Pennsylvania Code › Title 204 - JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part VII - ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF PENNSYLVANIA COURTS › Chapter 213 - COURT RECORDS POLICIES › Subchapter D - CASE RECORDS PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY OF THE UNIFIED JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF PENNSYLVANIA › LIMITS ON PUBLIC ACCESS TO UNIFIED JUDICIAL SYSTEM CASE RECORDS

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
Subject Area
Record Description
Accessibility
Authority
Civil
Jurors Notes.
No Public
							 Access. Collected and destroyed post-trial.
Pa.R.C.P. 223.2.
Civil
Complaints filed in magisterial
							 district courts.
No Public Access to the minor's name in a complaint.
							 Minors shall be designated by the initials of their first and last
							 name.
Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J. 803.
Commonwealth Court
Child Line Registry
							 Cases.
No Public Access to documents in the case except Orders and
							 Opinions wherein the court shall use initials of the minor child involved
							 rather than full name.
Admin. Order No. 126 Misc. Docket No. 3
							 (February 8, 2013).
Criminal
Juror's Address.
No
							 Public Access.
Commonwealth v. Long
, 922 A.2d 892
							 (Pa. 2007).
Criminal
Sealed affidavit of probable cause
							 for a search warrant.
No Public Access while sealed. The affidavit may
							 not be sealed for more than 60 days unless an extension is received. Extensions
							 may not be longer than 30 days, but an unlimited number of extensions are
							 available. Public may access the affidavit after it has been unsealed.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 211.
Criminal
Unexecuted Search
							 Warrant.
No Public Access until warrant is executed.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 212(A).
Criminal
Arrest Warrant
							 Information.
A court may delay public access for good cause for up to
							 72 hours. In addition, a court may seal arrest warrant information for a longer
							 period of time.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 513(C), Pa.R.Crim.P. 513.1.
Criminal
Information obtained from or
							 concerning the defendant by a bail agency.
No public access.
							 Information only accessible by the defendant, counsel for the defendant, the
							 issuing authority or judge setting bail, the attorney for the Commonwealth, and
							 the department of probation or parole preparing a presentence report regarding
							 the defendant.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 530(C).
Criminal
Motion filed by attorney for the
							 Commonwealth to present the matter to an indicting grand jury and subsequent
							 order.
No Public Access-the motion and order are sealed.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 556.2.
Criminal
All indicting grand jury
							 proceedings and related documents.
No Public Access. Disclosure may be
							 granted to attorney for the Commonwealth, defendant in a criminal case,
							 witnesses, law enforcement personnel, and upon motion when necessary.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 556.10.
Criminal
Sealed indictments.
No
							 Public Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 556.11(E).
Criminal
Sealed records concerning mental
							 health experts.
No Public Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 569.
Criminal
Sealed written statements
							 pertaining to protective orders.
No Public Access. The entire text of
							 the statement shall be sealed and preserved in the records of the court to be
							 made available to the appellate court(s) in the event of an appeal.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 573(F).
Criminal
Sealed plea agreement.
No
							 Public Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 590.
Criminal
Juror qualification
							 forms.
No Public Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 625(A)(3).
Criminal
Juror information
							 questionnaires.
No Public Access. Questionnaires are retained in a
							 sealed file and shall be destroyed upon completion of the jurors' service,
							 unless otherwise ordered by the trial judge.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 632.
Criminal
Sealed verdict.
No Public
							 Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 649.
Criminal
Notes taken by jurors.
No
							 Public Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 644(B)(7).
Criminal
Pre-sentence reports and related
							 psychiatric psychological reports.
No Public Access.
Pa.R.Crim.P. 703(A).
Criminal
Records revealing the names of
							 human trafficking victims.
No Public Access, unless otherwise ordered
							 by a court in a prosecution involving a victim of human trafficking.
18 Pa.C.S. §
														3019(a).
Criminal
Wiretap applications, final
							 reports and orders.
No Public Access except upon showing of good cause
							 before a court of competent jurisdiction.
18 Pa.C.S. §
														5715.
Criminal
Names of minor victims of sexual
							 or physical abuse.
No Public Access. Records revealing a victim's name
							 are sealed. A minor victim who is 18 years of age or older at the time of the
							 commencement of the prosecution may waive this protection and allow the court
							 to release the name of the minor victim.
42 Pa.C.S. §
														5988.
Criminal*
Any criminal history record
							 information related to the convictions of certain offenses graded as a
							 misdemeanor of the first, second or third degree, or summary more than 10 years
							 old, or dispositions that are non-convictions, and convictions for which a
							 pardon was granted.
No public access. The court shall not release the
							 information to an individual, noncriminal justice agency or an internet
							 website.
18 Pa.C.S. §§
														9121,
							 9122.1, and § 9122.2.
Domestic Relations
Information regarding
							 the registration, filing of a petition for, or issuance of a protection from
							 abuse order in either the issuing or enforcing State.
No Public Access
							 via internet publication, if such publication would be likely to publicly
							 reveal the identity or location of the protected party.
18 U.S.C. §
														2265(d)(3).
Domestic Relations
Social security number
							 of any individual subject to a divorce decree, support order, paternity
							 determination, or acknowledgement of paternity, which is required in all
							 records of those matters.
No Public Access.
23 Pa.C.S. §
														4304.1(a)(3).
Domestic Relations
Child Support
							 Records.
No Public Access, except for PACSES dockets, court orders and
							 opinions.
42 U.S.C.
							 §§
														654(26)(A),
							 654a(d)(1)(A);
							 45 CFR §§
														303.21(c)-(d),
							 307.13(a)(1);
							 23 Pa.C.S. §
													4304.1(d);
							 Sections 2.4 and
							 3.4 of the Cooperative
							 Agreement.
