Answered By: Electronic Resources Librarian
Last Updated: Feb 28, 2024     Views: 3860

Where can I find the official statutory code for Pennsylvania?

Short answer:

View the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes online (unofficial version).

Where official codification has not yet occured, view the Laws of Pennsylvania online (unofficial version)

PDF files of official print versions available in HeinOnline's Session Laws Library.

Long Answer:

There are currently two versions of codified statutes in Pennsylvania: The Unofficial Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes from Westlaw and the state's Official Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes.

For a long time Purdon's was the only source of codified statutory law in Pennsylvania, although still unofficial. Its full title was Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated.

The state eventually began adopting Purdon's codification into its own official codification (changing the organizational structure, etc a bit). This official codification is called Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. It is an ongoing effort; not all of the titles that exist in Purdon's have yet been officially codifed. For the titles that have been officially codified, Purdon's has adapted its structure to match the state's official code. If a title has not yet been officially codified, the only official source of law is the session laws: the Laws of Pennsylvania.

If a title has been officially codified, Purdon's citation to it is Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated. If a title has not yet been officially codified, Purdon's citation is just the original Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated.