Is disorderly conduct a criminal record in Pennsylvania?

Yes. Even as a summary offense it produces a Pennsylvania State Police record that appears on background checks. It is expungeable after five arrest-free years under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(b)(3), but it does not disappear on its own.

Should I just pay the fine for disorderly conduct?

Paying the fine is a guilty plea and a conviction. Because these cases are frequently dismissed at the summary trial when the elements or the officer's testimony fall short, paying is usually the most expensive option in the long run.

Can I be charged with public drunkenness for being drunk in my own car or home?

Section 5505 requires being in a public place and appearing manifestly under the influence to the degree that you may endanger yourself, others, or property, or annoy people nearby. Private property is generally outside the statute, and 'manifestly' is a real evidentiary threshold.

Can disorderly conduct be expunged in PA?

A summary disorderly conduct conviction can be expunged after five years without an arrest. If the case is dismissed, withdrawn, or resolved through a diversionary program, the expungement is available immediately.

Criminal Defense · Disorderly Conduct

Disorderly Conduct Lawyer in Pennsylvania.

Disorderly conduct and public drunkenness are the charges police write when a night gets loud and nobody was actually hurt. They are also real convictions that show up on background checks — and they are among the most winnable and most expungeable cases in the Pennsylvania code.

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Disorderly Conduct & Public Drunkenness Defense in Pennsylvania.

Disorderly conduct is a summary offense, or an M3 where the intent was to cause substantial harm or serious inconvenience or the conduct persisted after a warning. Public drunkenness is a summary offense with a $500 maximum fine for a first offense.

Statute: 18 Pa.C.S. § 5503 (disorderly conduct); § 5505 (public drunkenness); § 2709 (harassment)

ARD & diversion

Summary and M3 cases are often better handled by a summary trial or a negotiated reduction than by ARD, but diversion is available in most Central PA counties for the misdemeanor grading.

Pennsylvania ARD program · ARD eligibility quiz

Disorderly Conduct & Public Drunkenness Defense: offense grading and maximum exposure under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5503 (disorderly conduct); § 5505 (public drunkenness); § 2709 (harassment)
Offense & grading	Maximum exposure
Disorderly conduct — summary § 5503 Tried before the magisterial district judge, usually within weeks.	Up to 90 days jail, $300 fine
Disorderly conduct — M3 § 5503(b) Requires intent to cause substantial harm or serious inconvenience, or persistence after a reasonable warning.	Up to 1 year jail, $2,500 fine
Public drunkenness — summary § 5505 No jail for a first offense, but a conviction on the record.	$500 fine first offense; $1,000 subsequent
Harassment — summary or M3 § 2709 Frequently charged alongside; also a common reduction target from assault.	Up to 90 days, or 1 year if graded M3

Maximums are statutory ceilings, not expected sentences. Actual outcomes depend on prior record score, offense gravity score, and county practice.

How we defend disorderly conduct cases.

Test the statutory element
Section 5503 requires fighting, threatening, unreasonable noise, obscene language or gesture, or a hazardous condition serving no legitimate purpose — in public. Being rude to an officer is not, by itself, disorderly conduct.
Raise the First Amendment where it applies
Pennsylvania appellate courts have repeatedly reversed § 5503 convictions based on protected speech and profanity directed at police.
Try the summary case
Summary trials are quick, the officer has to appear and testify, and the Commonwealth's file is often thin. Many of these cases end in dismissal for that reason alone.
Negotiate away the M3 grading
Moving an M3 to a summary offense removes a misdemeanor from your record and puts a 5-year expungement on the table.
Look for the assault reduction
Disorderly conduct is the most valuable landing spot for an over-charged simple assault — a summary offense with no violent-crime label.
File the expungement
Summary convictions are expungeable after five arrest-free years under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(b)(3). We calendar it rather than leaving it on your record.

Where we appear

Disorderly Conduct defense across Central Pennsylvania.

Attorney Quinlan appears in the magisterial district courts and Courts of Common Pleas in Dauphin, Cumberland, York, and Adams counties. Start with your city:

Other charges we defend.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Common questions about disorderly conduct charges in Pennsylvania — grading, penalties, diversion, and record consequences.

Yes. Even as a summary offense it produces a Pennsylvania State Police record that appears on background checks. It is expungeable after five arrest-free years under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122(b)(3), but it does not disappear on its own.
Paying the fine is a guilty plea and a conviction. Because these cases are frequently dismissed at the summary trial when the elements or the officer's testimony fall short, paying is usually the most expensive option in the long run.
Section 5505 requires being in a public place and appearing manifestly under the influence to the degree that you may endanger yourself, others, or property, or annoy people nearby. Private property is generally outside the statute, and 'manifestly' is a real evidentiary threshold.
A summary disorderly conduct conviction can be expunged after five years without an arrest. If the case is dismissed, withdrawn, or resolved through a diversionary program, the expungement is available immediately.

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