Everyone makes mistakes at some point in their lives. It may be that you once made a mistake that resulted in your arrest or even conviction on some minor charge, but now you’ve moved on and you’re worried that infraction may continue to haunt you when you apply for a job or an apartment. You’ve heard that maybe you can wipe your record clean by getting an expungement, but you’re not quite sure how to go about doing that.
Probably the simplest way to go about getting an expungement is to hire a lawyer to handle the process for you. An experienced criminal defense lawyer will have handled expungements for countless clients, and have a thorough knowledge of which offenses or circumstances qualify for expungement. A lawyer also will know how the Pennsylvania court where you need to apply for expungement tends to handle expungement requests, and what forms and documents you’ll need to provide to be successful in your request.
If you’re thinking about petitioning for an expungement, you probably have a lot of questions. This page offers some resources to help you understand the process and where to get started with finding expungement forms if you had an arrest or conviction in Pittsburgh or Allegheny County, and where to find your criminal records. If you’d like to talk to an expungement lawyer after you’ve had a chance to look at some of this information, we offer a free consultation. Call us at today at (412) 281-2146 to make an appointment and find out how Worgul, Sarna & Ness, Criminal Defense Attorneys, LLC can help you clear your record.
Expungement Forms
If your arrest or conviction happened in Pittsburgh, you’ll most likely be petitioning for expungement in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas. The court has standard forms available that you can fill out and submit along with an application fee. Forms are available from the court at:
Department of Court Records, Criminal Division
Room 220
Allegheny County Courthouse
436 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Allegheny County does not offer the form online and it cannot be submitted online. The form has to be obtained directly from the court and filed at the courthouse. If you don’t live in Allegheny County but your offense was submitted there, a Pittsburgh expungement lawyer can obtain and file the forms on your behalf.
A copy of your petition must be served on the district attorney in the county where you apply for the expungement. In Allegheny County you would send it to:
Allegheny County District Attorney
Stephen A. Zappala, Jr.
Room 303
Allegheny County Courthouse
436 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Where to Get Records
Along with your petition form, you’ll have to submit your Pennsylvania criminal record or court docket if your case went to court. You can obtain your criminal record from the Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository for a $10 fee. You can make the request and pay the fee online at the state police website, or you can send the request and the fee by mail to:
Pennsylvania State Police Central Repository – 164
1800 Elmerton Avenue
Harrisburg, PA 17110-9758
If you have questions about getting your criminal record from the Pennsylvania State Police, the help line is (888) QUERY PA or (888) 783-7972.
To get your court docket, you can look up your case online through the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania website, or you can go to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas at:
Department of Court Records, Criminal Division
Room 220
Allegheny County Courthouse
436 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Again, if you have an attorney handling your expungement, your Pittsburgh criminal attorney can help you get the necessary records to attach to your expungement request.
