Pennsylvania Public Records
State Level Information
The Pennsylvania Right to Know Act (also called the Pennsylvania Sunshine Law) was revised in 2008. Before that it was often considered one of the worst in the country due to the fact that the previous version of the law required someone to prove that a document was public record.
The new law which was signed by then Governor Ed Rendell and made effective as of January 1, 2009 effectively 'flipped' the presumption. In it, the responsibility now falls on the individual agency to prove that a document should not be public.
State of Pennsylvania Secretary of StatePennsylvania Department of Agriculture
State of Pennsylvania Department of Real Estate
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
Pennsylvania State Veterinary Medical Examining Board
Court Record Resources
A repository of criminal history information records was created to adhere to the requirements of Pennsylvania's Criminal History Information Act contained in Chapter 91 of Title 18, Crimes Code. As part of the Act, the Pennsylvania State Police was further ordered to disseminate information on criminal history data to agencies (criminal justice and non-criminal) as well as individuals upon request. There are certain criteria that govern the editing of criminal history records for non law enforcement requests.
In order to use this automated system you must provide full name, date of birth and preferably a Social Security Number. Without specific identifying information like an SSN, sex, race, aliases and maiden names, the accuracy of searches cannot be assured.
Pennsylvania Judicial BranchPennsylvania State Police
Pennsylvania Department of Corrections
Vital Records Facts
Pennsylvania Department of Health ServicesPennsylvania State Archives