Search Pennsylvania Public Records - Free Government Databases
Free links to official Pennsylvania state and county government records — courts, criminal histories, vital records, property, voter, business, and licenses across all 67 counties.
How to Search Pennsylvania Public Records
Pennsylvania's court, criminal, vital, property, voter, and licensing records are maintained across state agencies and the 67 counties listed below. Use the tabs to filter by record type, or jump directly to any source.
Courts: The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania sits at the top of the system; trial-court business is handled by the Court of Common Pleas (60 judicial districts), Magisterial District Courts. Most courts publish dockets and case lookups online.
Criminal history: Official background checks run through the Pennsylvania State Police - PATCH; the Pennsylvania criminal records page covers the current fee and request process.
Vital records: Birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates are issued by the Pennsylvania Division of Vital Records and may also be available locally.
Property & recorded documents: Maintained at the county level by the Assessor, Recorder, or Clerk's office.
Business filings: the Department of State's Bureau of Corporations operates the official business-entity search.
Population
13,078,751
Households
5,246,700
Median Income
$73,824
Median Home Value
$240,500
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 Population Estimates Program; 2022 ACS 5-year)
Pennsylvania Public Records at a Glance
Pennsylvania's judiciary hands the public a real gift: the UJS portal posts docket sheets for criminal cases, appellate matters, and magisterial district courts statewide, free — which is why the Pennsylvania court records page starts there rather than at 67 county sites. Civil dockets stay with county prothonotaries, a Pennsylvania-only office title. The State Police run PATCH, a public name-based criminal record check returning Pennsylvania convictions. Birth and death certificates come from the Division of Vital Records. Recorders of deeds operate in every county, most with online search, and Philadelphia's land records are unified with the city. Business filings go through the Department of State. 227 official sources below.
Official Databases
227
County Pages
67
Record Categories
8
Directory Since
1997
Figures reflect sources indexed in this directory and the latest official reports. Content reviewed July 30, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
Pennsylvania Guides
Step-by-step pages for the searches people actually run:
Love retro? Longing for the good old days of Modem access to public records? Find information here on how to obtain court docket information from the Carbon County Pennylvania Office of the Prothonotary using a modem and Procomm Plus software.
PACER United States District Court civil, criminal, and bankruptcy records for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania. Note: PACER charges $0.10/page; the first $30 per quarter is free.
Once you enter the site, click on the Search DB icon at the top to search this Columbia County service for property information by owner name, parcel number, or address and view interactive GIS maps.
67 Pennsylvania counties are indexed on SearchSystems.net — top 14 counties shown below. Browse the full directory or click any county for local court, sheriff, recorder and assessor links.
How are public records organized in Pennsylvania?▼
Pennsylvania keeps public records at three levels: federal (FBI, federal courts via PACER), state (court of last resort, state police, department of health, secretary of state), and county-level (sheriffs, clerks, recorders, assessors). Each county maintains its own court, criminal-justice, property, and vital-records offices linked from the county pages below.
Where do I start a Pennsylvania court-case search?▼
For statewide trial-court information, start at the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania: www.pacourts.us. Pennsylvania federal cases are searched through PACER. For local case dockets, see the Court Records tab and the county page for your area.
How do I get an official Pennsylvania background check?▼
Pennsylvania's official statewide criminal-history check is run by the Pennsylvania State Police - PATCH at epatch.pa.gov. Most state-level checks require fingerprints and a fee. A nationwide FBI Identity History Summary is available separately.
Where do I obtain Pennsylvania birth, death, or marriage certificates?▼
Certified Pennsylvania vital records are issued by the Official Pennsylvania Vital Records at www.health.pa.gov. Recent local events (births, deaths, marriages) can often also be requested from the county clerk or local registrar where the event was filed.
What does it cost to access Pennsylvania public records?▼
Most online record indexes in Pennsylvania are free to search; fees apply for certified copies, fingerprint background checks, full document images at the recorder, and statewide bulk data. Each agency publishes its current fee schedule — for example the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania (courts), the Official Pennsylvania Vital Records (vital records), the Official Pennsylvania Voter Records (elections), and the Official Pennsylvania Professional & Occupational Licenses (licenses).