Search Philadelphia County Court Records
Start with the record type. Common Pleas civil records are searched through the Philadelphia Civil Docket Access system. Criminal Common Pleas records, Philadelphia Municipal Court records, appellate records, and many magisterial district records are searched through Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. Traffic fines and some payment data use PAePay, while marriage and probate records are handled through the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court channels.
The Philadelphia civil landing page identifies the First Judicial District Trial Division, Civil, and links separate searches for people or companies, judgments, civil docket reports by Case ID, and court listings. The same system can route users to available civil docket reports and document purchase options. Criminal and Municipal Court users should expect a different path. UJS public docket sheets are free, but they are not Pennsylvania criminal history reports and they may not show every confidential or recent entry.
- Choose the correct Philadelphia County court records channel before entering a name. Use Civil Docket Access for Common Pleas civil records and UJS Case Search for criminal, Municipal Court, appellate, and many statewide docket sheets.
- For civil matters with no case number, search by last name or company name, add first and middle names when known, and narrow by filing date.
- For a known civil case, use the Civil Dockets Search by Case ID. From returned court listings, open the docket and review available document purchase links.
- For criminal cases, search UJS by participant name, docket number, OTN, complaint number, or police incident number. In Philadelphia, compare Municipal Court and Common Pleas results.
- For certified copies, exemplifications, older files, or items not online, contact the Office of Judicial Records civil or criminal office rather than relying on a public web docket alone.
The Philadelphia Civil Docket Access landing page is shown in the source capture below.
This screen matters because it separates Philadelphia County civil court records into person, judgment, docket report, and court listing searches.
Philadelphia County Court Records Fields
Civil Docket Access uses narrow fields that work best when the user knows whether the search is about a party, a judgment, a case number, or an upcoming court listing. UJS is broader. It can search by docket number, participant name, organization, OTN, complaint number, police incident number, date filed, county, and court type. Philadelphia County criminal searches often need both systems because a civil litigant will not appear in UJS the same way a criminal defendant appears there.
| Portal | Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Civil Person/Company Search | Last Name or Company Name | Text | Appears required | Use a surname or business name for Philadelphia civil case parties. |
| Civil Person/Company Search | Phonetic Search | Checkbox | No | Useful when spelling may vary. |
| Civil Person/Company Search | Beginning and Ending Case Filing Date | Date | No | Limits broad civil case results by filing period. |
| Civil Judgment Search | Beginning and Ending Judgment Date | Date | No | Searches judgment date ranges against a person or company. |
| Civil Dockets Search | Case ID | Text | Yes | Best path when a Philadelphia civil Case ID is already known. |
| Court Listings | List type or program category | Selection | Yes | Returned lists can be filtered, printed, or downloaded. |
| UJS Case Search | Search by | Radio or tab | Yes | Docket number, participant, organization, OTN, complaint number, police incident number, date filed, or court options. |
| UJS Case Search | Court Type and County | Dropdown | Varies | Select Philadelphia when limiting criminal or Municipal Court docket results. |
The Civil Person/Company Search capture shows the party-name route for Philadelphia County court records.
That form is the practical starting point when a civil case number is unknown but a party name or company name is available.
Types of Philadelphia County Court Records
Philadelphia County court records come from the First Judicial District, which includes the Court of Common Pleas and Philadelphia Municipal Court. The Court of Common Pleas handles major civil, criminal, family, and Orphans' Court matters. Municipal Court handles initial criminal processing, misdemeanor trials, felony preliminary hearings, landlord-tenant and small civil matters, code enforcement, and traffic cases through its Traffic Division.
Because the county uses split record offices, the Office of Judicial Records civil side functions as the Prothonotary for civil and family filings, while the criminal clerk function supports Common Pleas criminal and Municipal Court criminal records. Probate and marriage files are separate. The Register of Wills serves as Clerk of the Orphans' Court, issues marriage licenses, keeps marriage records, and maintains estate and Orphans' Court dockets.
- Civil records include complaints, petitions, answers, motions, orders, judgments, civil docket reports, and court listings.
- Criminal records include Municipal Court dockets, Common Pleas dockets, charges, OTN data, pleas, dispositions, sentences, bail, and appeals.
- Family records may include divorce, custody, support, juvenile, dependency, and protection matters, often with access limits.
