Pennsylvania · LienGuardAI

General information, not legal advice. Confirm current fees, forms, and deadlines on official government sites, and talk to an attorney about your situation. LienGuardAI does not file anything for you. See Legal Disclaimer & Terms of Use.

Relevant case law: A man already imprisoned in Pennsylvania filed a “Claim of Commercial Lien Affidavit” with the Erie County Recorder of Deeds naming five federal officials as lien debtors after they were involved in denying his release-related requests. He demanded millions of dollars and asked that the liens be put in the public record. A jury convicted him of filing false liens against federal officers; he was sentenced to an additional 48 months. The Third Circuit affirmed, rejecting claims that the false-lien law was unconstitutionally vague. Verified. (United States v. Hoffert, 949 F.3d 782 (3d Cir. 2020).) Separately, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court upheld a DOC rule letting prisons confiscate UCC filing documents mailed to inmates as a response to “paper terrorism” against justice-system personnel. Verified. (Bundy v. Beard, 924 A.2d 723 (Pa. Commw. Ct. 2007).)

This is a plain-language summary of a published judicial opinion, not a complete report of the case. Confirm names, holdings, and procedural posture against the opinion itself.

UCC financing statements

Check if one exists

This link may be outdated: our automated weekly check couldn't confirm Pennsylvania's UCC search portal is still working (last checked 2026-10-12). Try searching "Pennsylvania UCC search" directly, or start from the stored link in case it's a temporary issue.

Refusal / removal authority

Pennsylvania's UCC (13 Pa.C.S. Division 9) has no fraud ground for refusing a financing statement at filing. A separate 2022 Associations Code provision, 15 Pa.C.S. §136(f), lets the Department of State reject a document it reasonably believes is being filed fraudulently, but it governs documents filed under Title 15; whether it reaches UCC records is unconfirmed. In practice, the Department's e-filing system screens for known fraud-indicator language.

Citations PA §9518 PA §136

Full citations

13 Pa.C.S. §9518(f)
15 Pa.C.S. §136(f) (Title 15 documents; reach to UCC records unconfirmed)

E-filing system screens submissions. After filing, 13 Pa.C.S. §9518(f) provides a Department-initiated administrative hearing on whether an initial financing statement was fraudulently filed.

If it's already filed: §9518(f): if the Department finds a filing fraudulent, it files an information statement that creates a rebuttable presumption the financing statement is ineffective — the record is not removed — plus possible Attorney General referral; §9625 civil remedies.

Real-property liens

42 Pa.C.S. §8355 is not a fraudulent-lien civil pathway for public officials; it is a Rule 11–style certification of pleadings and motions (suspended by Pa.R.C.P. 1023.1(e)) — not a lien statute (checked 2026-08-10). 18 Pa.C.S. §4911 (tampering with public records) is a general crime that can sometimes reach false recorded instruments, but it is not an officials-only fraudulent-lien CoA. No dedicated statute on nonconsensual common-law liens, recorder refusal, or a Texas-style owner deed affidavit was verified. 2025–26 HB 1406 (deed-fraud cosponsorship theme) passed the House and was laid on the Senate table 10/29/2025 — not current law.

Citations No dedicated verified RP fraudulent-lie… PA §4911

Full citations

No dedicated verified RP fraudulent-lien statute
18 Pa. Cons. Stat. §4911 (general public-records crime, not a dedicated fraudulent-lien statute)

Quiet title and general civil actions; criminal referral under §4911 only where the facts fit. §8355 is not a fraudulent-lien statute, and HB 1406 is not enacted.

Real-property records are held by the county Recorder of Deeds — contact them directly.

Get notified before it happens

A free "property fraud alert" service is available in at least part of Pennsylvania — it emails or mails you whenever a document gets recorded against your name, so you find out right away instead of months later. Sign up for Philadelphia Fraud Guard →

Philadelphia (city and county are the same jurisdiction) is Pennsylvania's largest. Montgomery and Bucks Counties run separate programs. Sign-up is on the Tyler PhilaDox host and requires creating/logging into an account first.

If the path runs through court

Pennsylvania doesn't have a self-filed administrative form for this — the verified remedy runs through a court, which generally means an attorney rather than a fill-in-the-blank document.

Quiet Title / General Civil Cleanup (No Dedicated Fraudulent-Lien Statute Verified)

Limited detail available. §8355 is not a fraudulent-lien civil path for public officials (live statute text, 2026-08-10). The usual civil routes are quiet-title and slander-of-title actions.

Pennsylvania currently has no verified dedicated real-property fraudulent-lien refuse or petition statute on this site. County recorders and quiet-title counsel are the realistic path. §4911 (tampering with public records) is a general criminal tool, not an officials-scoped lien CoA. HB 1406 is pending only.

This generally requires an attorney. Without a dedicated verified statute, this runs as ordinary civil litigation plus any criminal referral counsel recommends — not an administrative filing-office form.

People consulting an attorney about a filing like this often bring:

A copy of the filing, if available, and where and when it was filed or recorded (office, date, and document or instrument number)
Any notices, letters, or other correspondence about it
Records for the property or account it names, such as a deed, title, or loan papers
Notes on any contact with the filer or the filing office, with dates
This page's citations and their check dates

How this usually works in Pennsylvania

A summary of the tools Pennsylvania law and filing offices provide — general information, not instructions for your facts. Confirm current practice with the filing office and talk to an attorney about your situation.

1Pennsylvania UCC filings are searchable through the Department of State's Business Filing Services portal (paid, login required); county Recorders of Deeds hold real-property records.
2Pennsylvania's fraud screening is administrative practice rather than statute, so the Department may not catch a fraudulent filing before it is recorded.
3§8355 concerns pleading certification (and is suspended); it is not a lien statute.
4The usual civil theories are quiet title and slander of title; §4911 (tampering with public records) may support a criminal referral. HB 1406 is pending legislation only.

What to expect

Pennsylvania's process leans post-filing and administrative rather than a strong pre-filing stop; §8355 is not a fraudulent-lien statute. Confirm the current fee on the state's official site — filing and search fees change and are not published here.

Sources: the LienGuardAI fifty-state survey and UCC search portal review (How we verify). No dollar fee amounts are published here — always confirm the current fee on the state's own site.