Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts

LOCAL RULE 205.4 – ELECTRONIC FILING (PDF)

⚠ Press Release Passports Services - Update 5/29/2020 (PDF)

⚠ Administrative Order RE-E Filing

Now Available January 5, 2018: 

1801 to 1994 Criminal Quarter Sessions/Court of Common Pleas Criminal Docket Books. Accessible via the "Prothonotary" menu when browsing the Online Information (WebIA) system.

Effective, January 6, 2018, AOPC Public Records Access Policy.

For instruction and forms see the Courts of Pennsylvania website

Pro Se Custody

*** Effective immediately, the Centre County Court of Common Pleas will not accept Custody Petitions filed by pro se individuals after 4:00 p.m. due to the time involved in processing such filings. *** 

Passport Applications

Effective January 1, 2012, the office hours for processing applications for a Passport book or Passport card are from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding county holidays.

Please allow 1/2 hour for a completed application.

Get applications and additional information.

Record Keeping

The Centre County Prothonotary’s Office is the permanent record keeping office for the Court of Common Pleas of Centre County. Both civil and criminal transactions are filed, docketed and maintained in this office, in addition to judgments, divorce actions, and numerous other miscellaneous filings. The office is responsible for the collection of bail money and its return to the surety upon completion of the court action.

Public access to case information is available during normal business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays).

Prothonotary service fees and operational procedures are established by the state legislature, guided by the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedures.

Approximately 6,000 civil cases and 2,500 criminal cases are recorded and maintained yearly in the Prothonotary’s Office. In additional to providing information to county offices, the general public and attorneys, this office processes approximately 1,000 passport applications each year. Also, those individuals wishing to become United States citizens are naturalized through this office. Naturalization ceremonies include the induction of approximately 30 new citizens in Centre County each year.

Records Request

The Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania provides that a custodian of records shall fulfill a request for access to case records as promptly as possible under the circumstances existing at the time of the request.  If the request cannot be fulfilled promptly, the custodian shall inform the requestor of the specific reason for the delay. 

Due to a recent increase in the volume of requests for case records, requestors may experience a delay in receiving case records from the Centre County Office of the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts.  Your patience is appreciated as we attempt to honor all requests promptly.  

To request records from the Centre County Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts office please complete the Record Request Form. Please be as detailed as possible to avoid delays. The form should be provided to the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts in one of the following ways:
 
Email:
prothonotaryandclerkofcourtsrecords@centrecountypa.gov
 
Mail or Drop off in person:
Centre County Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts
102 South Allegheny Street Room 102
Bellefonte, PA 16823