How to Search Philadelphia County Court Records
The official front door is the First Judicial District "Calendars & Case Information" page. It links to every docket system in one place: Common Pleas civil dockets, Orphans' Court dockets, Family Division dockets, Municipal Court civil dockets, Municipal Court new criminal filings, traffic dockets, and the statewide Pennsylvania UJS criminal dockets. Pick the court type first. The portal you need depends on whether the case is civil, criminal, family, or estate.
Before you start, gather the basics. A full name works for a participant search. A docket number works best of all. Philadelphia Common Pleas criminal dockets use a CP-51-CR prefix, and Municipal Court criminal dockets use an MC-51 format. For civil cases, the city service page lets the public search by case number, plaintiff, or defendant.
- Open courts.phila.gov/casesearch and choose case information.
- Pick the court. Use the UJS Web Portal for criminal dockets or the Common Pleas civil link for civil suits.
- Enter a party name or a docket number, and select Philadelphia as the county.
- Open the docket sheet and read the dated entries for charges, motions, or judgments.
- Request a certified copy from the holding office if you need a record for court or another official use.
The statewide policy behind public access is posted in the Pennsylvania Code. That page is shown below.
The screenshot is the 204 Pa. Code § 213.81 case-records public access policy.
That policy is the rule that makes most case records open while still protecting sealed and confidential material.
Philadelphia County Court Records Search Fields
Each docket portal shares a few core fields. You choose a court or docket type, then search by name or number. The table lists the main fields on the FJD case hub and the UJS criminal docket search, with notes on what each one needs.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Docket type | Tab / dropdown | Yes | Appellate, Common Pleas, Magisterial District, or Philadelphia Municipal Court |
| Search type | Radio / tab | Yes | Participant name, docket number, OTN, complaint, or organization |
| Last name / organization | Text | Conditional | Required for a name search |
| First name | Text | No | Narrows common names |
| Docket number | Text | Conditional | Required for a number search; format varies by court |
| County | Dropdown | Conditional | Choose Philadelphia for county results |
| Date filed range | Date | No | Narrows results where available |
The Pennsylvania UJS Web Portal is the main free tool for criminal docket sheets statewide. It is shown here.
The same portal links to PAePay for fines and to court calendars, so it does more than name lookups.
Types of Philadelphia County Court Records
Court records here split by division. Civil records include complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, settlements, and docket entries. Criminal records include charges, bail events, preliminary hearings, pleas, verdicts, sentences, and bench warrants. Family records cover divorce, custody, support, paternity, and protection from abuse, though remote access is narrow. Probate and Orphans' Court records cover wills, estates, inventories, and guardianships. Traffic records cover city vehicle-law citations handled by the Municipal Court Traffic Division.
Which court produces the record matters for your search. Common Pleas handles felony trials and larger civil cases through its Trial Division. Municipal Court handles small claims, landlord-tenant, code, and the first steps of criminal cases. The Family Division at 1501 Arch Street holds divorce, custody, and juvenile records. The Register of Wills holds wills, estates, and marriage records. Judgments, liens, and debt-collection records also appear in the civil systems, and the FJD case hub includes a Debt Collection Name Search and a Debt Collection Search using a State ID for those matters.
- Civil case records through the Common Pleas Trial Division civil dockets and debt-collection searches.
- Criminal docket sheets through the statewide UJS portal for Common Pleas and Municipal Court.
- Family and divorce dockets with limited remote access under court policy.
- Probate, estate, and guardianship records through the Orphans' Court and Register of Wills.
- Traffic citation records through the Municipal Court Traffic Division.
The Pennsylvania courts public records page points users to docket sheets and request resources. It is shown next.
For a deeper look at docket sheets specifically, see Philadelphia County court dockets.
What Philadelphia County Court Records Show
A docket sheet is the public record of a case. It lists the case number, the court, the parties, and a dated log of every filing and event. The table below maps the common fields you will see on a UJS criminal docket sheet and what each one means.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket Number | The case ID, such as CP-51-CR for Common Pleas criminal cases |
| Case Caption | The parties, often Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. defendant |
| Filing Date | When the case or docket opened |
| Charges | Statute, offense description, grade, and counts |
| Proceedings | Arraignment, preliminary hearing, plea, trial, and sentencing events |
| Disposition | The outcome of each charge and the case |
| Financials | Fines, costs, and restitution, often payable through PAePay |
Court policy keeps some data off the public sheet. Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, SID numbers, victim addresses, and juror or witness details are redacted. Scanned copies of the underlying documents are usually not attached online.
The Common Pleas docket sheet search on the statewide site is shown below.
Use it when you have a Common Pleas case in mind and want the procedural history.
Public Access Framework for Philadelphia County Court Records
Court case records follow the Unified Judicial System's Case Records Public Access Policy at 204 Pa. Code § 213.81. It treats case records as open unless a law or rule restricts them, and it sets rules for requests, fees, and remote access. City and county agency records, by contrast, follow the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law. The statewide courts public records page at pacourts.us/public-records points users to the right tools.
Under the policy, a person can often make an oral request to the proper custodian for a simple record. Complex or large requests may need a written request that describes the records. A written denial must explain itself, and custodians must address delays. Title 42 of the Pennsylvania statutes, at 42 Pa.C.S., carries many of the court-structure and juvenile-record provisions behind these rules.
Note: Viewing a case file stored at the courthouse should carry no fee under the statewide policy, though copy and certified-copy fees can apply.
Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Philadelphia County
Some records are closed by law. Juvenile records are restricted under Title 42 and court policy. Adoption and mental health records are confidential. Family court files limit remote access to dockets, orders, and opinions, while income statements, property inventories, and medical records stay protected. Sealed search warrant affidavits, unexecuted warrants, grand jury materials, and sealed indictments are not public.
To view a sealed record, a person usually needs party status, a statutory right, or a court order. To clear an eligible criminal record, the path runs through expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122 and the petition procedure in Pa.R.Crim.P. 790, filed with the clerk in the district where the charges were disposed. "Limited access" is narrower than full expungement. Pennsylvania's policy also separates confidential information from confidential documents. Confidential information means identifiers like a Social Security number, which should never appear in a public filing. Confidential documents are whole document types, like medical or financial source records, that are filed separately and kept out of the public file.
Federal Court Records for Philadelphia
Federal cases are not Philadelphia County court records, but many Philadelphia people and events end up in federal court. Philadelphia sits in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, based at the James A. Byrne U.S. Courthouse, 601 Market Street. Federal criminal, civil rights, employment, and constitutional cases are filed there. The district homepage is shown below.
Federal docket information is searched through PACER and the CM/ECF system, not the First Judicial District portals. The PACER court lookup for the Eastern District is shown here.
Bankruptcy cases run through the separate U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also on PACER. Its homepage appears below.
PACER is account based, and fees may apply for pages and documents unless a waiver or free threshold applies. The Eastern District covers nine counties and nearly six million residents, so its docket reaches well beyond the city. Appeals from the district generally go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. If you cannot tell whether a matter is state or federal, the safe rule is simple: charges brought by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are state cases on the UJS portal, while charges brought by the United States are federal cases on PACER.
In-Person Court Record Requests
When a record is not online, the Office of Judicial Records handles many Common Pleas and Municipal Court filings at City Hall. Bring the case number if you have it, a photo ID, and a way to pay copy fees. Court offices generally open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Marriage and probate records go to the Register of Wills instead.
Office of Judicial Records
City Hall, Broad & Market Sts.
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-686-7000
Mon-Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.