Allegheny Criminal Records Search: Cases & Public Records

The correct source depends on the type of information you need. Allegheny County criminal court records, statewide criminal-history reports and jail custody records are maintained by different offices.

Pennsylvania’s Unified Judicial System Web Portal is the official starting point for most Allegheny County criminal docket searches. You can search cases in the Court of Common Pleas and magisterial district courts.

1. Open the official Case Search. Visit Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. Use the public search option; do not request restricted judicial or law-enforcement access.
2. Select the appropriate court level. For a criminal trial court case, choose Court of Common Pleas. For an initial criminal complaint, preliminary hearing, summary offense or traffic case, select Magisterial District Court.
3. Select Allegheny County. Use the available county or court office filter to narrow the results. Allegheny County is part of Pennsylvania’s Fifth Judicial District.
4. Choose a search method. Use Participant Name, Docket Number, OTN or another search method shown by the portal. The exact fields may depend on the selected court type.
5. Enter the required information. For a name search, enter the last and first name and any other available identifiers. If you have the full docket number or Offense Tracking Number, use it to narrow the results.
6. Review possible matching cases. Check the docket number, defendant name, court, filing date and case status. Do not assume a matching name identifies the correct person.
7. Open the docket sheet. Select the matching result and use the Docket Sheet option to inspect the case details, charges, docket entries, court dates and dispositions.
8. Save the docket number. If you need an official judgment or criminal record check, record the complete docket number and contact the appropriate Department of Court Records office.

Searching by OTN

An Offense Tracking Number (OTN) identifies a criminal incident as it moves through Pennsylvania’s criminal justice system. If you have an OTN from an arrest or preliminary hearing, select the OTN search type in the public portal.

The Allegheny County District Attorney cautions that it may take approximately two to four weeks after a preliminary hearing for the Common Pleas case record to be generated in the system. An initial no-result search does not necessarily mean the prosecution was dismissed.

Understanding a Pennsylvania criminal docket number

Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas criminal cases commonly use a format resembling:

CP-02-CR-0001234-2026

Here, CP identifies the Court of Common Pleas, 02 identifies Allegheny County, CR identifies a criminal docket, and the remaining components identify the case and filing year.

Magisterial district court cases begin with MJ and use a different numbering format. The complete number is more useful than a shortened reference when locating an older criminal file.

Allegheny County’s Fifth Judicial District includes the Court of Common Pleas, magisterial district courts and Pittsburgh Municipal Court. Criminal cases may move between court levels during prosecution.

Why a criminal case may have more than one docket

A defendant may first appear before a magisterial district judge for arraignment or a preliminary hearing. If the case is held for court, a separate Common Pleas criminal docket may later be created.

When an initial magisterial docket is closed or transferred, check whether the criminal matter continued in the Court of Common Pleas before concluding that it ended.

People searching for a recent arrest in the City of Pittsburgh often need the Pittsburgh Municipal Court rather than beginning with a Common Pleas trial docket.

Pittsburgh Municipal Court handles local traffic and non-traffic offenses and conducts preliminary hearings for misdemeanor and felony criminal cases arising within Pittsburgh city limits.

What if the case occurred outside Pittsburgh?

Criminal complaints originating in communities such as McKeesport, Monroeville, Penn Hills, Bethel Park or other parts of Allegheny County may begin before the magisterial district judge serving that area.

Search the UJS Magisterial District Court dockets using Allegheny County and the relevant participant information. You can also consult the official Magisterial District Courts information to identify the correct court.

After opening a docket sheet, review the charges, court events and final disposition. The first charge listed is not necessarily the offense for which the defendant was convicted, and the administrative case status does not always explain the outcome.

Allegheny County ARD records

Allegheny County’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program serves certain eligible cases. The Criminal Division explains that acceptance into ARD is neither a conviction nor an acquittal.

A person participating in ARD may still have an arrest record. Successful completion can provide a route to expungement, but the person should follow the court’s process rather than assuming that the record disappears automatically.

Allegheny Criminal Division — Frequently Asked Questions about ARD

When an online docket is not enough, the Allegheny County Department of Court Records, Criminal Division maintains the criminal case files for the Court of Common Pleas.

Where to find recent and older criminal files

The county states that criminal files from the current year and the four previous years are maintained in Room 220 of the Allegheny County Courthouse.

Older files may still be available, but they must be ordered from an off-site storage facility. Computer terminals are available for researching criminal records.

How to request a certified criminal disposition

1. Find the criminal docket. Search UJS using the person’s name, OTN or Common Pleas docket number.
2. Record the case details. Note the complete docket number, court and relevant judgment or order.
3. Contact the Department of Court Records. Ask whether the specific document is available for inspection or copying.
4. Confirm whether certification is required. A plain photocopy or docket printout is not necessarily a certified record.
5. Ask about the correct fee and retrieval method. Older cases may require advance retrieval from storage.
6. Obtain the court-issued document. Preserve its certification and identifying details for the organization requesting it.

Official Criminal Records Services and Locations

Searching publicly available UJS dockets is free. County records research, certified documents and Pennsylvania State Police background checks are separate services with their own charges.

If an employer, licensing agency, volunteer organization or another requester needs a Pennsylvania criminal-history record check, the official statewide route is PATCH — Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History.

PATCH checks Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository information. It does not automatically include every federal or out-of-state criminal record.

