Chester County Criminal Records and Felony Dockets

Chester County is one of Pennsylvania's original three counties and sits in the southeastern corner of the state, southwest of Philadelphia. The county seat is West Chester, home to the 15th Judicial District Court of Common Pleas. Felony records filed in this court are part of the public record and can be accessed through multiple tools. This guide covers how to search Chester County felony records, who manages the court offices, and how expungement and sealing work under current Pennsylvania law.

Chester County Court of Common Pleas

The Chester County Court of Common Pleas is the trial court for felony and serious criminal cases in the county. Cases originate at the district justice level and are bound over to this court after preliminary hearings. Once a case reaches the Court of Common Pleas, it is managed by the Clerk of Courts and becomes part of the official criminal docket.

Chester County separates its civil and criminal records functions between two distinct offices. The Clerk of Courts handles criminal filings, while the Prothonotary handles civil matters. Caroline Bradley serves as Clerk of Courts and can be reached at 201 W. Market Street, Suite 1400, West Chester, PA 19380. Her office phone is 610-344-6135, the fax is 610-344-4465, and the email is cbradley@chesco.org. Alex Christy serves as Prothonotary, located in Suite 1425 of the same building, and can be reached at 610-344-6300 or cachristy@chesco.org.

This structure means that if you are searching for felony records specifically, the Clerk of Courts is your primary contact. Civil case searches go through the Prothonotary. Both offices share the same building at 201 W. Market Street in West Chester, which makes a combined visit straightforward.

The official county website at chesco.org provides links to each office. The Clerk of Courts page details filing procedures, office hours, and contact information for the criminal records division.

This image is sourced from the Chester County Clerk of Courts page.

The Clerk of Courts office in West Chester maintains all criminal case filings for the 15th Judicial District.

Note: Bring a full legal name and approximate filing date when visiting in person, as this speeds up the search process considerably.

Searching Chester County Felony Records

The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System portal is the primary online tool for searching Chester County felony records. This statewide database covers all 67 Pennsylvania counties and lets you search by name, docket number, date of birth, or filing date. Results include case type, charges, filing status, and links to full docket sheets. Chester County criminal cases appear in this system once they are entered by court staff.

Chester County also accepts electronic filings for criminal matters through PACFile. The PACFile e-filing system is used by attorneys and authorized parties to submit documents to the court without a physical visit. For those searching rather than filing, PACFile does not provide a search function, but the UJS portal does. The existence of electronic filing in Chester County does mean that newer records are often entered into the system more quickly than in counties that rely solely on paper processes.

For records not yet visible online, or for certified copies of docket sheets, contact the Clerk of Courts directly. The office at Suite 1400 can process in-person requests during business hours and can advise on how to obtain certified copies for legal purposes.

Note: The UJS portal is free to search, but certified copies from the Clerk of Courts require a formal request and may take several business days.

Chester County Criminal Docket Information

A criminal docket sheet is the official record of everything that happens in a court case. It lists every filing, hearing date, continuance, order, and disposition associated with a case. For felony cases in Chester County, the docket sheet is the most complete source of case history available to the public through the UJS portal or the Clerk of Courts office.

Docket sheets typically show the defendant's name and date of birth, the charges filed and their statutory citations, the outcome of each hearing, bail conditions, guilty pleas or verdicts, sentencing details, and any appeals filed. They do not always include the full text of motions or exhibits. For those materials, a separate request to the Clerk of Courts is needed, and some exhibits may be restricted from public access.

When searching by name on the UJS portal, use broad search terms first. A middle name or suffix can cause results to be missed if entered incorrectly. Searching by last name alone with a date range often returns the most complete set of results. Case numbers starting with "CP" indicate Court of Common Pleas filings, which are the felony-level cases. Cases starting with "MJ" are district court level and cover preliminary matters and summary offenses.

Chester County's adoption of electronic filing also means that attorneys who file through PACFile create a more complete digital trail. Case documents submitted electronically are indexed faster and are more reliably searchable through the statewide system than documents submitted only on paper.

Criminal History Background Checks

Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101, criminal history record information is defined and governed by Pennsylvania's Criminal History Record Information Act. This statute sets the rules for who can collect, maintain, and share criminal history data in the state. It applies to the Pennsylvania State Police, which maintains the central repository used for background checks.

