Lancaster Pennsylvania Criminal Records
Lancaster criminal records are maintained through Lancaster County courts and the Lancaster City Police Department. Lancaster is the county seat of Lancaster County with about 60,000 residents. Criminal court cases from Lancaster are filed at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas and are searchable through the Pennsylvania UJS Portal. The Lancaster City Police Department Records Division processes police report and incident record requests. This page covers how to search Lancaster criminal records, request police reports, run background checks through PATCH, and learn about expungement options.
Lancaster Quick Facts
Lancaster City Police Department Records
The Lancaster City Police Department Records Division processes all requests for police reports, incident reports, and accident reports. The department is at 39 West Chestnut Street, Lancaster, PA 17603. Call 717-735-3300 for general inquiries. The Lancaster City Police records page at police.cityoflancasterpa.gov provides information on the request process, fee schedule, and online submission options.
Standard police report fees run from $15 to $25 depending on the report type. Accident reports are $15. The Records Division accepts in-person requests Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Mail requests should include the incident details, involved party information, a photocopy of valid ID, payment by check or money order, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Online submissions are accepted through the department's records request portal and may process faster than mail or in-person requests. Standard processing takes three to five business days for most reports.
Act 22 of 2017 body camera and dashboard camera footage requests require a separate form and are handled by the Records Division. The department provides a fee estimate before processing video requests. Reports from active criminal investigations may be withheld until the matter concludes. Formal Right-to-Know Law requests for Lancaster city records follow the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law at 65 P.S. § 67.101. Denied requests can be appealed to the City of Lancaster Open Records Officer within 15 business days.
City of Lancaster Website and Public Resources
The City of Lancaster website at cityoflancasterpa.gov connects residents to all city departments, including the police department and the city's Open Records Officer. The site includes RTK request forms and links to city data resources. Lancaster city hall is located in the historic downtown district near the police department at West Chestnut Street.
Lancaster publishes crime data and public safety statistics through the city website and the Lancaster City Police Department's reports. Aggregate crime information by neighborhood is publicly accessible and helps residents understand local trends without identifying individual defendants. The city also provides access to 911 dispatch records, code enforcement records, and meeting minutes through its RTK portal for documents that qualify under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law.
Lancaster Court Records and Criminal Dockets
Criminal cases from Lancaster are filed at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. The county court handles all felony charges and serious misdemeanor matters originating in Lancaster and the surrounding municipalities. Magisterial District Judges throughout Lancaster handle preliminary hearings, bail, and summary offenses at the local level before cases proceed to the county court in downtown Lancaster.
The free public tool for searching Lancaster criminal records is the Pennsylvania UJS Portal. Searches by party name or docket number are available at no cost. Lancaster County cases use code 36 in the format CP-36-CR-XXXXXXX-YYYY. The portal shows charges, all court appearances, hearing outcomes, dispositions, and sentencing details. This is the fastest way to find Lancaster criminal records without a courthouse visit.
For certified copies of court documents, contact the Lancaster County Clerk of Courts. The Lancaster County government website at co.lancaster.pa.us provides contact details for the Clerk of Courts and all county court offices. In-person visits to the courthouse allow review of full case files. Standard copies cost $0.25 per page. Certified copies are required for licensing and legal proceedings.
Note: Juvenile records, Protection from Abuse filings, and records sealed under Clean Slate are not accessible through public UJS Portal searches.
Lancaster Criminal History Background Checks
Lancaster residents and organizations that need a certified Pennsylvania criminal history check use PATCH at epatch.pa.gov. The Pennsylvania State Police runs PATCH as the central repository for all criminal history under 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91. A standard check is $22. A notarized copy is $27. Volunteer checks using Form SP 4-164A are free but cannot be notarized.
PATCH results include all Pennsylvania law enforcement records, including those from Lancaster and Lancaster County courts. Records from other states and the federal system are not included. No-record results return immediately online in most cases. When a criminal record is found, the report is mailed after manual review, which typically takes two to four weeks. Lancaster residents who want to review their own complete record can submit Form SP 4-170 by mail with a fingerprint card to the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository.
Expungement of Lancaster Criminal Records
Lancaster residents who want to clear or seal their records have two paths under Pennsylvania law. The first is a court petition under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122. This covers dismissed cases, withdrawn charges, and cases where the person completed the ARD diversion program and the waiting period has passed. You file the petition at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas Criminal Division.
The second path is the Clean Slate Act, Act 56 of 2018. Clean Slate automatically seals qualifying non-conviction records and certain misdemeanor convictions after a ten-year conviction-free period when all fines and costs are paid. Sealed records do not appear on PATCH results or in public court searches. Lancaster County processes Clean Slate sealing quarterly with the rest of Pennsylvania's counties.
For eligibility details and forms, visit the Pennsylvania criminal history services page. Lancaster County legal aid organizations can help residents who qualify by income with the expungement petition process.
Sex Offender Registry and State Inmate Records
The Pennsylvania Megan's Law registry at pameganslaw.state.pa.us is a free tool for finding registered sex offenders in the Lancaster area. You can search by name, zip code, or address. Results display photo, current address, and offense details for active registrants. Lancaster is a mid-size city with registrations that span multiple zip codes. The Pennsylvania State Police maintain the registry and update it when registrant information changes.
For individuals from Lancaster who are serving state prison sentences, the Pennsylvania DOC Inmate Locator at inmatelocator.cor.pa.gov returns current facility, sentence data, and projected release dates at no cost. Search by name or inmate number. Individuals held at the Lancaster County Prison for pretrial detention or county-level sentences are not listed in the state DOC system. The Pennsylvania Board of Pardons handles pardon and commutation applications for state convictions originating in Lancaster.
Challenging Inaccurate Lancaster Records
The Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act at 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91 gives Lancaster residents the right to challenge inaccurate criminal history records. If a PATCH result contains an error, submit fingerprints and supporting documentation to the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository to dispute the record. Common issues include misidentification, stale records that were not updated after a dismissal, and data entry errors from arresting agencies.
The Pennsylvania Courts website at pacourts.us provides information on CHRIA rights and the steps for reviewing and correcting court records. Residents who find errors in their Lancaster County court records should contact the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas directly. Correcting records across the police, court, and state corrections systems takes time, so acting early is important when a record contains inaccurate information.
Lancaster County Criminal Records
Lancaster city criminal cases are filed and maintained at the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas. The county court handles all criminal proceedings for the City of Lancaster and every other municipality in Lancaster County. For more information on the county court system, Clerk of Courts contact details, copy fees, and additional resources, visit the Lancaster County criminal records page.
Nearby Pennsylvania Cities
Residents of nearby Pennsylvania cities access criminal records through their local county courts and police departments. Select a city below for criminal records information in that area.