How to request a PATCH criminal-history check

1. Open the official PATCH website. Visit epatch.pa.gov.
2. Choose the correct request type. Use Submit a New Record Check, a qualifying Volunteer Record Check or another applicable option.
3. Enter accurate identity details. Follow the portal’s requirements for the person whose record is being checked.
4. Review the fee and checkout information. The standard Pennsylvania criminal-history check is $22.
5. Submit the request. Some responses are available immediately; others require review by the Pennsylvania State Police.
6. Save the control number. You may need it to check the request’s status or validate the result.
7. Print or save the final certificate. PATCH states that online requesters must retrieve their Record or No Record response through the portal rather than expecting a mailed response.

Important 2026 online processing charge

Beginning April 22, 2026, PATCH applies a 2% processing charge to online credit-card transactions. Registered-account billing and qualifying mail-in payments by check are treated differently under its published instructions.

What does “Request Under Review” mean?

A PATCH result marked Request Under Review does not automatically mean the person has a criminal record. It indicates that the submitted identifiers require further examination.

The Pennsylvania State Police advises that certain reviews can take several weeks. Use the PATCH status-check tool and control number rather than submitting duplicate requests unnecessarily.

Need to review your own complete state history?

The Pennsylvania State Police provides a separate Individual Access and Review procedure using Form SP 4-170. It is a mail-in request with a published $20 fee and is not the same as a standard public PATCH certificate.

A criminal court case docket is different from an arrest report or custody record. If your immediate concern is whether someone is currently held at the Allegheny County Jail, contact the jail directly.

What if the person is in Pennsylvania state prison?

The Pennsylvania Department of Corrections maintains a separate Inmate and Parolee Locator. It is intended for state-incarcerated and department-supervised individuals, not every county jail inmate.

Pennsylvania DOC — Locate an Inmate or Parolee

People sometimes try to use a criminal docket search to determine whether a warrant is currently active. That is not a reliable method for confirming live warrant status.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Warrant Office states that warrant information is not provided to the public over the telephone. The Sheriff’s Office instructs individuals who believe they have a warrant to appear in person.

Pennsylvania’s UJS also provides restricted warrant-related access for authorized criminal justice users. This is not an unrestricted public warrant database.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office also states that it does not perform background checks. For criminal-history information, use the Department of Court Records or Pennsylvania State Police as appropriate.

Pennsylvania State Police maintains the Commonwealth’s public Megan’s Law website. Users can search qualifying registered sexual offenders by name or location, including Allegheny County and Pittsburgh-area searches.

1. Open the Pennsylvania Megan’s Law website. Read and accept the official public-use conditions.
2. Select the search type. Use the name or geographic search options available.
3. Enter Allegheny County or the relevant location. Use the available county, ZIP code, municipality or address-related controls.
4. Compare identity information. Review the official registration details before assuming a match.
5. Respect the registry’s use restrictions. Registry information may not be misused to threaten, intimidate or harass anyone.

A criminal record may be unavailable through the public UJS portal because it was expunged, sealed or made subject to limited access under Pennsylvania law.

Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate laws have expanded over time. Act 36 of 2023, effective in 2024, broadened eligibility for certain offenses and established additional automatic record-clearing provisions.

Expungement versus Clean Slate limited access

Which records may qualify?

Pennsylvania law provides automatic limited access for certain qualifying non-conviction records, summary convictions after applicable waiting periods, qualifying misdemeanors and specified eligible felonies.

Under the updated statutory framework, certain qualifying summary convictions can be eligible after five years, qualifying misdemeanors after seven years without specified new convictions, and certain qualifying felonies after ten years, subject to the statutory conditions and exclusions.

Eligibility also depends on factors such as offense classification, the individual’s later record, payment of required restitution and other applicable statutory limitations. These are not universal waiting periods for every criminal charge.

How to begin an Allegheny County record-clearing inquiry

1. Find the relevant docket number. Search the public UJS portal if the case is still visible.
2. Obtain your criminal-history information when necessary. Pennsylvania State Police provides an Individual Access and Review procedure.
3. Determine the appropriate legal remedy. Expungement, Clean Slate limited access, pardon-related relief and ARD completion involve different rules.
4. Contact the county’s expungement office. Ask about the current process and filing requirements for Allegheny County.
5. Follow any court orders and verification instructions. Make sure the correct case, criminal-history record and agencies are identified.

A criminal case may be missing from an online search even when a record exists. Check the court level, filing date and access restrictions before drawing conclusions.

Federal criminal prosecutions involving Pittsburgh or Allegheny County are generally handled through the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

Federal criminal dockets and documents are maintained separately from Pennsylvania’s UJS system. Use PACER to search federal records.

If you do not know which federal court handled the case, use the national PACER Case Locator.

Criminal public records can affect employment, housing, licensing, legal proceedings and a person’s reputation. Use official information carefully and distinguish between allegations and established outcomes.

• An arrest does not establish that a person committed an offense.
• A preliminary charge may be withdrawn, dismissed or changed.
• A docket showing a guilty plea must be read together with subsequent sentencing and court orders.
• Participation in Allegheny County’s ARD program is not equivalent to a criminal conviction.
• A case status marked closed does not by itself explain the result.
• A matching name does not positively establish identity.
• Expunged and Clean Slate records may be protected from ordinary public disclosure.

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