Search Sullivan County Court Records
The main public docket system is Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. It covers appellate, Common Pleas, Magisterial District Court, citation, participant, docket, date-filed, OTN, organization, parcel, and calendar-event searches. Sullivan County also links its Online Civil Case Search, which the Prothonotary page says became available April 1, 2026. That county portal is important because some Common Pleas civil information may not display in the statewide UJS search.
For traffic tickets, costs, restitution, and eligible payments, use PAePay traffic and court costs. For bail payments, use PAePay Bail. For criminal-history checks, use PATCH, but treat it as a State Police background-check route, not a full case-file search.
- Identify the record type: Common Pleas civil, Common Pleas criminal, MDJ traffic, probate, marriage, divorce, warrant, or custody.
- Search UJS by participant name, docket number, citation number, OTN, date filed, or calendar event.
- Use the Sullivan County civil portal if the record is a civil Common Pleas matter that does not appear in UJS.
- Read docket entries for court level, case status, filings, hearings, disposition, sentence, costs, bail, and warrant events.
- Request complete files or certified copies from the Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Orphans' Court clerk, Register of Wills, or MDJ office.
The official county homepage appears in the manifest from Sullivan County government.
That county site is the local entry point for row offices, District Court, jury services, court schedules, and record-routing notices.
Sullivan County Court Structure
Sullivan County is part of Pennsylvania's 44th Judicial District with Wyoming County. The local trial court of general jurisdiction is the Court of Common Pleas. Pennsylvania's entry-level courts include Magisterial District Courts, and Sullivan County lists Magisterial District Court 44-3-03 as its local MDJ court. Appeals from Common Pleas generally go to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania for many civil and criminal cases or to Commonwealth Court for government-related matters. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort.
Case flow: Magisterial District Court › Court of Common Pleas › Superior Court or Commonwealth Court › Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
| Court or Office | Role | Local Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Court of Common Pleas | General trial court for criminal, civil, family, Orphans' Court, and MDJ appeals | Sullivan County Courthouse, 570-946-5201 |
| Magisterial District Court 44-3-03 | Traffic, summary criminal, landlord-tenant, small civil up to $12,000, preliminary hearings, bail, warrants | Suite 150, 570-946-4413 |
| Combined Prothonotary office | Civil, criminal, probate, marriage, recording, and copy functions | Suite 100, 570-946-7351 |
| Judge's Chambers | 44th Judicial District administration, forms, local rules, language access, schedules | 1 Courthouse Square, Tunkhannock, 570-836-3151 |
The UJS Sullivan County profile is shown in the manifest from Pennsylvania courts.
The UJS profile confirms the courthouse address, phone, and public hours used for local court access planning.
Visit Sullivan County Courthouse
The main court and county-government address is Sullivan County Courthouse, 245 Muncy Street, P.O. Box 157, Laporte, PA 18626. UJS lists the courthouse phone as 570-946-5201 and hours as Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Prothonotary office is in Suite 100. Magisterial District Court 44-3-03 is in Suite 150. The Sheriff's Office, District Attorney, Public Defender, Jury Services, and many county offices also use the courthouse address.
Sullivan County Courthouse
245 Muncy Street
Laporte, PA 18626
570-946-5201
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sullivan County Prothonotary
245 Muncy Street, Suite 100
Laporte, PA 18626
570-946-7351
District Court 44-3-03
245 Muncy Street, Suite 150
P.O. Box 259, Laporte, PA 18626
570-946-4413
The Prothonotary source appears in the manifest from Sullivan County's combined row-office page.
That page is unusually broad because five office functions sit under one elected official in Sullivan County.
Sullivan County Court Record Types
Record routing depends on the court and office. Criminal Common Pleas records can include charges, criminal informations, pleas, motions, orders, sentencing, probation or parole conditions, fines, bail, restitution, warrants, and disposition. Civil records can include complaints, answers, judgments, writs, custody, divorce, continuance forms, civil cover sheets, and orders. Orphans' Court and Register of Wills files include wills, probate petitions, grants of letters, accounts, guardianship matters, and estate filings.
Traffic and summary cases usually start with Magisterial District Court 44-3-03. Landlord-tenant and small civil claims up to $12,000 also belong at the MDJ level. Family matters such as divorce and custody are Common Pleas filings, with access limits for confidential information, minors, abuse victims, financial data, medical records, and sealed filings.
- Criminal court records: full criminal case files and dockets after charges enter court.
