A Protection From Abuse order can appear on a background check in Pennsylvania. A PFA order is a civil record. It's a public court record so the public can obviously access that record. If anyone, say, an employer is conducting a background check on a person, the background check could access that public court record, and the employer could take action as appropriate, whether it's a Temporary PFA order or Final PFA order. The concerns are even greater if there's a finding of abuse against a defendant at a protection of abuse hearing and there's a finding of abuse.
PFA case can also result in criminal charges directly related to the PFA allegations, so then there would be a criminal record also. A person can also be charged with indirect criminal contempt, which is also a criminal charge, so there could be another record related to the PFA. A person can also face civil contempt for the PFA order, which would be another potential civil court record yet.
Yes, the PFA can be accessed on a background check, so having an experienced PFA attorney in your corner from as early as possible in the process will be able to help you understand and navigate the process and the potential consequences, and they need to be involved from day one.
