Privacy, Information Use, Public Records, and Website Security Policy

The Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office is committed to the responsible collection, use, protection, retention, and disclosure of information associated with its official public website, fayettecorecorderpa.gov.

This website is operated and maintained by the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office as a governmental public service.

This policy explains the Office’s practices concerning information collected or submitted through the website, the use of third-party service providers, public-record obligations, records retention, cybersecurity, and applicable Pennsylvania law.

Nothing in this policy changes, expands, limits, or supersedes any right, duty, exemption, privilege, confidentiality requirement, disclosure obligation, or records-retention requirement established by federal or Pennsylvania law.

With respect to personal information collected through ordinary use of this website, the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office does not:

• Sell personal information;
• Rent personal information;
• Trade personal information;
• Provide personal information to data brokers;
• Provide personal information to advertisers;
• Share personal information for behavioral advertising;
• Share personal information for unrelated commercial marketing or solicitation;
• Sell website browsing activity;
• Create or sell commercial profiles of website visitors; or
• Authorize contractors acting on behalf of the Office to use information obtained from the Office for unrelated commercial purposes.

This commitment does not change the public status of an official government record.

A deed, mortgage, recorded instrument, government record, or other document that is public under Pennsylvania law may be made available as required or authorized by law. The Office may also collect fees authorized by law for recording, certification, copying, duplication, or access to records. Such lawful fees do not constitute the sale of personal information.

The Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office is a local government office subject to the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq.

Pennsylvania law generally presumes records in the possession of a local agency to be public unless the record is exempt under the Right-to-Know Law, protected by privilege, or exempt from disclosure under another federal or state law, regulation, judicial order, or decree.

Information submitted to the Recorder of Deeds Office may therefore become part of an official government record. The Office cannot promise that every communication or submission will remain confidential.

Pennsylvania law also provides protections for certain information, including specified personal-identification information and certain records concerning computer hardware, software, networks, and security where disclosure could jeopardize computer security.

In addition, the Pennsylvania Constitution recognizes a right to informational privacy that may require consideration of an individual’s privacy interest before government releases certain personal information.

Records will be reviewed and disclosed, withheld, or redacted in accordance with applicable law.

The Office’s prohibition against selling or commercially sharing website-user information should not be confused with Pennsylvania public-record law.

Under the Right-to-Know Law, a local agency generally may not deny access to an otherwise public record merely because of the requester’s intended use of that record.

Accordingly, this Privacy Policy does not impose restrictions on the lawful use or disclosure of records that Pennsylvania law requires the Office to make available.

When you voluntarily submit information through a website form, email link, registration process, application, or other website feature, the Office may receive information such as:

• Name;
• Email address;
• Telephone number;
• Mailing address;
• Business or organization information;
• Information contained in your inquiry or request;
• Documents or attachments voluntarily submitted; and
• Other information reasonably necessary to provide the requested service.

The information collected depends on the particular service you choose to use.

Information voluntarily provided to the Office may become a government record and may be subject to applicable public-record and records-retention laws.

The website, hosting provider, security systems, and authorized service providers may automatically process technical information necessary to operate, maintain, troubleshoot, and secure the website.

Such information may include:

• Internet Protocol address;
• Browser type or version;
• Device or operating-system information;
• Date and time of access;
• Pages or resources requested;
• Referring website or page;
• Server logs;
• Application logs;
• Authentication or session information;
• Security alerts; and
• Other technical information related to website operation or cybersecurity.

This information may be used for website administration, troubleshooting, performance monitoring, fraud prevention, cybersecurity monitoring, detection of malicious activity, incident investigation and response, and protection of public systems and services.

The Office does not sell this information or use it for commercial advertising.

Information submitted through a website form, email link, or other electronic communication is used for official governmental purposes.

Such information may be reviewed by authorized personnel for purposes including responding to an inquiry, processing a request, providing a public service, maintaining an administrative record, investigating a technical or security matter, or complying with applicable law.

The Office does not sell information submitted through contact forms or email and does not provide that information to third parties for advertising, commercial marketing, data brokerage, or unrelated commercial use.

Electronic communications may be retained as required by Pennsylvania records-retention law and may be disclosed when required or authorized by law.

The website may use cookies, session technologies, or similar technologies necessary or useful for website operation.

These technologies may support website functionality, security, session management, user preferences, accessibility functions, language or translation functions, forms, or limited operational analytics.

The Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office does not itself use cookies for the sale of personal information, commercial behavioral advertising, or creation of commercial marketing profiles.

Certain third-party services may place or process their own cookies or similar technologies. Those services may be subject to their own privacy terms and policies.

Users may generally control cookies through their browser settings, although disabling certain cookies may interfere with website functionality.

The Office may use third-party providers to assist with the operation, maintenance, security, and functionality of the website.

Services may include:

• Website hosting;
• Cybersecurity;
• Malware detection;
• Backup and recovery;
• Email delivery;
• Accessibility tools;
• Translation services;
• Website analytics;
• Forms;
• Document delivery; and
• Technical support.

Service providers may process information as reasonably necessary to perform services for the Office.

The Office does not authorize service providers acting on its behalf to sell Office-provided information or use it for unrelated advertising, commercial marketing, or commercial profiling.

A third-party service independently accessed by a visitor may, however, be governed by that provider’s own privacy policy and terms.

The website may contain links to, or functionality supplied by, organizations outside the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office.

These may include Commonwealth or federal government websites, other Fayette County services, maps, social-media services, translation services, videos, electronic forms, document-hosting services, payment or transaction services, or other external resources.

