Electronic Submission
The Pennsylvania State Police established a web-based computer
application called "Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History" or PATCH.
Using this system, a requestor can apply for a criminal background
check on an individual basis.
The information provided by the requestor will be checked against
the criminal history database maintained by the Pennsylvania State
Police Central Repository. If the subject's information does not hit on
any information in the database, the requestor will receive the
results instantly over the Internet and the requestor can print out the
"No Record" certificate. Eighty percent of the time, "No Record"
certificates are returned immediately through the Internet to the
requestor. If the subject's information hits on something in the
database, the requestor receives an immediate "Request Under Review"
response.
A "Request Under Review" response does not necessarily mean that the
individual has a record; it does indicate the information is being
manually reviewed. After review, the status will be updated to "No
Record" or "Record". The requestor should check the PATCH website
periodically for an updated status of their request. For all "No
Record" responses, the certificate must be printed out at the
requestor's computer. All "Record" responses will be mailed to the
requestor at the address provided by the requestor. It may take up to
two weeks for the status to be updated from a "Request Under Review" to
a "No Record" or "Record".
PATCH accepts both Registered and Non-Registered Users.
REGISTERED USERS: Companies, agencies, or offices that routinely
have a need to make criminal record checks. The company, agency, or
office logs onto Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History and then completes and submits the registration form.
NON-REGISTERED USERS: Individuals are considered non-registered
users. They will not be accepted as registered users. Companies,
agencies, or offices can also use the system as a non-registered user
if they so desire. Non-registered users log onto Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History and select "Submit a New Record Check" under credit card users. The
non-registered user can submit up to ten record checks during one
session.
VALIDATING CRIMINAL HISTORY RESULTS: The information on a "No
Record" or "Record" certificate form can be validated by accessing the
PATCH Record Check Status screen and submitting a search request.