Pennsylvania Background Check Details

The state of Pennsylvania allows individuals two ways to request PA background checks.  The two options include:

• An online request
• Submission through a request form

An Online Request

The State Police in Pennsylvania has provided an application through their official website, known as P.A.T.C.H., which stands for ‘Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History’ records. By using this application, individuals can request a Pennsylvania background check on other individuals.

The application software responds to the individual request for a background check in the form of ‘no records’ response, ‘pending’ response or ‘request under review’ response. It offers a prompt service to the requester but in order to use this service, the user needs to pay a $10 deposit fee to register and use this application. In addition, the user also needs to have a valid email so that the administrators of the P.A.T.C.H. application can send them essential information on a timely basis.

In case of any dispute regarding the billing process for using this application, individuals need to send a written statement within a period of 30 days to the police in the state of Pennsylvania. The written statement needs to provide details such as the account number of the company, the telephone number of the contact person, name of the contact person, along with a brief explanation of the problem or error.

After providing the essential details, the individual needs to mail this to the department of State Police in Pennsylvania at the following address: to Pennsylvania State Police, P. O. Box 62041, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17106-2041.

The P.A.T.C.H. response is dependant on the information provided by the requestor. It is based on the report and data that is supported by fingerprint identification information that is collected from the central repository of the State Police in PA.

The  PA background checks conducted using this application do not exclude the information contained in the criminal records that belong to repositories other than the central repository, such as the local database, reports from the other local law enforcement and criminal justice agencies from the state of Pennsylvania.

Before making use of the criminal records provided by the P.A.T.C.H. application for background checks, employers, tenants, banks, creditors, licensing agencies and other agencies need to check with both the federal as well as the state laws in  Pennsylvania.

Section 9125 (a) of the Criminal History Information Act in Pennsylvania State establishes rules and conditions under which the  employers may make use of this for the purpose of employment . Section 9125 (b) deals with how the information collected from the P.A.T.C.H. can be utilized. 

For instance, while dealing with the individual criminal records, felony and misdemeanor charges or convictions are to be considered by the employers only if these charges have any direct relation to the nature of the work that is required to be performed by the individual that has applied for a particular position.

Section 9125 (c) of Pennsylvania State laws makes it mandatory that in the event that the employer chooses not to hire an individual due to the information discovered in parts or all of his/her criminal history record, a written notification along with the background check report has to be sent to the concerned individual explaining the reason for not hiring him or her.

The information released by the central repository of the State Police in Pennsylvania upon request includes:

• Details of all convictions, if any
• Details of all charges of arrest that are not over three years old from the date of arrest and for which the state police have not received any disposition.
• Information about all charges in which arrest warrants may have been issued against the individual (provided that the central repository has this information with them)

For further assistance and details regarding conducting an online PA background check, individuals can call the P.A.T.C.H. helpline number at:  717-42- 5546 (for residents or locals) or the toll-free telephone no. at: 1-888-QUERY-PA (1-888-783-7972).  You can also visit the website of the State Police in Pennsylvania to collect further information at http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=4451&PageID=458621&mode=2 or
https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp.

Submitting a Request Form

To conduct a Pennsylvania background check by using the request form for a criminal history record (Form SP4-164), individuals need to download the updated form from the website of the State Police in Pennsylvania on the webpage: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=4451&PageID=458621&mode=2

After downloading this form, individuals have to carefully fill in details such as address and name of the requestor, state, city and zip code of the requestor, phone number of the requestor, along with the known address, name, date of birth and social security number of the subject on whom the background check is being performed. In addition, the requestor also has to state the reason behind conducting the background search

After filling in required details, individuals need to mail the information to: Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository – 164, 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758 with a processing fee of $ 10 in the form of a certified check or a money order that is payable to the ‘ Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

If an individual requests a background check on himself/herself or wishes to review his her own criminal history record , it is permissible under the State laws of Pennsylvania, but the individual has to provide a copy of his/her fingerprint identification card along with the request.