Juvenile court in Pennsylvania: who it covers, adult transfer, and clearing a record

Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system handles offenses committed between ages 10 and 18, according to the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission (JCJC), the state agency that sets standards for juvenile courts. Supervision can continue until age 21.

The words are different from adult court. An offense is a 'delinquent act', not a crime. A young person is 'adjudicated delinquent', meaning the judge found they did it, instead of 'found guilty'. There is no jury. A judge or hearing officer decides, and most hearings are closed to the public.

Some cases start in adult criminal court. Murder has always been one of them. Since changes to the Juvenile Act in 1995, a number of other very serious offenses also start on the adult side.

For other cases, a juvenile court judge can send the case to adult court, called a transfer, only after a hearing. The JCJC benchbook for judges lists the conditions. The young person must have been at least 14, the charge must be a felony (a serious crime), and there must be enough evidence to go forward. The judge must also find that the transfer serves the public interest, after weighing 15 factors. Written notice must come at least 3 days before the hearing, and only a judge, not a hearing officer, can decide.

The door also swings the other way. A young person charged in adult court can ask to be moved back to juvenile court, sometimes called decertification, but they have to show that the move is in the public interest.

The JCJC's Expungement Guide warns that juvenile records are not destroyed automatically at 18. Expungement, which means a court orders the record erased, has to happen. Until then, a record can affect a driver's license, military service, college admission, and gun rights.

The waiting periods depend on how the case ended. Six months after finishing an informal adjustment, a consent decree, or a diversion program (ways a case can close without a delinquency finding). Two years after final discharge for most misdemeanors. Five years for a felony. In each case, there can be no new convictions or delinquency findings and nothing pending. Under Act 108 of 2024, chief juvenile probation officers must review cases and send notice when a young person becomes eligible.