Search by name to confirm someone is at SCI Mercer and start sending letters, photos, and money.
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PA DOC’s records cover men serving a state sentence and people on state parole. Anyone arrested in the past few weeks and still waiting on a sentence sits in a county jail, which runs its own separate system. The other usual causes are a finished sentence, a federal case instead of a state one, or a name in the file that doesn’t match the one you typed. There’s also a naming issue specific to this prison. It spent 30 years as State Regional Correctional Facility Mercer before converting to a full state correctional institution on July 1, 2008, so a letter, an old court document, or a family member’s memory may point you at a name the locator no longer uses.
Try the name several ways: middle names, both halves of a hyphenated surname, and the spelling on court paperwork. Search under SCI Mercer, not the older State Regional Correctional Facility name. If the search still turns up nothing, call SCI Mercer at (724) 662-1837 and ask whether he’s been received at 801 Butler Pike. Staff can confirm an arrival before the record updates. If he isn’t there, the county jail that held him before sentencing is where to check next.
5 of 5 questions
Yes. It opened July 5, 1978 under that name, holding short-term county offenders from 14 northwestern Pennsylvania counties, and converted to a full state correctional institution on July 1, 2008. The locator lists it as SCI Mercer today, so search under the current name. Call (724) 662-1837 if a document has you second-guessing which facility it means.
Inmate SearchHe may still be in county custody awaiting sentencing, already released, in a federal prison, or entered under a spelling that doesn't match yours. Try name variations first, then call (724) 662-1837 to ask whether he's been received at 801 Butler Pike in Mercer County.
Inmate SearchNo, and at this prison the answer is murky anyway. PA DOC's materials describe SCI Mercer as minimum-security in some places and as a level 2-3 custody facility after its 2008 conversion in others. The search result won't clear that up. Call (724) 662-1837 and ask about his classification directly.
Inmate SearchNo. It confirms the institution only. SCI Mercer has 13 housing units and the assignment can affect visit scheduling, so call (724) 662-1837 once you know he's there and ask which unit he's on.
Inmate SearchPA DOC only records people who have been sentenced to state time or placed on state parole. A recent arrest stays with the county that made it, and SCI Mercer won't receive anyone until a state sentence and intake are complete. Check with that county first, then call (724) 662-1837 once you expect the transfer.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified August 18, 2026.