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Pennsylvania public records: who holds what

In Pennsylvania, deeds are recorded by the Recorder of Deeds in most places; birth and death certificates come from the PA Department of Health, Division of Vital Records; and requests for other government records fall under the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL). Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Who holds what in Pennsylvania
  2. Public records law in Pennsylvania
  3. Divorce records in Pennsylvania
  4. Probate records and wills in Pennsylvania
  5. How Pennsylvania organizes its records
  6. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  7. Counties in Pennsylvania
  8. Warnings from official sources
  9. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  10. Official directories
  11. Sources

Who holds what in Pennsylvania

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

RecordWho holds itCopy fee
DeedsCounty Recorder of Deeds (Philadelphia: Department of Records; see special)1$0.50 per uncertified page (42 P.S. § 21051)1
Property recordsCounty assessment office (chief assessor) values property; Board of Assessment Appeals/Revision hears appeals2—
Court recordsUnified Judicial System: Supreme, Superior, Commonwealth Courts, Courts of Common Pleas (county) and Magisterial District Judges3—
Marriage recordsCounty Register of Wills / Clerk of the Orphans' Court (licenses since Sept. 30, 1885)4—
Divorce recordsCounty Prothonotary where the divorce was filed4—
Birth certificatesPA Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, for births registered in Pennsylvania since 19065$20 per certified copy; online orders add a non-refundable $10 service fee6
Death certificatesPA Department of Health, Division of Vital Records, for PA deaths since 19067$20 per certified copy; online orders add a $10 service fee7
Probate and willsCounty Register of Wills (probate of wills, letters to personal representatives)8—

Public records law in Pennsylvania

Right-to-Know Law (RTKL) (Act of Feb. 14, 2008, P.L. 6, No. 3) Read the law9

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask
Any legal resident of the United States (agencies included)9
What is exempt
Exceptions for public records are listed in RTKL Section 7089
Response time: initial
5 business days; no response = deemed denied9
Response time: extension
Up to 30 additional days with written notice (longer only if requester agrees in writing)9
Fees: statute
Duplication fees set by Office of Open Records for Commonwealth and local agencies; no fee for legal review9
Fees: bw copy
Up to $0.25 per copy (first 1,000); up to $0.20 per copy beyond 1,0001
More on the Right-to-Know Law (RTKL)
Fees: color copy
Up to $0.50 per copy1
Fees: electronic
No additional fee for records delivered by email or other electronic method1
Fees: certification
Up to $5.00 per record1
Fees: prepayment
Agency may require prepayment if fees expected to exceed $1009
Fees: schedule date
OOR fee schedule adopted Dec. 30, 20241
Appealing a value: where
Office of Open Records (or the judicial/legislative/other appeals officer designated under §503(d)), within 15 business days9
Appealing a value: decision time
Appeals officer decides within 30 days or appeal is deemed denied9
Appealing a value: court review
Further appeal within 30 days of the appeals officer's final determination: Commonwealth Court (Commonwealth, legislative and judicial agencies) or the county court of common pleas (local agencies)9
Court records
Court records: UJS has its own public access policies (Case Records Public Access Policy, effective 1/1/2022)10
No reason required
A written RTKL request need not explain the reason for the request or the intended use of the records9

How to write a public records request

Divorce records in Pennsylvania

Who holds it
County Prothonotary where the divorce was filed4

How this works in other states: divorce records by state.

Probate records and wills in Pennsylvania

Who holds it
County Register of Wills (probate of wills, letters to personal representatives)8
Directory
UJS lists Orphans' Court clerks per county11

How this works in other states: probate records and wills by state.

How Pennsylvania organizes its records

  • Philadelphia Department of Records (Recorder of Deeds). In Philadelphia (city-county), the city's Department of Records records real estate documents12
  • Allegheny County Department of Court Records. Allegheny County combines Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts and Register of Wills/Orphans' Court functions in a Department of Court Records with three divisions13
  • Allegheny County property assessments. Allegheny uses 2012 base-year values from its Office of Property Assessments; appeals go to the Board of Property Assessment Appeals and Review14
  • Assessment law exceptions. Consolidated County Assessment Law does not generally govern 1st and 2nd class counties (Philadelphia, Allegheny)15

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository via PATCH (epatch.pa.gov)16
Fee
$22 per individual check; notarization +$517
Volunteer
Volunteer checks free17
Access and review
Individual access and review (own record): $20, mail only17
Card fee
2% fee per credit card transaction on online EPATCH checks effective April 22, 2026 (registered users and mail-in requests paying by check not charged)16
More about criminal history checks
Notarized by mail
Notarized certificate only by mail with form SP4-164 and a $27.00 check or money order; notarized certificates only for employment outside the U.S., international adoption, visa and citizenship (not for volunteer or access-and-review requests)18
Who may order
Individuals and non-criminal justice agencies (subject to CHRIA edit criteria)16
What it covers
PA law enforcement records only, not federal17

Sex offender registry

Official registry
PSP Megan's Law website: meganslaw.psp.pa.gov19
Misuse warning
Misuse may lead to prosecution or civil liability19

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons
PA Department of Corrections Inmate/Department Supervised Individual Locator: inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov20

Voter records

Access
Public information list (name, address, DOB, voting history) available for inspection; use limited to elections, political activities or law enforcement21
What it contains
Name, address, date of birth and voting history; no signature or SURE number21
Copies
Copies to any PA registered elector within 10 days of written request plus reproduction/postage cost21
ID required
Must show ID and sign statement on permitted use21