- Probate and Orphans' Court records include wills, estate inventories, letters, guardianship matters, trusts, accounts, and estate petitions.
- Traffic court records involve moving violations handled by the Philadelphia Municipal Court Traffic Division, while parking and camera citations use the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
The Civil Judgment Search source capture is one example of a specialized Philadelphia County court records search.
Judgment searches are distinct from ordinary case searches because they focus on enforceable civil outcomes against a person or company.
What Philadelphia County Court Records Show
A court record is more than a name search result. Philadelphia County court records can show the docket number, court and division, filing date, initiation date, parties, attorneys, judge, hearing events, orders, judgments, case status, payment fields, and final disposition. Criminal records add OTN, complaint number, police agency, charges, statute section, grading, bail, plea, sentence, and cross-court docket numbers. Civil records add complaint type, filing history, judgment data, orders, and document purchase links where available.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket or Case Number | CP, MC, MJ, appellate, citation, or civil Case ID format used to identify the case. |
| Cross-Court Docket Number | Philadelphia criminal link between Municipal Court and Common Pleas records for the same incident. |
| Parties | Plaintiff, defendant, Commonwealth, petitioner, respondent, decedent, applicant, or other named case participants. |
| Charges or Causes | Statute section, offense description, grade, civil complaint type, probate petition type, or traffic citation category. |
| Docket Entries | Filings, motions, orders, hearing notices, continuances, dispositions, warrants, judgments, sentences, and appeals. |
| Status or Disposition | Open, closed, disposed, dismissed, held for court, guilty, not guilty, withdrawn, nolle prossed, sentenced, or appealed. |
| Financial Fields | Fines, costs, restitution, bail, civil judgments, filing fees, payment plans, and copy fees when public. |
The Civil Docket Report by Case ID image shows the direct docket report route.
Case ID lookup is useful when a filing, order, or prior search result already supplied the Philadelphia civil case number.
Philadelphia County Court Records Access
Public access depends on the kind of record. The Pennsylvania courts public records policies hub and the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania control access to Pennsylvania case records, confidential information, and public docket sheets. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law applies to many Commonwealth and local agency records, but court case records are governed heavily by judicial policies.
Official copies are handled through the office that keeps the record. The Office of Judicial Records fee schedule lists civil certification or certificate at $41.58, exemplification at $83.16, name search at $58.52, non-party docket report at $5.50, and photocopy or electronic records at $0.25 per page. The civil docket access system also warns that a $5 convenience fee is added to transactions at checkout when purchasing documents through the cart.
Note: UJS docket sheets are public case records, but they are not Pennsylvania criminal-history background checks.
Restricted Philadelphia County Court Records
Not every Philadelphia County court record is public. Juvenile delinquency, dependency, adoption, mental health proceedings, sealed matters, expunged cases, abuse-victim information, minors' names, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and other personal identifiers may be hidden or redacted. Family Court and Orphans' Court records often contain information that is treated differently from ordinary civil complaints or public criminal docket sheets.
Expungement and sealing also change what the public can see. The key Pennsylvania criminal expungement statute is 18 Pa.C.S. Section 9122. A Philadelphia criminal case may require checking both MC and CP docket numbers before filing or verifying relief. Sealing generally restricts public access. Expungement removes or destroys eligible record information after the court grants relief and orders agencies to process it.
Philadelphia County Court Record Requests
When online searches are incomplete, use the office that owns the record. Civil records, civil certifications, exemplifications, photocopies, name searches, and docket reports go through the Office of Judicial Records civil channels. Criminal Common Pleas and Philadelphia Municipal Court case copies should be requested through the criminal clerk function of the Office of Judicial Records. Probate and Orphans' Court files go through the Register of Wills, not the civil Prothonotary office.
The Court Listings capture shows how Philadelphia County court records can also be approached through live listing searches.
Court listings help identify hearings and related case links, but official copies still come from the records office that maintains the case file.
Office of Judicial Records - Civil
City Hall, Room 284
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-686-6652
OJRCivil@courts.phila.gov
Register of Wills / Orphans' Court
City Hall, Room 180
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-686-6255
rowonline@phila.gov
The statewide UJS Case Search capture below is the main public route for Philadelphia criminal and Municipal Court docket sheets.
UJS is the better public search path for criminal and Municipal Court matters, while Philadelphia Civil Docket Access remains the better path for local civil docket reports.