Making the Most of Pennsylvania Public Records

Find information on individuals or property with PA public records

Making the most of Pennsylvania public records will require you to have a guide or referral. You can conduct Internet searches of many government agencies for free but you will spend a lot of time looking at irrelevant links and websites if you have no idea where to start.

You will first need to obtain some basic information on the individual or property you are seeking information on. For example, if you are seeking Pennsylvania criminal records on an individual, it will be helpful to know some addresses where that person has previously lived.

There are three general types of public records in Pennsylvania:

1. PA criminal records that include files on registered sex offenders, past convictions or current information on current inmates in a particular prison. These records can help you investigate individuals such as prospective employees.

2. Non-criminal public records in Pennsylvania such as census records, consumer protection information or legislation minutes. You may find these records helpful when researching a product or political candidate.

3. Real estate records like property appraisals, ownership and taxes. These types of records can be useful when buying or selling a home.

 

Find PA court records from local government agencies

City and county clerks in Pennsylvania can frequently provide a great deal of current information on an individual when you know their name and address.
Try: The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania provides links to all of the courts in Pennsylvania and also offers a search capability. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania displays links to the websites for each county in Pennsylvania.

Learn more about the laws regarding Pennsylvania court records

The records that are publicly available vary widely by state. You will want to have at least a general idea of what information you can expect to find before conducting your search for PA county court records.
Try: The Pennsylvania Attorney General provides a link to Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law and also offers a site search capability. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation allows drivers to obtain a copy of their driving history.

Perform searches of specific databases of Pennsylvania public records

Many cities and counties in Pennsylvania maintain a variety of records on individuals and property that are freely available to the general public.
Try: Northampton County allows you to retrieve property tax records online and also allows you to provide feedback. Carbon County lets you access its property records by owner and parcel id. This site also has an online search capability.

 

• Exhaust free sources of information before you consider paying for Pennsylvania public records. Sites that charge a fee may only provide information you could obtain elsewhere for free. Fortunately, libraries frequently subscribe to services that you would normally need to pay a fee to access. You should also bear in mind that many public records are simply not available online.

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