Search Allegheny County Clerk Records

Allegheny County Criminal Clerk

The county's split clerk structure means criminal filings are handled separately from civil and family filings. The Criminal Records page states that current-year and four prior years of criminal files are available in Room 220 of the Allegheny County Courthouse. Older criminal cases are available, but they must be ordered from storage. Computer terminals are available for researching criminal records at the courthouse.

This office is the local equivalent of the Clerk of Courts for criminal Court of Common Pleas records. It is the right record division for criminal case files, criminal file copies, expungement petitions filed with DCR Criminal Division, bail-bond fee handling, and questions about ordering stored criminal files. The office page warns that no case-related information will be discussed over the telephone, so phone contact should be used for procedure and file-order questions rather than case-result verification.

Allegheny County Criminal Record Duties

The Criminal Division maintains criminal case files for the Court of Common Pleas. These files are different from police reports, jail booking records, and statewide criminal-history products. A criminal court file can show the charges filed in court, the formal information, docket events, motions, pleas, dispositions, sentencing orders, bail entries, financial obligations, and expungement filings when public.

• Maintains current criminal court files and orders older criminal files from storage.
• Provides public courthouse terminals for criminal record research.
• Handles petitions for expungement and related criminal case filings.
• Receives fees tied to PCRA petitions, expungements, bail-bond posting, and money paid into court.
• Separates public files from sealed, expunged, juvenile, or otherwise restricted criminal records.

The Sheriff's Office directs background-check questions for county criminal-history information to the Department of Court Records, not to the Sheriff. That referral matters because bench-warrant, arrest, jail, and criminal case records are not the same file.

Allegheny County Clerk Search

Criminal docket sheets can often be found through UJS Case Search before a person visits Room 220. UJS and PAeDocket search options include case number, participant name, organization name, offense tracking number, police incident or complaint number, and state ID number. A docket sheet can identify the case number and status, but it is not the same as a full criminal file or certified copy.

The statewide docket is useful because many Allegheny County criminal records include lower-court events before the Common Pleas file is complete. A preliminary hearing, complaint number, OTN, or MDJ docket can point to the later Common Pleas docket. Once the Common Pleas case is open, Room 220 is the researched county location for current criminal files and the place to ask about older stored files.

Request Criminal Certified Copies

Certified criminal copies may be needed for immigration, licensing, expungement, appellate, employment-law, or personal legal matters. The Criminal Division is the division to ask when the record is a Court of Common Pleas criminal file. A requester should identify the exact docket number or use UJS first to narrow the case.

1. Search UJS or courthouse terminals to identify the docket number, participant name, and case status.
2. Confirm whether the file is current, within the four-prior-year window, or must be ordered from storage.
3. Identify the document needed, such as docket entries, sentence order, plea order, information, or expungement order.
4. Ask the Criminal Division whether the file is public, sealed, expunged, juvenile, or otherwise restricted.
5. Pay the applicable fee and request a certified copy if the document must be used as an official court record.

Allegheny County Criminal Request Fields

A criminal file request should be specific. General name searches can produce multiple matters, and some matters may not be public. The fields below reflect the public docket fields and the county's criminal file storage process. They also help staff decide whether the requested file is in Room 220 or must be ordered from storage.

Allegheny County Criminal Clerk Fees

The researched Criminal Division cost and fee schedule identifies several fees that commonly matter to criminal file users. Copy and certification charges can vary by request type, so confirm the amount with the Criminal Division before payment when the exact service is not shown on the fee schedule.

Allegheny County Expungement Records

Expungement is a court process that removes or restricts access to eligible criminal records as allowed by law. The county's expungement material says some Probation Without Verdict expungements are automatically filed by Adult Probation when fines and costs are paid and terms are successfully completed. Accelerated Summary Initiative expungements are not automatic; the person must file a motion with the DCR Criminal Division and pay the filing fee.

The county procedure page says standard forms are obtained by calling or visiting the Criminal Division. Motions must be typed or legibly written. Staff do not provide legal advice. Eligibility should be checked against the case disposition and Pennsylvania law, including 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 for many adult criminal expungement issues.

Expungement should also be separated from limited access and from an ordinary correction request. An expungement petition asks the court to remove or block eligible criminal records under a legal standard. Limited access can hide certain records from public view while preserving access for agencies allowed by law. A docket correction is different because it concerns an error in the court record itself. The Criminal Division can identify local filing procedures, but it cannot decide eligibility for a requester.