Search Lancaster County Court Records
The main public record route is the Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. It covers Pennsylvania appellate courts, Courts of Common Pleas, and Magisterial District Courts. For Lancaster County, that means the search can reach the Court of Common Pleas as well as the MDJ offices that handle traffic, summary, landlord-tenant, small civil, and preliminary criminal matters. UJS states that public web docket sheet review is a free service, but recent filing-office entries may not appear right away.
The county's own public records hub adds local routes. It links civil and criminal court records, marriage license and probate searches, land records, and the prison inmate search. Civil Court of Common Pleas records route through the Prothonotary and CountySuite. Criminal Common Pleas records route through UJS and the Clerk of Courts. Probate and marriage case searches route through the Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court Paperless system.
- Start with UJS Case Search for public docket sheets in Common Pleas, Magisterial District Court, and appellate cases.
- Use a case number when known, or search by participant name, organization name, OTN, complaint number, police incident number, or SID.
- Check the county public records hub if the matter is civil, probate, marriage, jail, or another county-held record.
- Confirm the filing office before requesting copies, since civil, criminal, and Orphans' Court records use different custodians.
- Request certified copies directly from the custodian when an online docket is not enough for legal use.
Lancaster County Court Records Fields
Search fields are important because Lancaster County court records may be found by name, case number, court type, or criminal tracking number. A broad name search can return many cases. A docket number, OTN, or complaint number gives the portal a narrower target. The PAeDocket app uses similar search language, so the same identifiers can help on a phone.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search tabs | tab or radio | Unspecified | Appellate Courts, Common Pleas, Magisterial District Courts, and Philadelphia Municipal Court are typical UJS categories. |
| Participant Name | text | No | Search by a person involved in the case. |
| Organization Name | text | No | Search for a business, agency, or organization party. |
| Case Number | text | No | Best for exact docket lookup. |
| OTN | text | No | Offense Tracking Number for criminal records. |
| Police Incident / Complaint Number | text | No | Supported by UJS and PAeDocket search language. |
| SID | text | No | State ID number, used in some criminal searches. |
| County | dropdown | No | Select Lancaster to narrow statewide results. |
| Court Type | dropdown | No | Common Pleas or Magisterial District Court. |
The UJS Case Records Public Access Policy governs public inspection and copying rules for Pennsylvania case records.
That policy is the reason a Lancaster County court records search can show useful docket data while still withholding confidential filings.
Types of Lancaster County Court Records
Lancaster County uses a split filing structure. The Prothonotary is the civil-side filing office. That office records civil complaints, later pleadings, judgments, liens, license suspension appeals, MDJ appeals, name changes, divorce filings, custody petitions, PFA documentation, administrative orders, and civil public-records requests. The Clerk of Courts is the criminal and juvenile filing office for the Court of Common Pleas and handles criminal filings, bail, prison commitments, motions, petitions, summary appeals, and appeals to Pennsylvania appellate courts.
The Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court handles probate, estates, adoptions, guardianships, marriage licenses, and Orphans' Court filings. Magisterial District Courts create traffic, summary, small civil, landlord-tenant, and preliminary criminal records. These categories overlap in search behavior but not in custody. A docket may appear online in UJS, while the certified copy or older file sits with a Lancaster County office.
- Civil records: complaints, pleadings, judgments, liens, appeals, name changes, divorce, custody, and PFA records.
- Criminal records: charges, pleas, motions, bail, commitments, dispositions, sentences, costs, and expungement filings.
- Magisterial District Court records: traffic citations, summary cases, landlord-tenant cases, and small civil claims.
- Family records: divorce, custody, guardianship, and PFA filings, with redaction or access limits where required.
- Probate and Orphans' Court records: estates, wills admitted to probate, guardianships, adoptions, inheritance tax processing, and marriage records.
- Restricted records: sealed, expunged, limited-access, juvenile, adoption, mental health, and confidential-information filings.
