To file harassment charges in PA, report the conduct to the police department in the city or township where it happened, bring your documentation, and ask them to charge the offender under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709. If police decline, you can file a private criminal complaint through the magisterial district judge’s office, which the district attorney must approve before it moves forward. Many people also pursue a protection order at the same time, because that stops the contact faster than a criminal case can.
File Within Two Years
Pennsylvania’s general statute of limitations for criminal offenses is two years from the date of the offense.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 42 Section 5552 – General Rule for Criminal Prosecutions That applies to both summary and misdemeanor harassment. For an ongoing pattern, the clock typically runs from the most recent incident. Waiting permanently bars prosecution, so contact police as soon as you can.
Where you file also matters. Pennsylvania’s venue rules for harassment let the case be brought either where the communication was sent or where it was received, which is useful when the harasser contacts you from another county.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Section 2709 – Harassment
What to Bring Before You File
The strength of your evidence determines whether the case moves forward or stalls. Gather it before you walk into the police station.
Save every communication in its original form. Text messages, emails, voicemails, social media messages, and screenshots of posts are direct proof of the harasser’s words. Don’t retype or summarize them, and don’t crop screenshots. The metadata inside those files, including timestamps and sender information, helps establish that the evidence is authentic. Editing a digital file, even lightly, can give the defense an opening to challenge it.
Keep a written log. For each incident, note the date, time, location, what happened, what was said, and who else was there. Write it down as close to the event as possible while details are fresh. This log becomes your outline when you talk to officers, and it works as a memory aid if the case reaches trial months later.
Collect witness contact information. If anyone saw or overheard the harassment, get their name and phone number. Third-party accounts remove the he-said-she-said dynamic that weakens harassment cases. Photos or video of the behavior, of any property damage, or of injuries help too.
One point about intent is worth understanding while you’re documenting. To convict, prosecutors have to show the person acted with the purpose of harassing, annoying, or alarming you. The strongest evidence of that intent is repetition after you clearly told them to stop. A log showing ten unwanted contacts over two weeks after a verbal warning is far more persuasive than a single uncomfortable encounter.
Filing a Police Report
Go to the police department in the jurisdiction where the harassment occurred. Bring your log, your saved communications, and your witness list.
When you describe what happened, be specific about the conduct, the dates, and the effect on you. Officers need enough detail to see that the behavior fits the statute. A vague complaint that someone is “annoying” is hard to act on. A detailed account of threatening messages sent repeatedly at 3 a.m. is not.
For summary-level harassment, Pennsylvania’s rules favor issuing a citation rather than making an arrest. Officers generally arrest only in exceptional circumstances involving violence or an imminent threat of it.3Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure Chapter 4 – Procedures in Summary Cases For misdemeanor-level harassment, the response can be more aggressive, including a warrant application or arrest.
Ask for the report number and stay in contact with the investigating officer. Cases move slowly, and follow-up shows you’re serious about pursuing it.
Filing a Private Criminal Complaint if Police Decline
If police won’t file charges, or you’d rather initiate the process yourself, Pennsylvania lets private citizens file a private criminal complaint. There’s a gatekeeping step that surprises people, so plan for it.
Get a Private Criminal Complaint form from a magisterial district judge’s office, or download one from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.4Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Private Criminal Complaint Form Fill it out with a detailed factual account: specific dates, times, locations, and what the accused did. Citing the statute is not enough; you have to describe the conduct.
Because you’re not a law enforcement officer, the complaint must go to the district attorney for approval before anything happens.5Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure 506 – Approval of Private Complaints The DA reviews whether the evidence supports a viable prosecution. If approved, the complaint is forwarded to the issuing authority and the court process begins.
If the DA disapproves, the office has to state the reasons on the form and return it. You’re not out of options. You can petition the Court of Common Pleas to review the DA’s decision.5Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure 506 – Approval of Private Complaints
Seek a Protection Order at the Same Time
Criminal charges punish past conduct. A protection order stops the contact now. You can pursue both together, and in many harassment situations the protection order is the faster route to safety.
