(a) General rule.--An official record kept within this Commonwealth by any court, magisterial district judge or other government unit, or an entry therein, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having the legal custody of the record, or by that officer's deputy, and accompanied by a certificate that the officer has the custody. The certificate may be made by any public officer having a seal of office and having official duties with respect to the government unit in which the record is kept, authenticated by the seal of that office, or if there is no such officer, by: (1) The Department of State, in the case of any Commonwealth agency. (2) The clerk of the court of common pleas of the judicial district embracing any county in which the government unit has jurisdiction, in the case of any government unit other than a Commonwealth agency. (b) Lack of record.--A written statement that after an examination of the records of the government unit no record or entry of a specified tenor is found to exist in the records designated by the statement, authenticated as provided atement that after an examination of the records of the government unit no record or entry of a specified tenor is found to exist in the records designated by the statement, authenticated as provided in subsection (a), is admissible as evidence that the records contain no such records or entry. (Nov. 30, 2004, P.L.1618, No.207, eff. 60 days) 2004 Amendment. Act 207 amended subsec. (a). See section 29 of Act 207 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to construction of law. Cross References. Section 6103 is referred to in section 6104 of this title; sections 1378, 1380, 1516, 1550, 3753 of Title 75 (Vehicles).
Pennsylvania Legal Code