Need records from the City of Philadelphia for a court case? You might think the Department of Records has everything since “records” is in our name. We get it – that makes total sense! But here’s the thing: we don’t actually keep all city records.

The truth about City records

Each city department keeps its own records. So if you need:

  • Police records → Ask the Police Department
  • Health records → Ask the Health Department
  • Building permits → Ask Licenses & Inspections

You get the idea. We only have the records that belong to our department.

Check if you really need a subpoena

Before you go through the hassle of getting a subpoena, check if the records you want are already public. Many are! You can get these records from us without any court paperwork:

Public safety reports:

  • Car crash reports (used to be called traffic accident reports)
  • Police incident reports
  • Fire reports
  • Emergency medical services reports

Other records:

  • Property records (Philadelphia deeds and other recorded documents, maps)
  • City employee/officials’ annual financial disclosure forms
  • City regulations
  • City Archives collection

You can find out how to get these public records on our website.

Try a right-to-know request first

This is often easier and cheaper than getting a subpoena. Pennsylvania has a law called the Right-to-Know Act. This law lets you ask for many government records without going to court.

You can learn how to make this type of request here.

When you really do need a subpoena

Sometimes you really do need a subpoena. Here’s what you need to know:

City departments need approval first

If you’re getting records from any city department, you must get approval from the Law Department first. They check to make sure your subpoena follows the rules.

How to get approval:

After you get approval, take your subpoena (with payment and the approval email) to the right department.

Courts are different

Important: Courts are NOT part of the city, so you don’t need Law Department approval for court records. You can serve subpoenas directly on the courts.

Real examples

Example 1: You want a city employee’s personnel file for a lawsuit.

  • Wrong way: Send the subpoena to us
  • Right way: Get Law Department approval, then serve it on the Office of Human Resources

Example 2: You want all police records about an incident.

  • Easy part: Get the basic incident report from us (no subpoena needed)
  • Everything else: Get Law Department approval, then serve a subpoena on the Police Department

Where to send your subpoena

People often send us subpoenas by mistake for certain city departments. The correct locations to send those subpoenas are below. Remember: city departments need Law Department approval first, but courts don’t.

  • Philadelphia Police Department, Room 119, City Hall 1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd Philadelphia, PA 19107 Needs Law Department approval: YES
  • Philadelphia Department of Licenses & Inspections Litigation Support Unit Attention, Chondell Wilborn Municipal Services Bldg – 11th Floor 1401 JFK Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19102 Needs Law Department approval: YES
  •  Philadelphia Health Department, 1101 Market Street – 13th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107 Needs Law Department approval: YES
  •  Philadelphia Department of Human Services: Philadelphia Law Department, 1515 Arch Street – 16th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 Needs Law Department approval: YES
  •  Philadelphia Office of Human Resources, 1401 John F. Kennedy Blvd – 15th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 Needs Law Department approval: YES
  • Courts, Legal Services First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Room 369, City Hall Philadelphia, PA 19107 Needs Law Department approval: NO (courts are not part of the city)

When to send subpoenas to us

Only send us a subpoena if:

  • You want records that we actually keep, AND
  • Those records are not already public, AND
  • You already got Law Department approval

If all of that applies, serve your subpoena at: City of Philadelphia Department of Records City Hall, Room 156 1400 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Philadelphia, PA 19107 Phone: 215-686-2262

What if you send it to the wrong place?

If you accidentally send us a subpoena for records we don’t have, we’ll respond with “no records found.” We won’t forward your subpoena to the right department because it wasn’t addressed to them.

But don’t worry! We’ll try to help you figure out where to send a new subpoena.

The bottom line

  1. Try the easy way first: Check if records are already public or available through a Right-to-Know request
  2. If you need a subpoena: Send it to the department that actually has your records
  3. For city departments: Get Law Department approval first
  4. For courts: No approval needed – they’re not part of the city

This will save you time and help you get the records you need faster.

Questions?

Not sure if your subpoena should come to us? We’re here to help!

Contact us:

Visit us: City Hall, Room 156 1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd Philadelphia, PA 19107

Learn more from the Department of Records