How to Search Pennsylvania Court Records Online

The fastest way to search Pennsylvania court records online is the Unified Judicial System’s free web portal at ujsportal.pacourts.us, which carries docket sheets from magisterial district courts, Courts of Common Pleas, and the state appellate courts.¹ No account or registration is needed for a basic search. Philadelphia civil cases and any federal case sit outside this portal and have to be searched separately.

Searching the UJS Portal

Open ujsportal.pacourts.us and choose a case search. You can look up records by participant name, organization name, docket number, offense tracking number (OTN), police incident or complaint number, or state ID number.¹ A participant name search is the broadest and usually the right starting point when you don’t have a case number in hand.

Once results appear, filter by filing date or case status to narrow a common name down to the right person or the right case. Clicking a case number opens a summary of the proceedings, and the full docket sheet is available as a downloadable PDF showing the chronological history of filings, hearings, and orders. The portal covers all three tiers of the state judiciary: magisterial district courts that handle traffic tickets, small civil claims, and preliminary criminal hearings; Courts of Common Pleas where trials and general jurisdiction matters take place; and the appellate courts that review lower court decisions.²

Case Numbers That Speed Things Up

Two identifiers make a search much easier if you have them. A docket number is the court’s unique identifier for a case and follows a format like CP-25-CR-1234567-2020, where the letters and numbers indicate court type, county code, case category, and filing year.³ You’ll see it on subpoenas, arraignment paperwork, and other court documents.

An offense tracking number (OTN) appears on criminal court paperwork and typically starts with a letter followed by six digits, a hyphen, and a final digit.³ Either number will drop you straight onto the correct case page. Without them a name search still works, but you may have to sort through duplicate results.

What a Docket Sheet Shows and What It Doesn’t

Docket sheets list the parties, charges or claims, hearings, motions, orders, and dispositions. What they won’t show is personal identifying data. The statewide Case Records Public Access Policy requires that Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, driver’s license numbers, state identification numbers, and the names and dates of birth of minors be filed on a separate confidential information form rather than in the body of a document.² In family court matters, an abuse victim’s address, employer name, and work schedule are also kept out of public view. Judges’ notes, draft opinions, and internal staff memoranda are not part of the case record either.

Philadelphia Civil Cases

Philadelphia civil dockets are not on the statewide portal. The First Judicial District runs its own system at fjdclaims.phila.gov, where you can search by case number, plaintiff name, or defendant name.⁴ Criminal dockets from Philadelphia are still on the UJS portal. So if a Philadelphia civil matter isn’t turning up on ujsportal.pacourts.us, check the First Judicial District’s site before concluding the record doesn’t exist.

Federal Cases Are Separate

The UJS portal covers state courts only. Federal criminal, federal civil, and bankruptcy cases live in a different system. Pennsylvania has three federal judicial districts: Eastern (Philadelphia), Middle (Scranton and Harrisburg), and Western (Pittsburgh).

Federal records come through PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) at pacer.uscourts.gov. PACER requires an account. Searches cost $0.10 per page with a $3.00 cap per document, and if your charges stay at $30 or less in a quarter the fees are waived for that period.⁵ If you don’t know which district handled a case, the PACER Case Locator at pcl.uscourts.gov searches across every federal district at once.

Records You Won’t Find Onlineh2>

Some case types are sealed by law, and no search of any public portal will surface them.

Juvenile Delinquency Files

Juvenile records are restricted to the court’s judges and professional staff, the parties and their attorneys, agencies with custody of the child, and certain corrections or parole officials. Anyone else needs a court order showing a legitimate interest.⁶

Adoption Proceedings

All petitions, reports, testimony, and decrees in adoption cases are permanently withheld from public inspection. Access requires a court order granted upon cause shown, and this applies to both current and historical adoptions.⁷

Mental Health Commitment Records

Under the Mental Health Procedures Act, documents concerning a person receiving or having received involuntary treatment are confidential and cannot be released without the person’s written consent. Narrow exceptions exist for treatment providers, certain court proceedings authorized by the Act, and disclosures that comply with federal health privacy regulations. Privileged communications, written or oral, can never be disclosed without written consent, even to those who would otherwise qualify for an exception.⁸

Sealed and Expunged Criminal Records

Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate law seals qualifying criminal records automatically and removes them from public searches, including the UJS portal and most background checks. Law enforcement and the courts can still see them. Eligibility depends on offense severity:

Second- and third-degree misdemeanors: sealed after seven years free from any conviction carrying a year or more of possible imprisonment, with all court-ordered restitution paid.
Qualifying felony offenses: sealed after ten years under the same conditions.
Summary offenses: sealed after five years from the date of conviction, with restitution paid.
Charges that did not result in conviction: sealed after final disposition is entered and any restitution is paid.

Certain violent, sexual, and firearms-related offenses are excluded regardless of how much time has passed.⁹ The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts transmits eligible records to the State Police for sealing on a monthly basis, so there can be a lag between the moment someone becomes eligible and the day the record disappears from public view. Records that were expunged rather than sealed are gone entirely and will not appear in any search.

When You Need a Copy from the Courthouse

Docket sheets on the UJS portal are usually enough to answer a factual question, but they aren’t certified and they don’t include every underlying filing. When you need a certified copy or a document that isn’t posted online, the request goes to the courthouse where the case was handled. Civil records are kept by the prothonotary’s office; criminal records are handled by the clerk of courts. Some counties combine the two.

You can mail or hand-deliver a completed Public Access Request Form, which the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts publishes on the judiciary’s website.¹⁰ The form asks for the case name, docket number, and the specific documents you want, such as a sentencing order or a civil judgment.¹¹

Fees vary by county. As a rough guide, expect around $0.25 to $0.50 per photocopied page and $5.00 or more for a certified copy with the court’s seal, and considerably more in some counties for certified or exemplified records. Call the office before sending payment, because multi-page files add up quickly. Most courthouses accept money orders and certified checks; personal checks are frequently refused. If you mail a request, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the office can return the copies.

1
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. UJS Portal
2
Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin. 204 Pa. Code 213.81 – Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania
3
Fifth Judicial District of Pennsylvania. Criminal Division – Case Scheduling
4
City of Philadelphia. Search Civil Case Dockets
5
Public Access to Court Electronic Records. PACER – Federal Court Records
6
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Code Title 42 – Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, Chapter 63 – Section 6307
7
Justia Law. Pennsylvania Code Title 23 – 2905, Impounding of Proceedings and Access to Records
8
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Mental Health Procedures Act – Section 111, Confidentiality of Records
9
Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 18 – 9122.2, Clean Slate Limited Access
10
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Public Records Forms
11
Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania – Request for Access Form