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Contact Information
Address:
City Hall
Room 156
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Email:
records.info@phila.gov
Office Hours:
Public rooms (Room 154, City Hall)
Open Monday through Friday
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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Document Search Help
- You can perform searches by entering one or more pieces of information about a document. For example, if you know a person's name, you can simply enter it into the Grantor or Grantee field. If you know the date range of the document, you may also enter it. The more information you enter, the more focused the search results will be.
Document Type - If you would like to see only certain types of documents, you can uncheck the 'Search All Types' box and then select the type of document from the list. You can select multiple types by holding you ctrl or shift key down while clicking.
Reception Number - If you know the Reception Number, you can simply enter it and press enter.
Date Range - You can enter a date range to help focus your search results. If you know the exact date of a document, enter the same date in the Start and End date.
Name Searches - There are three fields used for doing name searches: Grantor, Grantee, and Grantor/Grantee. The Grantor and Grantee fields will search only those fields. The Grantor/Grantee field will search for names that appear in either the Grantor OR the Grantee field.
Basic and Advanced Searches All three of the name fields have two different types of searching: Basic and Advanced. 'Basic' searches will search for a name in the order you entered it. You will need to enter it Last Name first. For example, if you enter: | Franklin Benjamin | Basic Search | The system will return documents belonging to Benjamin Franklin but not Franklin Roosevelt. 'Advanced' searches work more like an Internet search engine. The order of the words doesn't matter. For example, if you enter: | Franklin Benjamin | Advanced | The system will return document belonging to Benjamin Franklin and Franklin Roosevelt and Benjamin Moore. Wild Cards The * character is a wild card character. It can be used in both Basic searches and Advanced searches. It can be substituted for any other character or characters. For example, if you enter: The system will return documents belonging to Benjamin Franklin, Ben Frank, and Bennie Frankenstein. This can be useful if you are unsure about spelling. Advanced Search Operators Performing Advanced searches will return documents containing any of the words you entered. By using certain modifiers, or operators, you can focus your search. + The + operator tells the system that this word must appear in the document. For example, if you enter: | Franklin +Benjamin | Advanced | The system will documents belonging to Benjamin Franklin, but not Franklin Roosevelt, because Benjamin must appear in the document. - The - operator tells the system that this word must NOT appear in the document. For example, if you enter: | Franklin -Benjamin | Advanced | The system will return documents belonging to Franklin Roosevelt, but not Benjamin Franklin.
Address - When Address searches, you can search on the range of Units. This can be specified by using a colon. For example, to search Units 12 through 30 you would enter 12:30.
Related Searches - When viewing a document, you can use the Find Related feature to find any documents that reference the current document, or that share a legal description. Related searches can help you find documents that pertain to the same piece of property.
Notary Name Searches - Searches may be conducted for documents notarized by a specific individual. On the main search page, first select the Everything tab. In the Notary area (lower right), enter the name of the notary in the format LAST NAME FIRST NAME in the field called Search String. The results will display all documents for which the specified Notary has been identified.
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