What Lancaster County Court Records Show
A public court record usually starts with the case identity. The header names the court, county, docket number, case caption, case status, filing or complaint date, and judge or issuing authority when shown. The party section lists plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, respondents, criminal defendants, agencies, or attorneys depending on the type of case. The event list then gives the procedural history.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The Common Pleas CP number, Magisterial District MJ number, or other docket identifier. |
| Filing or complaint date | When the matter entered the court record. |
| Parties | Plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, respondents, criminal defendants, attorneys, or agencies. |
| Criminal charge data | OTN, complaint number, statute, offense description, grade, disposition, sentence, costs, restitution, or bail when public. |
| Civil and family data | Complaints, service, writs, motions, orders, judgments, liens, PFA documents, custody, and divorce filings. |
| Probate data | Decedent, estate number, petition type, grant of letters, fiduciary, filing dates, and available documents. |
| Docket entries | The chronological list of filings, hearings, notices, orders, continuances, pleas, sentencing, and payments. |
| Restrictions | Redacted captions, sealed records, limited-access cases, juvenile limits, or confidential documents. |
Lancaster County Record Offices
Use the filing office that matches the record. The Prothonotary handles civil and family records, including divorce and custody. The Clerk of Courts handles criminal and juvenile Court of Common Pleas records. The Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court handles probate, guardianship, adoption, marriage, and estate records. Court Administration handles Rule 509 requests for judicial agency financial records, not ordinary case-file copy requests.
Prothonotary
50 North Duke Street
Lancaster, PA 17608
717-299-8282
Civil, family, judgment, lien, divorce, custody, PFA, and civil public records.
Clerk of Courts
50 North Duke Street
Lancaster, PA 17608
Criminal and juvenile Court of Common Pleas filings, bail, motions, petitions, and appeals.
Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court
50 N. Duke St., second floor
Lancaster, PA 17602
717-295-5994
Probate, estates, guardianships, adoptions, marriage licenses, and Orphans' Court records.
Public Access to Lancaster County Court Records
Pennsylvania has more than one access rule. The Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. Sections 67.101 et seq., applies broadly to government records, but judicial agencies are treated differently and provide financial records under the act and court rules. Case records follow the UJS Case Records Public Access Policy. Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas Rule 509 requests go to the court open-records officer for court administrative or financial records.
For regular case records, the practical path is simpler. Search the docket online, identify the custodian, and request copies from the filing office. If the request is for non-case county agency records, use county Right-to-Know forms. If the request is for judicial agency financial records, use the Rule 509 form. The court page states a 10-business-day response period for Rule 509 requests, with a possible 30-business-day delay, and appeals from denial go to the President Judge or designee through the Office of Court Administration.
Key access point: Public docket review does not replace a certified copy, and UJS cautions that recent entries may lag filing-office records.
Restricted Lancaster County Court Records
Public access is not the same for every case. Juvenile court file inspection is limited by 42 Pa.C.S. Section 6307. Criminal history dissemination is controlled by CHRIA, 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91. Sealed, expunged, pending-expungement, limited-access, minor-defendant, adoption, and confidential-information records may not appear in public portals or may return only limited docket data.
Expungement and limited access are different. Section 9122 addresses expungement of qualifying criminal history record information. Section 9122.1 addresses petitions for limited access after qualifying periods and payment conditions. Lancaster County Clerk of Courts fee research lists adult expungement and limited access or Clean Slate petition fees at $137, and juvenile expungement petitions at $36.75. Eligibility is a legal issue, so the public-record effect is the key point: public search visibility can be reduced or blocked.
The Pennsylvania CHRIA chapter shapes access to criminal-history information connected to Lancaster County court records.
That statute helps explain why a criminal docket is not the same thing as a full criminal-history background check.
Federal Records for Lancaster County
Some records tied to a Lancaster County person or business are not county court records at all. Federal civil rights cases, federal crimes, diversity civil cases, and other federal-question matters are filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Bankruptcy records are separate as well. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania serves Lancaster County through the Reading Division with Berks, Lehigh, and Northampton.
The PACER CM/ECF lookup for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania identifies federal electronic filing and access details.
Use PACER or CM/ECF for federal records because Lancaster County filing offices do not keep federal district court files.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania is the official bankruptcy court for Lancaster County residents and businesses.
Bankruptcy records should not be requested from the Prothonotary or Clerk of Courts unless a related county case also exists.
The bankruptcy court's counties served page places Lancaster County in the Reading Division.
That division note is important for filing location, but record access still runs through the federal court system.
Lancaster County Court Record Fees
Fees depend on the custodian and record type. The Clerk of Courts fee schedule lists copy and search charges for criminal and juvenile Court of Common Pleas records. The Prothonotary fee bill governs many civil and family services. Marriage and probate records follow the Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court process. Always match the fee to the office before mailing payment.
| Item | Amount / Rule |
|---|---|
| Clerk of Courts per-page copies | $0.25 per page. |
| Clerk of Courts certified copy | $9.25. |
| Clerk of Courts record search | $22.75. |
| Clerk of Courts redaction | $2 per page. |
| Adult expungement or limited access petition | $137. |
| Juvenile expungement petition | $36.75. |
Note: Clerk of Courts payments must be cash, certified check, or money order, and personal checks are not accepted.