The PATCH system is the public-facing tool for requesting Pennsylvania criminal history reports. PATCH searches the statewide Criminal History Record Information database, which includes arrests, convictions, and dispositions from all 67 counties. This is different from a Chester County court records search, which only shows what was filed in Chester County courts. If someone has records in multiple counties, a PATCH report will capture all of them in one place, while a county-level docket search will only show local filings.

The Pennsylvania State Police processes PATCH requests and provides results based on name and date of birth matching. PATCH results are generally returned quickly for online requests. Court records searches are better suited for researching the details of a specific case, while PATCH is better for getting a complete picture of someone's statewide criminal history.

Note: PATCH reports reflect criminal history data; they may differ from court records if dispositions have been updated or if charges were reduced before sentencing.

Record Sealing and Expungement in Chester County

Pennsylvania's Clean Slate 3.0, which took effect on February 12, 2024, expanded automatic sealing to cover low-level felonies after a ten-year clean record. Before this update, only misdemeanors and summary offenses qualified for automatic sealing. Now, a broader range of cases can be removed from public view without the person needing to file any paperwork. Misdemeanors are automatically sealed after seven years, and summary offenses are sealed after five years, provided no new convictions have occurred during that time.

For cases that do not qualify for automatic sealing, individuals can petition the Chester County Court of Common Pleas through the Clerk of Courts office. The petition process involves filing the correct forms, serving notice on the district attorney's office, and attending a hearing if the petition is contested. The court reviews each petition and determines whether the criteria for expungement or limited access have been met.

• Summary offenses: auto-sealed after 5 years
• Misdemeanors: auto-sealed after 7 years
• Low-level felonies: auto-sealed after 10 years under Clean Slate 3.0
• Higher-level felonies: petition required or pardon process
• Pardons: processed by the Board of Pardons and forwarded to the Governor

For convictions that cannot be expunged without a pardon, the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons is the appropriate starting point. A pardon application is reviewed at a public hearing, and if approved by the Board, it is forwarded to the Governor for final action. A granted pardon can then serve as the basis for filing an expungement petition with the court. This path takes longer than the Clean Slate process but is available for cases that do not otherwise qualify.

The PA DOC Inmate Locator is a separate tool that shows whether someone is currently in state custody. It does not affect expungement eligibility, but it can be useful when gathering background information about a case.

Note: Sealed records remain accessible to law enforcement and certain licensing agencies even after sealing; expungement and sealing are not the same as deletion.

Public Access to Chester County Records

Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law at 65 P.S. § 67.101 gives residents the right to request records from government agencies, including county offices. Under this law, agencies must respond within five business days, either by providing the records, denying the request with a reason, or issuing a notice of extension. The Office of Open Records handles appeals when an agency denies a request or fails to respond in time.

Criminal case records held by the Chester County Clerk of Courts are generally public. Docket sheets, charging documents, and sentencing orders are accessible unless sealed by a court order or protected by statute. The Right-to-Know Law does not override court orders, so sealed or expunged records are not accessible through a public records request regardless of how the request is framed.

Several categories of records are excluded from public access by law. Juvenile delinquency records are confidential under Pennsylvania law and are not available to the public. Mental health commitment records, records of ongoing investigations, and cases that have been sealed under Clean Slate are similarly restricted. If a records request covers any of these categories, the agency is required to explain which exemption applies when denying access.

This image is sourced from the PA Courts Chester County page.

The PA Courts website provides the official court structure for Chester County and links to the UJS portal for case searches.

For questions about what records are available or how to submit a Right-to-Know request, the Chester County website at chesco.org has a dedicated open records section. Requests can be submitted online, by mail, or in person. Court-specific requests may be redirected to the Clerk of Courts rather than the county's general open records officer, as court records operate under a separate access framework tied to the court system rather than the executive branch of county government.

Note: Right-to-Know requests for court records are often handled by the Clerk of Courts directly, not the county open records office.

Cities in Chester County

Chester County includes West Chester as its county seat along with a number of other communities. Coatesville, Phoenixville, and Downingtown are among the larger municipalities. Kennett Square, known as the mushroom capital of the world, and Malvern are also well-known towns in the county. All felony cases from these communities are heard at the Court of Common Pleas in West Chester.

Nearby County Felony Records

Chester County borders several other Pennsylvania counties, and cases that cross county lines may have records in more than one court system. The links below lead to the records guides for the counties nearest to Chester County.

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