When a visitor accesses an external service, that service may process information according to its own privacy practices.

The Recorder of Deeds Office does not control and cannot guarantee the privacy, security, accessibility, accuracy, or continued availability of an external website or service.

A link to an external website does not constitute an endorsement of that provider’s privacy or cybersecurity practices.

Records created, received, or maintained by the Recorder of Deeds Office are retained and disposed of in accordance with applicable Pennsylvania law and approved records-retention schedules.

The County Records Act of August 14, 1963, P.L. 839, No. 407, 16 P.S. §§ 13001–13006, establishes Pennsylvania’s county-records framework and authorizes approved retention and disposition schedules.

Accordingly, the Office will not promise to delete government records merely because the immediate reason for collecting the information has ended.

Information will be retained for the period required or authorized by applicable retention schedules, law, operational requirements, litigation holds, investigations, or other legitimate governmental needs.

The Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office recognizes its obligations under Pennsylvania’s Breach of Personal Information Notification Act, Act 94 of 2005, as amended.

That law applies to political subdivisions and establishes notification requirements when a qualifying breach of computerized personal information occurs.

In the event of a security incident that meets the statutory definition of a reportable breach, the Office and County will provide notices and take other actions required by then-applicable Pennsylvania law.

Nothing in this section should be interpreted to mean that every security alert, attempted attack, software vulnerability, unsuccessful login attempt, or website malfunction constitutes a statutory data breach.

The Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office treats cybersecurity as an ongoing responsibility.

The Office employs administrative, technical, and operational safeguards intended to reduce cybersecurity risk and protect the availability and integrity of the public website.

Depending on the system and circumstances, safeguards may include measures involving:

• Access control;
• Multifactor authentication;
• Credential protection;
• Software and security updates;
• Vulnerability management;
• Malware detection;
• Logging and monitoring;
• Backup and recovery;
• Restricted administrative access;
• Incident-response procedures; and
• Periodic security assessment and validation.

This description is intentionally general.

The Office does not publicly disclose credentials, security configurations, network architecture, vulnerability details, or other information whose release could undermine cybersecurity. Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law contains protections for certain computer-security records.

No website, network, or electronic information system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

If a suspected cybersecurity incident affects the public website, the Office may take appropriate measures to protect the website, preserve relevant evidence, determine the scope of the incident, remediate identified problems, validate system integrity, and restore normal operations.

Depending on the circumstances, such actions may include:

• Preserving logs and relevant evidence;
• Restricting or disabling accounts;
• Resetting credentials;
• Reviewing hosting or server activity;
• Conducting malware or integrity scans;
• Applying software updates;
• Correcting configuration issues;
• Reviewing access controls;
• Validating backups;
• Consulting qualified technical professionals;
• Conducting additional independent assessment; and
• Making notifications required by applicable law.

The particular response will depend upon the nature and circumstances of the incident.

The privacy practices governing ordinary website use are different from the laws governing official records recorded in the Recorder of Deeds Office.

Deeds, mortgages, easements, satisfactions, and other instruments may be public records and may be available for inspection or copying as provided by Pennsylvania law.

Pennsylvania county law also provides generally that records of county offices are open for inspection subject to the Right-to-Know Law and other applicable provisions of law.

Persons preparing and submitting instruments for recording should avoid including unnecessary sensitive information and remain responsible for complying with applicable recording requirements.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy converts an otherwise public recorded instrument into a confidential record.

Conversely, nothing in this policy converts a record made confidential by statute into a public record.

Requests for records under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law should be submitted according to the procedures described on the Office’s Right-to-Know Requests page.

Depending upon the requested record, information may be withheld or redacted under:

• The Right-to-Know Law;
• Another federal or Pennsylvania statute;
• Applicable regulation;
• Privilege;
• Court order;
• Constitutional privacy protections; or
• Other applicable legal authority.

The Recorder of Deeds Office is committed to providing accessible digital information and services.

Persons who encounter difficulty accessing information on the website or who require information in an alternative format may contact the Office.

Additional information is available on the Office’s Accessibility Statement page.

This policy applies to the official website operated by the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office.

Other County offices, Commonwealth agencies, federal agencies, vendors, businesses, and organizations may maintain separate websites and separate privacy policies.

The Recorder of Deeds Office is not responsible for the privacy practices, security controls, content, accessibility, or availability of websites outside its control.

The Office endeavors to maintain reliable public access to its website.

Website services may nevertheless be unavailable temporarily because of maintenance, upgrades, security measures, hosting or Internet outages, equipment failure, cybersecurity events, third-party service interruptions, or circumstances beyond the Office’s reasonable control.

Temporary unavailability of the public website does not alter the legal status, custody, or validity of official records maintained by the Recorder of Deeds Office.

This policy describes the administrative practices of the Fayette County Recorder of Deeds Office.

It is not intended to create contractual rights or remedies beyond those independently provided by applicable law.

Nothing in this policy waives or limits any statutory or constitutional right of a member of the public.

Nothing in this policy is intended to waive any lawful immunity, privilege, exemption, defense, confidentiality protection, or other legal protection available to Fayette County, the Recorder of Deeds Office, or their officials and employees.

If any provision of this policy conflicts with applicable law, the applicable law controls.

This policy may be revised periodically to reflect changes in applicable law, website functionality, technology, cybersecurity practices or guidance, records-management requirements, office procedures, or government services.

The date of the most recent revision will be displayed at the top of this policy.