Domestic Relations
(a) Subject to any
							 inconsistent general rules and to the supervision and direction of the court,
							 the domestic relations section shall have the power and duty to. . . (10)
							 Implement safeguards applicable to all confidential information received by the
							 domestic relations section in order to protect the privacy rights of the
							 parties, including. . . (ii) prohibitions against the release of information on
							 the whereabouts of one party or the child to another party against whom a
							 protective order with respect to the former party or the child has been
							 entered; and (iii) prohibitions against the release of information on the
							 whereabouts of one party or the child to another person if the domestic
							 relations section has reason to believe that the release of the information may
							 result in physical or emotional harm to the party or the child.
No
							 Public Access.
23 Pa.C.S. §
														4305(a)(10)(ii)-(iii).
Domestic Relations
List of weapons ordered
							 to be relinquished by the defendant in an action for protection from
							 abuse.
No Public Access, except (A) upon an order of the court granted
							 upon cause shown; (B) as necessary, by law enforcement and court personnel; or
							 (C) after redaction of information listing any firearm, other weapons or
							 ammunition.
23 Pa.C.S. §
														6108(a)(7)(v);
							 18 Pa.C.S. § 6105.2(f);
see also
18 Pa.C.S. §
														6128(e).
Domestic Relations
All records pertaining
							 to a confidential address for individuals participating in the Office of Victim
							 Advocate's Address Confidentiality Program.
No Public Access, except
							 for the substitute address provided by the Office of Victim Advocate.
23 Pa.C.S. §
														6703(d);
see
							 also
23 Pa.C.S. §
														5336(b)(1).
Domestic Relations*
Written reports of a
							 guardian
ad litem
that include specific recommendations
							 relating to the child's best interest and a party's filed response to the
							 report.
No Public Access.
Pa.R.Civ.P. 1915.11-2(d)(3).
Juvenile Court
Juvenile Dependency and
							 Delinquency records.
No Public Access; except as set forth in
							 42 Pa.C.S. §
														6307,
							 Pa.R.J.C.P. 160 and/or 1160, including with leave of court.
42 Pa.C.S. §
														6307;
							 Pa.R.J.C.P. 160, 1160.
Landlord-Tenant
Domestic Violence Affidavit
							 filed with the court to stay the execution of an order of possession.
No Public Access to the Domestic Violence Affidavit.
Pa.R.C.P.M.D.J.
							 514.1.
Orphans' Court
Proceedings related to
							 appointment of guardianship for incapacitated persons.
Shall be closed
							 to the public upon request of the alleged incapacitated person or his counsel.
							 After the individual's death his/her estate may access the record of the
							 guardianship proceedings.
20 Pa.C.S. §
														5511(a);
In re
							 Estate of duPont
, 2 A.3d 516 (Pa. 2010).
Orphans' Court
Records required for foreign
							 adoption decrees.
No Public Access unless a court order is granted
							 upon good cause.
23 Pa.C.S. §
														2908(F); Pa.O.C.R.
							 15.21.
Orphans' Court
Adoption records.
No Public Access unless otherwise ordered.
23 Pa.C.S. §
														2915;
see also
23 Pa.C.S. §
														2906;
							 Pa.O.C.R. 15.21.
Superior Court
The Court may order that
							 parties' names in captions for appeals from divorce, equitable distribution,
							 custody, visitation, or child support decisions be initialized.
No
							 Public Access to the names in the caption. This does not apply to the text of a
							 circulation or order of the Court.
210 Pa. Code § 65.44.
Orphans' Court (Family Court in Philadelphia County
							 or Juvenile Court Section of Family Division in Allegheny County Pa.R.J.A.
							 2157)
Applications of a minor for judicial approval of decision to
							 have an abortion, under the Abortion Control Act, as well as proceedings and
							 the name of the minor.
No Public Access; sealed dockets, and documents
							 shall be maintained in a closed file marked "confidential" and identified by
							 case number only.
18 Pa.C.S. §
														3206(f); Pa.O.C.R. 16.2 and
							 16.6. Note also Pa.R.J.A. 2157 and Pa.R.A.P. 3801.
General
Records concerning persons in
							 treatment under the Mental Health Procedures Act.
Limited Public
							 Access in compliance with the Mental Health Procedures Act and controlling case
							 law.
50
							 P.S. §
														7111.
General
Court documents, rules, or orders
							 in Gaming Law proceedings.
Any party may request proceeding and record
							 to be sealed if in best interest of any person or Commonwealth.
4
							 Pa.C.S. §
														1518.2(b).
General
Proceedings and records involving
							 juveniles charged with a summary offense before the minor judiciary, the
							 Philadelphia Municipal Court or a Court of Common Pleas.
No Public
							 Access.
42 Pa.C.S. §§
														6303(c),
							 6307(c), and 6336(g).
General
Transcript of proceedings in the
							 judicial districts within the Unified Judicial System.
A court may
							 order the person preparing the transcript to redact confidential, personal
							 and/or financial data and other identifiers and information listed in Section
							 7.0 of the Case Records Public
							 Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System.
Pa.R.J.A. 4014.
Note: this may not be a complete listing; the public and
					 court staff are directed to consult federal and state statutes, court rules or
					 case law.
*New or amended material
The list which appears in 204 Pa. Code pages
						213-56-213-65, serial pages (402664), (397455)- (397463), is replaced with the
						following list.
this may not be a complete listing; the public and court
						staff are directed to consult federal and state statutes, court rules or case
						law.