Many people in Pennsylvania want to clear their criminal records so they can move forward with their lives. Unfortunately, record clearance often comes with financial and legal barriers that can be hard to overcome. The good news is that Pennsylvania has several legal aid programs throughout the state that provide civil legal services at little or no cost to people who qualify. Whether you’re trying to clear your record or need help with another civil legal issue, knowing your options can make the process easier and more affordable.

General Information

Before diving into the specific programs that serve different parts of Pennsylvania, it helps to understand why legal aid exists and how it supports people seeking record clearance.  If you get charged with a crime, and cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you.  But there is no such right to a lawyer is a non-criminal case. Legal aid programs were created to fill that gap and make sure that low-income populations have access to lawyers in civil matters. They provide cheap or no-cost service to these populations. These programs have become essential for many people.

Why Legal Aid

Reduced income makes legal issues more pervasive, and more difficult to navigate. People without much income cannot afford to clear their criminal records, or handle other legal matters. This leads to a cycle where people are not making enough money to solve their legal problems, but their legal problems keep them from making enough money to find security in other ways.

To help break that cycle, Pennsylvania and other states created legal aid programs that offer free or low-cost services to people who meet certain income criteria. These programs make it possible for more people to get legal help, even if they can’t afford to hire a private attorney.

Who These Legal Aid Programs Help and How

Pennsylvania law specifically structured legal aid programs to serve people who make 125% of the federal poverty level (FPL) or less. Some exceptions, however, allow people earning up to 187.5% of the FPL to receive assistance depending on the program and situation.

These programs focus on civil legal matters, not criminal matters. That includes help with:

• Housing law, like eviction or unsafe conditions
• Employment law
• Benefits access
• Domestic violence and protection orders

Many of these organizations also offer expungement and record clearance services, which can help people qualify for better jobs, housing, and educational opportunities. Now that there’s an understanding of the types of services these organizations provide, we can now look at which programs cover which parts of the state. 

Legal Aid Programs in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has a strong network of legal aid organizations that provide help across different regions of the state. These programs offer a range of civil legal services, including record clearance, housing, and family law assistance. Below we’ll outline programs in the western part of the state, along with programs in Central and Eastern Pennsylvania. We’ll also look at information about income thresholds to qualify, and which record clearance services each program provides.

Western Pennsylvanian Programs

If you live in Western Pennsylvania, you can reach out to Summit Legal Aid, Neighborhood Legal Services, and Northwestern Legal Services. These three programs offer similar services, but their coverage areas and requirements differ.

• Northwestern Legal Services (NWLS) covers counties from Crawford over to Porter. NWLS helps with pardons and expungements. NWLS typically helps people within 125% of the federal poverty level, but does handle some cases at or below 175% of the federal poverty line.
• Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS) serves Lawrence, Butler, Beaver, and Allegheny Counties. NLS can help seal or expunge records.
• Summit Legal Aid (SLA) covers a wide area in the western part of the state. They assist with expungements and sealings, as well as other types of matters.

Each of these legal aid programs provides record clearance and expungement services to individuals who meet their income criteria.

Central and Eastern Pennsylvania Legal Aid Programs

In Central and Eastern Pennsylvania, four major legal aid programs provide record clearance services: 

• North Penn Legal Services (NPLS), which covers counties in the north including counties from Tioga to Wayne, Clinton over to Pike, Union to Monroe, and others. NPLS helps with expungements and some types of sealing. 

• MidPenn Legal Services (MPLS), which covers Adams, Bedford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Schuylkill, York, and other counties in the middle of the state. MidPenn offers assistance with sealing, expungement, and pardons. MidPenn almost exclusively serves people at or below 125% of the federal poverty level.

• Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (CLS), which only covers Philadelphia County. CLS does expungements and can help people at or below 187.5% of the poverty line in sealing and expungement matters.

• Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (LASP), which covers Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. LASP helps with all three forms of record clearance: pardons, sealings, and expungements. LASP almost exclusively serves people within 125% of the federal poverty level. 

These organizations cover large portions of the state and offer high-quality legal assistance for those who qualify. Generally each offers record clearance services, among other things. All of these organizations do great work for the populations that need it. 

While all of these organizations provide great services, some people don’t qualify based on income, citizenship, or the geographic area where they live. That’s where Rasa comes in. You can use our eligibility tool to see if you qualify for record clearance, and to see which legal aid programs you qualify for in your part of Pennsylvania. Taking that first step toward clearing your record could open the door to better jobs, housing, and a fresh start.