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)
Fictitious names (DBAs) are registered with the PA Department of State, not the county (since early 1980s)22
Statute
54 Pa.C.S. § 311 - registration filed in the Department23
Search
Business Entity Search at file.dos.pa.gov (by entity name or number only)24
Written search fee
$15 per entity number for written record search printout24
Copies
Copies must be bought online through Business Filing Services (since April 15, 2024)25
More about business names (dba)
Old county records
Pre-1980s fictitious name filings were made at the county seat22

Liens and UCC filings

UCC office
Department of State (Secretary of the Commonwealth); fixture filings/timber/as-extracted with the county real-property recording office26
Fixture filings
Fixture filings at the office that records mortgages (county Recorder of Deeds)26
Fees
$84.00 per form (Financing Statement, Amendment, Statement of Claim); no extra fee for attachments or additional debtors27
Search fee
$12.00 per debtor name searched; copies +$3.00 per page; certified copies +$28.0027
Judgment liens
Civil judgments (including confessed judgments) and their satisfactions are entered by the county Prothonotary28

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
PASDA (Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access, pasda.psu.edu) is the official clearinghouse; also data.pa.gov29
Open data
PA Open Data Portal data.pa.gov29
County parcels
Parcel/ownership data is county-maintained; access varies29

Historical and genealogy records

State archives
Pennsylvania State Archives (PHMC), 350 North St., Harrisburg5
Birth holdings
Original birth certificates 1906-1920 at the State Archives30
Death holdings
Original death certificates 1906-1975 at the State Archives31
Copy fee
$5 per uncertified birth/death certificate copy from the Archives32
Research fee
$20 per name searched by mail (includes up to 10 pages)32
More about historical and genealogy records
Certified public records
Certified copies of even public birth/death records are only issued by DOH Vital Records5
County registers
County birth/death registers 1893-1905 mostly at county Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans' Court30
Online
Some State Archives vital records are digitized on Ancestry.com / Ancestry Pennsylvania33
Processing time
Archives orders take 6-8 weeks32

Counties in Pennsylvania

34 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

All 67 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.34

Warnings from official sources

  • Vital records look-alike sites. Only VitalChek is authorized for online PA birth/death orders; other sites cost more and delay6
  • Vital Records appointment sites. Appointments only through PA Vital Records35
  • Business record/compliance mailers. DOS warns of 'Certificate of Status' solicitations not from the state36
  • Bogus UCC bond tenders. DOS warns of private 'certified bond tenders' citing UCC filings27

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Pennsylvania office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 37 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Official RTKL Fee SchedulePennsylvania Office of Open Recordsarchived copy
  2. 53 Pa.C.S. § 8802 Definitions (Consolidated County Assessment Law)Pennsylvania General Assembly
  3. Public Records | Unified Judicial System of PennsylvaniaUnified Judicial System of Pennsylvaniaarchived copy
  4. Marriage Records (State Archives)Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives
  5. GenealogyPennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
  6. Ordering a Birth CertificatePennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
  7. Ordering a Death CertificatePennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
  8. 20 Pa.C.S. § 901 Register's jurisdictionPennsylvania General Assembly
  9. Right-to-Know Law, Act of Feb. 14, 2008, P.L. 6, No. 3Pennsylvania General Assembly
  10. Public records policies | Unified Judicial System of PennsylvaniaUnified Judicial System of Pennsylvaniaarchived copy
  11. Orphans' Court Clerks | Courts of Common PleasUnified Judicial System of Pennsylvaniaarchived copy
  12. Department of Records | City of PhiladelphiaCity of Philadelphia, Department of Records
  13. Court Records (Department of Court Records)Allegheny County
  14. Real Estate Internet (Property Records Search)Allegheny County
  15. 53 Pa.C.S. § 8801 Short title and scope (Consolidated County Assessment Law)Pennsylvania General Assembly
  16. Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH) homePennsylvania State Police
  17. Request a Criminal History Background CheckPennsylvania State Police
  18. PATCH FAQPennsylvania State Police
  19. Pennsylvania State Police Megan's Law WebsitePennsylvania State Police
  20. Inmate/Department Supervised Individual LocatorPennsylvania Department of Corrections
  21. 25 Pa.C.S. § 1404 Public information listsPennsylvania General Assembly
  22. Fictitious NamesPennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
  23. 54 Pa.C.S. § 311 Registration (Fictitious Names)Pennsylvania General Assembly
  24. Record SearchesPennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
  25. Certified or Plain PhotocopiesPennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
  26. 13 Pa.C.S. § 9501 Filing office (UCC)Pennsylvania General Assembly
  27. Uniform Commercial CodePennsylvania Department of State
  28. 42 Pa.C.S. § 2737 Powers and duties of the office of the prothonotaryPennsylvania General Assembly
  29. GIS Data Access (State Geospatial Coordinating Board)Pennsylvania Office of Administration
  30. Birth Records (State Archives)Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives
  31. Death Records (State Archives)Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives
  32. Pennsylvania State Archives: FeesPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives
  33. Vital Records (State Archives)Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives
  34. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  35. Vital Records Public OfficesPennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
  36. Business and Charities ScamsPennsylvania Department of State
  37. County CourthousesPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives