminal Record Expungement
- FBI — Identity History Summary Checks