Protection From Abuse Orders
A Protection From Abuse (PFA) order is available if the harasser is a family or household member, a current or former intimate partner, or someone with whom you share a child. You file a petition in the Court of Common Pleas describing the abuse. A judge can grant a temporary PFA the same day. A hearing on a final order is scheduled within ten business days.6Allegheny County Courts. Protection From Abuse General Information
A final PFA can last up to three years and can include no-contact and stay-away provisions. There’s no cap on extensions if the threat continues.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23 Section 6108 – Relief Violating a PFA is indirect criminal contempt, with a fine of $300 to $1,000 and up to six months of imprisonment or supervised probation.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 23 Section 6114 – Contempt for Violation of Order or Agreement
Protection From Intimidation Orders
If the harasser is a neighbor, coworker, acquaintance, or stranger rather than a family or household member, you can seek a Protection From Intimidation (PFI) order under 42 Pa.C.S. Chapter 62A. The process mirrors a PFA filing but is designed for harassment victims without a qualifying domestic relationship.
A Pennsylvania protection order is enforceable in every other state and U.S. territory under the federal Violence Against Women Act. You don’t need to re-file if you travel or move.
Does the Conduct Qualify as Harassment
Pennsylvania defines harassment as conduct directed at another person with the intent to harass, annoy, or alarm.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Section 2709 – Harassment The statute splits the offense into categories, and the grading depends on which one applies.
Summary-offense conduct includes:
- Striking, shoving, kicking, or otherwise making unwanted physical contact, or attempting or threatening to do so.
- Following someone in or around a public place.
- A pattern of behavior that serves no legitimate purpose and is meant to alarm or seriously annoy the other person.
Third-degree misdemeanor conduct includes:
- Sending lewd, threatening, or obscene language, drawings, or images to or about someone.
- Communicating repeatedly without identifying yourself.
- Repeatedly contacting someone at extremely inconvenient hours.
- Any other pattern of repeated communication directed at someone with intent to harass.
There’s a separate provision for cyber harassment of a child, which is also a third-degree misdemeanor. It applies when someone uses electronic means or social media to direct seriously disparaging statements about a child’s appearance, sexuality, or health, or to threaten harm.
Grading also steps up in one specific situation: if the offender commits a summary-level harassment offense and has previously violated a Protection From Abuse order involving the same victim or household member, the charge becomes a third-degree misdemeanor.9Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Section 2709 – Harassment
Penalties on conviction are a fine of up to $300 and up to 90 days in jail for a summary offense,10Legal Information Institute. 101 Pennsylvania Code 15.66 – Offenses and Penalties and a fine of up to $2,500 and up to one year of imprisonment for a third-degree misdemeanor.11Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Chapter 11 – Authorized Disposition of Offenders
When the Conduct Is Really Stalking
If the behavior involves a course of conduct or repeated acts that put you in reasonable fear of bodily injury or cause substantial emotional distress, the correct charge may be stalking under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709.1, not harassment.12Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Section 2709.1 – Stalking
The penalty jump is large. A first stalking offense is a first-degree misdemeanor carrying up to five years of imprisonment. A second offense, or a first offense where the defendant already has a violent-crime conviction against the same victim, is a third-degree felony.12Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code 18 Section 2709.1 – Stalking Raise this possibility with the officer taking your report.
Federal Cyberstalking Across State Lines
Most harassment cases stay in state court. If the harasser uses electronic communications, the mail, or any interstate facility to stalk or intimidate you from another state, federal cyberstalking law under 18 U.S.C. § 2261A can apply. It’s a felony. Federal prosecutors have to show a course of conduct, meaning at least two separate acts, not a single incident.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking
Workplace Harassment Goes Through the EEOC
If the harassment happens at work and is based on race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information, the path is different. You file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days of the last incident.14U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge You generally can’t sue in federal court without going through the EEOC first.15U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Harassment A criminal harassment charge under 18 Pa.C.S. § 2709 and a federal workplace harassment claim are separate matters with separate filing processes; the same conduct can sometimes support both.
When to Bring in an Attorney
You don’t need a lawyer to file a police report or request a protection order. An attorney can still make a real difference at specific points. If police decline and you’re filing a private criminal complaint, a lawyer can frame the facts in a way that makes DA approval more likely. If the DA disapproves, a lawyer can handle the petition to the Court of Common Pleas. And if the case reaches trial, someone who knows Pennsylvania’s evidentiary rules and can cross-examine the defendant is a meaningful advantage.
Many attorneys offer free initial consultations for harassment cases, and legal aid organizations across Pennsylvania assist victims who can’t afford private counsel.