Pa. Cons. Stat. » 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. (VEHICLES) / Chapter 63
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes

75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6304 (2026)

  Authority to arrest without warrant.

✓ current as of May 2026
Coverage note: this corpus holds the consolidated Pa.C.S. titles only. Unconsolidated P.S. statutes (UTPCPL 73 P.S. § 201-1, Liquor Code, wage payment laws) are not included; a miss here does not mean the statute does not exist. Check palegis.us.
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section PA-LEGpalegis.us JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§ 6304.  Authority to arrest without warrant.

(a)  Pennsylvania State Police.--A member of the Pennsylvania State Police who is in uniform may arrest without a warrant any person who violates any provision of this title in the presence of the police officer making the arrest.

(b)  Other police officers.--Any police officer who is in uniform may arrest without a warrant any nonresident who violates any provision of this title in the presence of the police officer making the arrest.

(c)  Other powers preserved.--The powers of arrest conferred by this section are in addition to any other powers of arrest conferred by law.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 26 cases, 1979–2020 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Leet, 585 A.2d 1033 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Commonwealth v. Leet, 585 A.2d 1033 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991). · cites it 14× “— A member of the Pennsylvania State Police who is in uniform may arrest without a warrant any person who violates any provision of this title in the presence of the police officer making the arrest.”
Commonwealth v. Leet, 641 A.2d 299 (Pa. 1994). · cites it 5× “75 Pa.C.S. § 6304. [1] *99 The initial motor vehicle violation in this case is improper passing which is governed by Chapter 33 and is designated by Chapter 65 of the Motor Vehicle Code as a summary offense.”
Commonwealth v. Marconi, 64 A.3d 1036 (Pa. 2013). · cites it 3× “See 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(a). The general rule prevailing for other police officers is that they are specifically authorized to arrest only nonresidents for in-presence violations.”
Commonwealth v. Soto, 202 A.3d 80 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). “of Law, 6/3/16, at 3 (citing 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(b), and Pa.R.Crim.P. 400, 440 ).”
Commonwealth v. Galloway, 574 A.2d 1045 (Pa. 1990). · cites it 4× “Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304 (cited at footnote 2 above), a state police officer does not have the authority to arrest for motor vehicle code violations without a warrant where he was not present when the offense occurred.”
Ankele v. Hambrick, 286 F. Supp. 2d 485 (E.D. Pa. 2003). · cites it 2× “Under 75 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 6304(a), a member of the Pennsylvania State Police may arrest a person without a warrant for a violation of the Motor Vehicle Code only if (1) the officer is in uniform, and (2) the Motor Vehicle Code is violated “in the presence of the police…”
Mawuyrayrassuna Noviho v. Lancaster Cnty., 683 F. App'x 160 (3rd Cir. 2017). “See 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6304 ("Authority to arrest without warrant”); Pa.”
Glass v. City of Philadelphia, 455 F. Supp. 2d 302 (E.D. Pa. 2006). “*355 75 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 6304 (2006). As no members of the state police were involved in the February 10, 1998 stop and Mr.”
Commonwealth v. Peters, 915 A.2d 1213 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007). “400; 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(b), a warrantless arrest based upon probable cause of a DUI violation is certainly permissible.”
Commonwealth v. Bullers, 637 A.2d 1326 (Pa. 1994). · cites it 2× “§ 3904 (theft), and § 2711(a) (domestic violence), as well as 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304 (vehicle code violations) and § 3731 (driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substances).”
Commonwealth v. Price, 593 A.2d 1288 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991). · cites it 2× “In the present case, however, Agent Sites' arrest of Appellant for an offense under the Motor Vehicle Code would have been lawful under no set of circumstances; only uniformed police officers are authorized to make warrantless arrests for such violations under 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304.…”
Commonwealth v. Gommer, 665 A.2d 1269 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995). “Furthermore, the Commonwealth urges, the subsequent arrest of appellee by Troopers Smith and Wenger was supported by probable cause, based upon information obtained independently of Corporal Damore’s stopping of appellee’s vehicle.”
Show all 26 citing cases →
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6304(a) — 9 cases
Commonwealth v. Leet, 585 A.2d 1033 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991). “— A member of the Pennsylvania State Police who is in uniform may arrest without a warrant any person who violates any provision of this title in the presence of the police officer making the arrest.”
Ankele v. Hambrick, 286 F. Supp. 2d 485 (E.D. Pa. 2003). “Under 75 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 6304(a), a member of the Pennsylvania State Police may arrest a person without a warrant for a violation of the Motor Vehicle Code only if (1) the officer is in uniform, and (2) the Motor Vehicle Code is violated “in the presence of the police…”
Commonwealth v. Leet, 641 A.2d 299 (Pa. 1994). “75 Pa.C.S. § 6304. [1] *99 The initial motor vehicle violation in this case is improper passing which is governed by Chapter 33 and is designated by Chapter 65 of the Motor Vehicle Code as a summary offense.”
Commonwealth v. Marconi, 64 A.3d 1036 (Pa. 2013). “See 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(a). The general rule prevailing for other police officers is that they are specifically authorized to arrest only nonresidents for in-presence violations.”
Commonwealth v. Gommer, 665 A.2d 1269 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995). “Furthermore, the Commonwealth urges, the subsequent arrest of appellee by Troopers Smith and Wenger was supported by probable cause, based upon information obtained independently of Corporal Damore’s stopping of appellee’s vehicle.”
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6304(b) — 5 cases
Commonwealth v. Soto, 202 A.3d 80 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2018). “of Law, 6/3/16, at 3 (citing 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(b), and Pa.R.Crim.P. 400, 440 ).”
Commonwealth v. Leet, 585 A.2d 1033 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991). “— A member of the Pennsylvania State Police who is in uniform may arrest without a warrant any person who violates any provision of this title in the presence of the police officer making the arrest.”
Commonwealth v. Peters, 915 A.2d 1213 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2007). “400; 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(b), a warrantless arrest based upon probable cause of a DUI violation is certainly permissible.”
Commonwealth v. Marconi, 64 A.3d 1036 (Pa. 2013). “See 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(a). The general rule prevailing for other police officers is that they are specifically authorized to arrest only nonresidents for in-presence violations.”
Commonwealth v. O'Brien, 7 Pa. D. & C.4th 552 (1990).
— 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 6304(c) — 3 cases
Commonwealth v. Leet, 585 A.2d 1033 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1991). “— A member of the Pennsylvania State Police who is in uniform may arrest without a warrant any person who violates any provision of this title in the presence of the police officer making the arrest.”
Commonwealth v. Marconi, 64 A.3d 1036 (Pa. 2013). “See 75 Pa.C.S. § 6304(a). The general rule prevailing for other police officers is that they are specifically authorized to arrest only nonresidents for in-presence violations.”
Commonwealth v. Streater, 619 A.2d 1070 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1993).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.