Administering Entity
Pennsylvania State Police Forensic Services Division
Recent / Pending Legislation
Pennsylvania enacted SB 345 (2022) addressing sexual assault kit tracking and submission timelines. No major pending forensic DNA legislation identified as of early 2026.
- SB 912 (2025 – pending – last action 2025) – granting arrestee collection authority.
- HB 1179 (2025, pending – last action in 2025) – Genetic Materials and Privacy and Compensation Act – Need warrant or explicit consent for genetic material testing or any third-party database.
- HB 2530 (2025, pending or dead) – Updating DNA expungement rules in Pennsylvania
Arrestees: No
- SB 912 (2025 – pending) – granting DNA arrestee collection authority.
Convicted Offenders: Yes
Qualifying Crimes: Adult conviction or juvenile delinquency adjudication for a felony sex offense — or for an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit a felony — and for these other specified offenses: (1) A felony offense; (2) An offense under 18 Pa.C.S. (relating to crimes and offenses) or 75 Pa.C.S. (relating to vehicles)that is graded as a misdemeanor of the first degree; (3) A misdemeanor offense requiring registration as a sexual offender; (4) An offense graded as a misdemeanor of the second degree including simple assault; false imprisonment; indecent exposure; theft and related offenses; bad checks; access device fraud; intimidation of witnesses or victims; retaliation against witness, victim or party; intimidation, retaliation or obstruction in child abuse cases; escape; flight to avoid apprehension, trial or punishment; recruiting criminal gang members; abuse of corpse; cruelty to animals; prostitution and related offenses. May also be required as a condition of acceptance into Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) as a result of a criminal charge for a felony sex offense or other specified offense filed after June 18, 2002
Time of Collection: At intake to a prison, jail, juvenile detention facility, or other detention facility or institution; after sentencing at the place of confinement, for those already incarcerated; as a condition of sentencing, for those not incarcerated; and, for anyone incarcerated on or after June 18, 2002 for a qualifying offense, before release. No sample will be taken if a sample from the person has already been validly collected and the record exists in the database. When the state accepts an offender from another state and the offender is or has been convicted or adjudicated of a felony sex offense or offense determined by the Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole, then within 5 working days after reporting to the supervising agent or of notice to the offender.
Expungement: Two routes: a written request to the State Police on the ground that the sample entered the State DNA Data Base by mistake; or a request by the person sampled asking the court of common pleas in the county where the original charges were filed to order expungement, in the following instances: (i) the conviction or delinquency adjudication has been reversed and no appeal is pending; (ii) the person was granted an unconditional pardon; or (iii) the request for removal due to mistake was erroneously refused by the State Police. The above does not apply if the person has been convicted or adjudicated delinquent for any other crime for which a DNA sample is required to be collected.
Statutes / Case Law
44 Pa. C.S.A. § 2303. Definitions
44 Pa. C.S.A. § 2311. Powers and duties of State Police
44 Pa. C.S.A. § 2316.1. Collection from persons accepted from other jurisdictions
44 Pa. C.S.A. § 2317. Procedures for collection and transmission of DNA samples
44 Pa. C.S.A. § 2318. Procedures for Conduct, Disposition and Use of DNA Analysis
44 Pa. C.S.A. § 2321. Expungement
Legislative History
Original Enactment — Act 14 of 1995 (1st Special Session). P.L. 1009, No. 14 | Enacted: May 28, 1995
The foundational statute. Titled the “DNA Detection of Sexual and Violent Offenders Act,” this was the first Pennsylvania law creating the State DNA Data Base, the State DNA Data Bank, and the collection mandate (at § 306, the direct predecessor of § 2316). It required DNA samples from persons convicted of felony sex offenses and a narrow set of “other specified offenses” (murder, stalking, indecent assault). Now repealed and replaced by Chapter 23, but explicitly continued by Act 185 of 2004.
Recodification into 44 Pa.C.S. — Act 185 of 2004 (HB 835). P.L. 1428, No. 185 | Enacted: November 30, 2004 | Effective: 60 days
House Bill 835 — this is the bill that created 44 Pa.C.S. Chapter 23 in its current form, including § 2316. Section 4 of the Act expressly stated it was a continuation of the 1995 law. The Act expanded the scope of covered offenses and restructured the program under the Consolidated Statutes.
Expansion for SORNA Compliance — Act 111 of 2011 (SB 1183). P.L. 446, No. 111 | Enacted: December 20, 2011 | Effective: One year
Senate Bill 1183 — amended § 2303 definitions (adding “Y chromosome analysis” and expanding “other specified offense”) pursuant to the federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) mandate. Did not directly amend the text of § 2316, but altered the offense categories that trigger its collection mandate.
Omnibus Amendments — Act 147 of 2018 (SB 916) P.L. 896, No. 147 | Enacted: October 24, 2018 | Effective: 360 days (most provisions)
Senate Bill 916 — the most recent and most significant direct amendment to § 2316. Key changes include: added subsection (d.1) making DNA submission mandatory regardless of court advisement; extended the mandate to persons on probation and parole; added § 2316.1 for persons accepted from other jurisdictions; and significantly expanded the “other specified offense” definition in § 2303 to include all first-degree misdemeanors and numerous second-degree misdemeanors.
Missing Persons Expansion — Act 4 of 2022 (HB 930). P.L. 16, No. 4 | Enacted: February 3, 2022 | Effective: 60 days
House Bill 930 — did not amend § 2316 itself, but added §§ 2316.2, 2316.3, and 2316.4, which extend the DNA collection framework to investigations of high-risk missing persons, missing persons generally, and unidentified decedents. Also added definitions for “high-risk missing person” and “National Missing and Unidentified Persons System” to § 2303.
- Pennsylvania State Police is using Rapid DNA for casework. Established in 2025.
- As of May 5, 2026, extended it municipal agencies to solve time-sensitive cases.
- See Bensalem Township Police Department in Bucks County – establishing Local DNA Database supported by Rapid DNA for criminal investigations and DVI.
No program or law identified.
No program or law identified.
No program or law identified.
Legislation possible in 2027.
