Access the Pennsylvania Criminal Background Records

If you are staying in Pennsylvania and need to conduct a background check on a particular person suspecting or knowing him/her to be a criminal you need access to the Pennsylvania criminal history records. Pennsylvania allows the general public to perform criminal history record checks in the interest of public safety. Pennsylvania criminal background checks are also made by companies when hiring new employees, where as the individuals conduct checks on babysitters, nannies, or maybe a new neighbor.

Accessing the Pennsylvania Criminal Background Information

The repository has been created and maintained according to the specifications stated in Pennsylvania's Criminal History Information Act, Chapter 91 of Title 18- Crimes Code. The Act also urges the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) to distribute criminal history data to the general public on request as well as to the criminal justice agencies and the non-criminal justice agencies.

The criminal justice agencies have the right to access all the information regarding an individual’s criminal background. The requests that are made by individuals and non-criminal justice agencies for information on criminals are subjected to certain conditions under the Pennsylvania State laws.

If you want detailed information on obtaining access to the Pennsylvania criminal background records you can visit the website https://epatch.state.pa.us. The Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History site also referred to as PATCH can be used by both the registered and the non-registered users. If you agree to the sections of the Criminal History Record Information Act and all the terms that are stated you can acquire the information you are seeking.

Remember regardless of the outcome a fee of $10.00 is charged for each request you make. This fee is non-refundable. You must have a valid email address so that the PATCH administrators are able to give you the vital information which is the outcome of a Pennsylvania criminal background check.

Information Provided by a Pennsylvania Criminal Background Report

A Pennsylvania criminal background check will impart information on all of the criminal’s convictions, all the charges against the person in less than three years from the date of arrest, and all the charges for which a warrant of arrest has been issued against the person.

Requesting Pennsylvania Criminal Background Records

Normally, you can request for Pennsylvania criminal records to do a background check on the person in question in two ways.

You can make an online request by visiting the PATCH website. The web based computer application that is established by the PSP, is a system where you can apply for conducting a Pennsylvania criminal background check on a particular person. If the person you are searching for is not present in the records then you will get the outcome as “No Records” immediately through the Internet.

You can also submit a request form. The criminal history request form SP4-164 needs to be filled out. You can download this request form from the PATCH website. The result that you obtain is actually dependent on comparison of the data that you provide with the information that is contained in the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository files. Remember no comparison will be made with information contained in the repositories of other state, local, or federal criminal justice agencies.

You can fill out the criminal history request form that you have downloaded from the website and submit one copy of it with a certified check or money order of $10.00 as fee to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mail the completed form to the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository – 164, 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758.