How to Get Free Criminal and Summary Records in Pennsylvania

If you live in Pennsylvania then I have a great site for you. Have you ever wondered if a certain individual has a criminal record? Maybe the person in question is a neighbor, lover, or fellow employee. If the person resides or formally resided in Pennsylvania then you can find this information out for free! You do not have to pay for this information from other sites or travel to any courthouses. Anyone can look this information up on their own computer.

The site is called Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. The website is actually a Pennsylvania government website that both local and state police departments all over the state use. Everyone is allowed to use this site; however, the site suggests that only Pennsylvania Police can provide a precise background check and that the dockets should not be used instead. The site can be accessed by clicking: Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System

When anyone reaches this page they will have four choices to click on such as: Magisterial District Judge, Philadelphia Municipal Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Appellate Court. The Magisterial District Judge link is for information that has taken place from 2000 to the present. This link usually deals with lower offenses that a person has committed such as disorderly conduct, speeding tickets, and other summary offenses. The Philadelphia Municipal Court is for you guessed it: people in the Philadelphia area. The Court of Common Pleas is a link for information about person that have committed more serious crimes such as DUI, burglary, grand theft auto, as well as other serious offenses. The last link, Appellate Court is for cases that have been appealed.

To use this site simply click on your link of choice such as Court of Common Pleas. The easiest way to search for an individual is to click on the "Other Criteria" link. When a user reaches the form they simply just fill in the last name of the person and first name in the field blocks. Click on the calendars for dates. I suggest that you go back thirty years for the date filed (first box) to the present date (second box). All other fields do not need to be filled in; however, it may be helpful if you know the county where the person could have been charged due to the fact that the individual may have the same name as someone else in the state.

After filling in the necessary information just click search. If the individual you are searching has any cases pending against him/her or was prosecuted for an offense it will list the person's name. Now all that has to been done is click "select" in the row that the person's name is in and it will load the docket in a PDF file. Voila! Now you can read the information about the individual for free!