Locate Susquehanna County Clerk of Courts Records

Susquehanna County Clerk of Courts Office

The Susquehanna County Clerk of Courts creates and maintains criminal court files for the Court of Common Pleas. The office is at 31 Lake Avenue, PO Box 218, Montrose, PA 18801. The main phone is 570-278-4600. Criminal record questions use extension 6642, and collections questions use extension 6677. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This page is not the civil clerk channel. The Prothonotary handles civil lawsuits, judgments, liens, license suspension appeals, protection from abuse cost collection, arbitration boards, and higher-court civil appeals. When the needed file is civil, use the Susquehanna County Prothonotary instead.

Susquehanna County Criminal Records

The Clerk of Courts keeps the criminal side of court-file administration. County research lists criminal, juvenile, miscellaneous, and administrative case files. The office also handles filings from court proceedings, subpoenas, bench warrants, bail bonds, certifications, and copies for offices, attorneys, and parties.

• Criminal and juvenile case files in the Court of Common Pleas.
• Subpoenas, bench warrants, bail bonds, and related certifications.
• Summary, commonwealth, and Superior Court appeal filings.
• Disposition reporting to PennDOT and Pennsylvania State Police.
• Fines, costs, restitution, oaths, affirmations, constable information, and private detective licenses.
• Criminal expungements and limited-access filings.

Juvenile, sealed, expunged, and limited-access records may not be available as ordinary public files. A docket result is also not the same as a Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history background check.

Request Susquehanna County Criminal Search

The county posts a specific Criminal Search Fee and Policy. All local criminal-search requests must be in writing. Each request must include the person's name, date of birth, and Social Security number. The fee is $15 per name, and payment is by check payable to Clerk of Courts.

1. Prepare a written request for the criminal search.
2. Include the subject's full name, date of birth, and Social Security number.
3. Include $15 per name by check payable to Clerk of Courts.
4. Mail the request to Susquehanna County Clerk Of Courts, Attn: Criminal Search, PO Box 218, Montrose, PA 18801.
5. Use UJS Case Search separately if a public docket summary from 1996 forward is enough.

Note: Do not send a written criminal search to the Prothonotary; the Prothonotary is the civil clerk.

Susquehanna County Criminal Request Fields

The written county search is more formal than a public docket search because the Clerk of Courts asks for specific identifying information. A separate UJS search may use name, docket number, OTN, complaint number, incident number, or county filters, but the local mailed search follows the county's written policy.

Susquehanna County Criminal Dispositions

The Clerk of Courts reports criminal dispositions to PennDOT and the Pennsylvania State Police. That matters for cases that affect driving records, criminal-history dissemination, or background-check results. The office also handles summary appeals, commonwealth appeals, and Superior Court appeal filings when a criminal matter moves beyond the trial court.

The Clerk of Courts fee schedule includes examples such as disposition during or after trial, disposition prior to trial, ARD, summary appeal, nolle prosequi, guilty plea misdemeanor 3, juvenile adjudication, miscellaneous cases, and expungement or limited access sections.

Susquehanna County Fines and Restitution

The Clerk of Courts collects and distributes criminal fines, costs, and restitution. Use criminal extension 6642 for court-file questions and collections extension 6677 for payment or collections questions tied to criminal obligations. PAePay may handle some online court-cost or traffic payments, but payment plans and local collection questions should be handled with the correct court office.

Susquehanna County Expungement Records

Criminal expungements and limited-access filings go through the criminal side of the court system. A person usually starts by identifying the docket and disposition through UJS or the Clerk of Courts. The case type and result matter because state law treats non-convictions, summary convictions, ARD, and other outcomes differently.

If a petition is filed, the Clerk of Courts handles the criminal filing record. The local fee schedule has an expungement and limited-access section. If a person cannot afford filing fees, the Court Rules and Forms source says the petitioner must file a Petition for In Forma Pauperis and obtain an order waiving fees.

Clerk of Courts Versus Prothonotary

The Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary sit in the same county court system but maintain different files. Use the Clerk of Courts for criminal and juvenile files. Use the Prothonotary for civil lawsuits, judgments, liens, divorce filings, and civil appeals. Probate, estates, adoptions, guardianships, and marriage licenses use the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court instead.

Criminal record users should also separate local court records from statewide criminal-history checks. The Clerk of Courts can search or copy Susquehanna County criminal court files under its written policy. Pennsylvania State Police PATCH is the statewide criminal-history product. UJS is a public docket search. These three channels can all involve the same person, but they serve different purposes and may not return identical information because CHRIA, expungement, limited access, and juvenile-record rules affect dissemination.

When requesting a certified criminal copy, identify whether the needed item is a docket sheet, disposition, sentencing order, bail entry, expungement order, or appeal filing. The office can then determine whether the record is public and what fee applies. A broad name-only request is more likely to trigger the written criminal-search policy, while a docket-specific request can often be handled as a file or copy question.

Bench warrants and bail records are also part of the criminal clerk context. The Sheriff's Office may publish active Common Pleas bench warrants, and Adult Probation may publish supervision warrants, but the Clerk of Courts maintains criminal case filings that can explain why a warrant or bail entry exists. For payment obligations, collections extension 6677 is the better route than a general court-record request.

Criminal appeals should be identified by level. A summary appeal, commonwealth appeal, and Superior Court appeal are not the same request. The Clerk of Courts can help with local criminal appeal filings, while statewide appellate docket details may appear through UJS. If a case has both MDJ and Common Pleas activity, include both docket references when asking the office for help.

The written criminal search policy is narrow and should be followed exactly. It requires the name, date of birth, Social Security number, and $15 per name. A requester who only needs a public docket can start with UJS, but a county criminal-search request should be mailed to the Clerk of Courts with payment payable to Clerk of Courts. Mixing those two workflows can delay the result.

For expungement or limited-access questions, the Clerk of Courts can identify local filing procedure, but eligibility comes from Pennsylvania law and court order. A docket may show that an expungement petition was filed or granted, yet dissemination through PSP PATCH can follow separate processing rules.

When a criminal record is needed for a driver's license, employment licensing, immigration, or court compliance issue, ask the receiving agency what form of proof it requires. A public docket, certified disposition, PSP PATCH result, and expungement order are different records. The Clerk of Courts can help with the local criminal file, but it cannot turn a docket sheet into a statewide background check or consumer report. That distinction should be made before payment.