Search Perry County Court Records Online
The main online channel for Perry County court records is Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. It provides public docket sheets for the Court of Common Pleas and Magisterial District Courts. Perry County does not publish a separate county-built civil or criminal case database, so UJS is the first online stop for docket numbers, parties, case status, events, hearing dates, charges, and public disposition data.
Use the online docket to find the court level and case number before asking a local office for documents. The Perry County Prothonotary handles civil suits, family records, divorce, custody, protection-from-abuse cases, judgments, liens, tax liens, name changes, and District Justice appeals. The Perry County Clerk of Courts handles criminal and juvenile records, bail, bench warrants, summary appeals, appeals, court costs, and fines.
- Open UJS Case Search and choose the search type that fits the information you have, such as participant name or docket number.
- Select the court type. Use Courts of Common Pleas for larger civil, family, and criminal cases, or Magisterial District Courts for traffic, summary, minor criminal, and small civil matters.
- Choose Perry County when the portal offers a county filter. This reduces false matches from similar names in other Pennsylvania counties.
- Open the docket sheet and record the docket number, court, parties, filing date, judge or issuing authority, and case status.
- Contact the Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Orphans' Court, or MDJ office if the public docket does not provide the document image or certified copy needed.
The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts is the statewide source behind the court portal and public court resources.
That statewide system matters in Perry County because docket search is run through Pennsylvania courts, not through a county-made case database.
Perry County Court Records Search Fields
UJS search fields change by court level and search type. A docket-number search is best when a letter, citation, complaint, or prior docket sheet gives the exact number. A name search can work, but common surnames should be narrowed by county, court type, filing date, and case category. Criminal Common Pleas numbers often use a CP criminal format, while MDJ dockets use an MJ district format tied to the issuing authority.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search Type / Case Category | Tab or menu | Yes | Participant, docket number, police incident number, complaint number, attorney, or organization may appear depending on the court. |
| Court Type | Dropdown | Usually | Choose Courts of Common Pleas or Magisterial District Courts for Perry County trial-level records. |
| County | Dropdown | No | Select Perry for a county-specific search. |
| Docket Number | Text | No | Use the exact CP or MJ docket format when known. |
| Participant Name | Text | No | Enter last name, first name, or organization name as the portal permits. |
| Date Filed / Date Range | Date fields | No | Useful for narrowing older civil, criminal, traffic, and family docket results. |
Types of Perry County Court Records
Perry County court records are split by court level and office. The Court of Common Pleas is the county trial court of general jurisdiction. It receives major civil cases, criminal cases after preliminary proceedings, family matters, divorce, custody, PFA matters, and Orphans' Court work. Magisterial District Judges handle the first level of many cases, including traffic, summary and minor criminal matters, civil claims up to $12,000, bail, and preliminary hearings.
The difference between the online docket and the full file is important. UJS may show dates, events, charge lines, judgments, dispositions, and payments. It does not always provide every pleading, exhibit, order image, transcript, or certified record. For the full criminal case file, the Perry County criminal court records page gives more detail on charges, pleas, disposition, and sentencing.
- Civil records include complaints, motions, orders, judgments, mechanic liens, tax liens, name changes, and District Justice appeals.
- Family records include divorce, custody, PFA filings, and related orders, with child and safety-sensitive details often restricted.
- Criminal records include charges, bail entries, bench warrants, motions, pleas, dispositions, sentences, costs, fines, and appeals.
- Traffic and summary records begin with MDJs and can include citation data, hearing dates, pleas, dispositions, fines, and ePay activity.
- Orphans' Court records include estates, wills, guardianships, adoptions, and marriage licensing, with adoption records highly restricted.
What Perry County Court Records Show
A public docket sheet is a working index of case activity. It often identifies the court, county, docket number, caption, filing date, status, parties, attorneys, judicial officer, hearing dates, docket entries, and financial events. Criminal and traffic dockets add charge fields, statute citations, grading, bail, offense tracking numbers, and sentencing or disposition entries. Civil and family dockets may show pleadings, orders, judgments, continuances, appeals, and satisfaction entries.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket number | The court-assigned case identifier, such as a Common Pleas or MDJ docket format. |
| Court and county | The Perry County court or specific Magisterial District Court handling the matter. |
| Caption and parties | Names and roles such as plaintiff, defendant, Commonwealth, petitioner, respondent, or estate. |
| Attorneys | Lawyer names and the party represented when an appearance has been entered. |
| Docket events | Chronological entries for filings, hearings, orders, continuances, pleas, judgments, appeals, and payments. |
| Disposition | The outcome, such as judgment entered, dismissed, guilty, withdrawn, or appealed. |
| Redactions | Omitted or limited personal identifiers, victim data, minor names, sealed records, and expunged information. |
Perry County Court Records Access Rules
Court case records in Perry County follow the Pennsylvania Case Records Public Access Policy. That policy controls public case access, redactions, confidential information, and limits on court files. County administrative records use Perry County's Open Records Policy and the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, but those rules do not replace the court access policy for judicial case files.
For public court forms and statewide public-record resources, the Pennsylvania courts maintain a public records forms page. The public access forms source is useful when a requester needs a court records request channel instead of a county agency Right-to-Know request.
The Pennsylvania courts public records forms page is one state source for access forms and policy materials.
Use those forms for court-policy access issues. Use the county open-records path for county administrative records outside the case file.
Note: If a docket exists online but the filing image is absent, ask the keeper office for file access or copies.
Restricted Perry County Court Records
Not every court record is public. Perry County juvenile records are processed through the Clerk of Courts but are not open like adult criminal records. Sealed and expunged cases are removed from ordinary public view. Adoption files are Orphans' Court matters and are highly restricted. Mental health proceedings are limited because of medical and privacy concerns. Court policy also protects Social Security numbers, account numbers, minor identifiers, victim-sensitive information, confidential addresses, and other personal data.
The access rule is practical: search the public docket first, then ask the office that keeps the record what can be viewed or certified. A clerk can identify local procedures and fees, but cannot give legal advice about whether a record should be sealed, expunged, or opened by court order. Criminal expungement and juvenile expungement are separate legal paths under Pennsylvania law.
The state court policy page is the source for court-record redaction and access limits.
Those limits explain why a Perry County docket may show a case event while hiding addresses, minor data, victim details, or the full document text.
Perry County Court Record Requests
For complete files and certified copies, contact the correct courthouse office at 2 East Main Street, PO Box 325, New Bloomfield, PA 17068. The Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts list phone 717-582-2131, fax 717-582-5167, and Monday-Friday hours of 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. The District Court Administrator can answer court administration questions at 717-582-5143 option 5.
Fee schedule facts in the official 2026 Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts PDF include certification at $9.10, copies at $0.40 per page, microfilm copies at $1.00 per page, a criminal search at $18.25, expungement petition at $229.65, limited access petition at $229.65, District Justice civil appeal at $90.35, District Justice summary appeal at $33.70, civil complaint at $91.85, divorce complaint at $143.15, and custody complaint at $138.65.
| Office or item | Perry County court records detail |
|---|---|
| Prothonotary | Civil, family, divorce, custody, PFA, judgments, liens, tax liens, and related Common Pleas records. |
| Clerk of Courts | Criminal, juvenile, bail, bench warrants, summary appeals, court costs, fines, and criminal appeals. |
| Plain copies | $0.40 per page under the researched 2026 fee schedule. |
| Certification | $9.10 when a certified court record is required. |
| Criminal search | $18.25 under the researched fee schedule. |