Rule 509.  Access to Financial Records. 

a) General Policy.   Financial records of the Unified Judicial System are 

presumed to be open to any member of the public for inspection or copying 

during established business hours.    The term “financial records” is defined 

as any account, contract, invoice or equivalent dealing with: 1) the receipt or 

disbursement of funds appropriated to the system; or 2) acquisition, use or 

disposal of services, supplies, materials, equipment or property secured 

through funds appropriated to the system.  

(b) Accessibility.  All financial records are accessible to the public except 

the following: 

  (

   

 

(1)  any part of a record  setting forth information to which access is 

otherwise restricted by federal law, state law, court rule, court order or 

court policy; 

(2) any part of a record setting forth a person’s social security number, 

home address, home telephone number, date of birth, operator’s 

license number, e-mail address, or other personal information;  

(3)  any part of a record setting forth financial institution account 

numbers, credit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs) 

and passwords used to secure accounts; 

 (4) any part of a record setting forth information presenting a risk to 

personal security, personal privacy, or the fair, impartial and orderly 

administration of justice, as determined by the Court Administrator of 

Pennsylvania. 

(c) Procedure for Requesting Access. 

(1)  A request to inspect or obtain copies of records accessible 

pursuant to this rule and in possession or control of the Administrative 

Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall be made in writing to the records 

manager, as designated by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania.  

A request to inspect or obtain copies of records accessible pursuant to 

this rule and in possession or control of a court of a judicial district 

shall be made in writing to the records manager, as designated by the 

president judge.  A written request may be submitted in person, by 

mail, by e-mail, by facsimile, or, to the extent provided, any other 

electronic means, on a form provided by the Administrative Office. 

Note:  Information related to procedures applicable to written 

requests to the AOPC may be found on the UJS website, located 

at www.courts.state.pa.us.  Information related to procedures 

applicable to requests for courts within a judicial district 

should be posted on the local court’s website.  

(2)  A request should identify or describe the records sought with 

sufficient specificity to enable the records manager to ascertain which 

records are being requested.  A request need not include any 

explanation of the requester’s reason for requesting or intended use of 

the records. 

(3)  The records manager shall not be required to create financial 

records which do not currently exist or to compile, maintain, format or 

organize such records in a manner in which the records are not 

currently compiled, maintained, formatted or organized. 

 

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(4)  Within 10 business days of receipt of a written request, the 

records manager shall respond in one of the following manners: 

(i) fulfill the request, or if there are applicable fees and costs 

that must be paid by the requester, notify requester that the 

information is available upon payment of same; 

 

(ii) notify the requester in writing that the requester has not 

complied with provisions in this rule and specifically identify 

the reason(s) why; 

(iii) notify the requester in writing that the information cannot 

be provided and specifically identify the reason(s) why; 

(iv) notify the requester in writing that the request has been 

received and the expected date that the information will be 

available, not to exceed 30 business days. 

 Note: Subsection (c)(4)(iv) contemplates that bona fide reasons 

may impede the ability of the records manager to fulfill a 

request within 10 business days (e.g., extensive redaction 

required of personal identifiers; retrieval of a record(s) stored 

in a remote location may be required; timely response cannot 

be accomplished due to staffing limitations; or the extent or 

nature of the request precludes a response within the requisite 

time period). 

(5) If the AOPC records manager denies a written request for access, 

the denial may be appealed in writing within 15 business days of the 

mailing date of the written response by the records manager to the 

Court Administrator of Pennsylvania or designee.  Within 20 business 

 

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days of receipt of the appeal, the Court Administrator or designee 

shall make a determination and forward it in writing to the requester.  

This remedy need not be exhausted before other relief is sought.  Any 

further appeal shall be subject to Chapter 15, Judicial Review of 

Governmental Determinations, of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate 

Procedure. 

If the records manager of a judicial district denies a written request for 

access, the denial may be appealed in writing within 15 business days 

of the mailing date of the written response by the records manager to 

the president judge or designee.  Within 20 business days of receipt of 

the appeal, the president judge or designee shall make a determination 

and forward it in writing to the requester.  This remedy need not be 

exhausted before other relief is sought.  Any further appeal shall be 

subject to Chapter 15, Judicial Review of Governmental 

Determinations, of the Pennsylvania Rules of Appellate Procedure. 

(1)  Reasonable costs incurred in providing public access to records 

may be charged pursuant to this rule.  Such costs may include, but are 

not limited to, postage, photocopying, copying onto electronic media, 

transmission by facsimile or other electronic means, and other means 

of duplication.  

(2)  Prior to granting a request for access in accordance with this rule, 

the records manager may require a requester to prepay an estimate of 

the fees associated with the request, if the fees are expected to exceed 

$100. 

(d) Fees.   

 

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(e)  Publication of Financial Record Information. 

(1) The Administrative Office shall make contract information available on 

the Unified Judicial System’s website. 

(2)  For the appellate courts and Administrative Office, the Unified Judicial 

System’s website shall also contain: 

(i) 

appropriation names, descriptions and annual funding amounts; 

(ii) 

expenditure  data,  including  name  and  address  of  entity 

receiving  payment,  payment  amount,  applicable  appropriation 

and fiscal year; 

(iii)  employee complement information, including position title and 

current annual salary, posted on a monthly basis; and 

(iv)  a listing of position titles and total annual compensation paid as 

of the end of the prior calendar year for each employee, posted 

on a yearly basis. 

Note:  The Pennsylvania Judiciary’s long-standing practice of 

providing open, public access to its records, both administrative and 

case-related, has been formalized in this rule and other policies 

adopted by the Supreme Court.  The underlying premise for public 

access policies and practices in the Unified Judicial System is always 

the presumption of open records. 

Initially promulgated by the Supreme Court on May 14, 2007, 

this rule furthers the Judiciary’s commitment to establishing 

systematic processes for requesting and accessing state court system 

records.  The rule took effect July 1, 2007. 

 

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The enactment of revisions to the Right-to-Know Law (Act 3 of 

2008) occurred on February 14, 2008.  Act 3 includes the judiciary 

only as it pertains to access of financial records, as defined by the 

Act, and regarding the Internet publication of judiciary contracts by 

the Commonwealth’s Treasury Department. Section 304 of Act 3 of 

2008 provides that a “judicial agency shall provide financial records 

in accordance with this act or any rule or order of court providing 

equal or greater access to the records.”  [Emphasis added.].     

This rule, as amended, is promulgated pursuant to the 

Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s constitutional authority regarding the 

administration of the courts under Article V, Section 10 and Section 

304 of Act 3 of 2008.  The expansion of the scope of this rule is in 

accordance with the continuing effort to promote the Unified Judicial 

System’s policy of the public’s right of access to records that deal 

with the use of public funds.   

Pursuant to the Supreme Court’s Order of June 23, 2008, 

access to financial records and publication of contract information of 

the Unified Judicial System shall be provided in accordance with this 

rule. 

Effective on December 17, 2012, the Supreme Court directed 

the Administrative Office to augment the Unified Judicial System’s 

website to include annual appropriation, expenditure, personnel 

complement and annual compensation information for the appellate 

courts and Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, pursuant to 

its Order of November 8, 2012.  The term “entity” shall not include 

employees of the Unified Judicial System. 

 

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