- Arrest records and charges: arrest-to-charge path, OTN, complaint, bail, and charge status.
- Traffic records: citations, plea deadline, PAePay, points, and driver-record separation.
- Marriage and divorce: Landex marriage application, license rules, and Common Pleas divorce filings.
- Orphans' Court: probate, wills, estate administration, guardianship, and related forms.
Sullivan Court Search Fields
UJS search fields are a practical advantage when only part of the case information is known. A docket-number search works best when the CP or MJ number is known. A citation search should use the exact citation format with the dash. A participant search can find a person or party, but common names may require date, county, or court filters. A calendar-event search is useful for future hearing checks when the date range is known.
| Field | Use | Format Note |
|---|---|---|
| Docket Number | Direct court docket lookup | CP for Common Pleas, MJ for Magisterial District Court |
| Participant Name | Search by party or defendant | Use filters when names are common |
| Citation Number | Traffic or citation lookup | Include the dash shown on the citation |
| OTN | Criminal processing search | Useful for arrest-to-charge tracking |
| Calendar Event | Hearing and schedule lookup | Use start and end dates, event type, and scheduled-events option |
Sullivan Court Public Access
The Case Records Public Access Policy makes many court case records open unless a rule, law, order, or confidentiality category restricts them. Custodians include prothonotaries, clerks of courts, clerks of Orphans' Court, and Magisterial District Judges. The county Right-to-Know page is not the right route for criminal cases, civil cases, marriage licenses, deeds, or wills.
Key access rule: Use court custodians for court files, and use Right-to-Know only for county agency records.
Restricted categories include juvenile cases, expunged cases, limited-access criminal records, adoption, mental-health matters, medical and psychological records, minor names, abuse-victim data, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, tax records, wage stubs, bank statements, credit-card statements, and sealed documents. Pennsylvania statutes also govern criminal-history dissemination, expungement, and juvenile records.
| Authority | Plain-English Role |
|---|---|
| 204 Pa. Code 213.81 | Public access policy for Pennsylvania court case records. |
| Act 3 of 2008 | Right-to-Know Law for agency records, not ordinary court-copy routing. |
| 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91 | Criminal History Record Information Act. |
| 18 Pa.C.S. 9122 | Expungement rules for eligible criminal-history information. |
| 42 Pa.C.S. 6307 and 6308 | Juvenile court-file and juvenile law-enforcement record limits. |
Sullivan Criminal Court Offices
The District Attorney page names Julie Gavitt Shaffer as District Attorney and lists staff, LETI materials, victim-witness resources, and criminal-case forms. The Public Defender page lists the Sullivan County Public Defender at Suite 230 with phone 570-946-5201. These offices affect criminal cases, but they are not the main public-copy custodians for criminal court files.
Magisterial District Court 44-3-03 handles preliminary arraignments, bail, preliminary hearings, and warrant authority. The Court of Common Pleas handles criminal case files after charges are held for court. The Clerk of Courts function in the combined office is the local copy route for public Common Pleas criminal files.
The District Attorney source appears in the manifest from Sullivan County's District Attorney page.
The Public Defender source appears in the manifest from Sullivan County's Public Defender page.
Together, those pages identify local criminal-justice offices while leaving record-copy requests with the court custodian.
Sullivan Traffic and Warrants
Traffic citations and many summary matters are handled by Magisterial District Court 44-3-03. The county District Court page says defendants have 10 days after receiving a citation from an officer or summons from the court to plead guilty or not guilty. It also says failure to respond will result in an arrest warrant. PAePay can handle eligible traffic tickets and court costs, but online payment of a traffic citation requires a guilty plea during the payment process.
No official Sullivan County PA online active-warrant list was found in the reviewed sources. Warrant questions should start with the issuing court, often MDJ 44-3-03 for citation, preliminary, and bench-warrant matters, and the Sheriff's Office for warrant enforcement. Payment alone should not be assumed to clear a warrant unless the court confirms a recall or entry.
The Magisterial District Court source appears in the manifest from Sullivan County's District Court page.
That page is the most specific local source for citation deadlines, MDJ authority, PAePay links, and public-access forms.
Sullivan Sheriff and Custody
The Sheriff's Office page names Sheriff Nicholas Wingate and lists the office at 245 Muncy Street, P.O. Box 157, Laporte, PA 18626, phone 570-946-7361. It does not publish an online jail roster, inmate profile search, booking database, warrant list, jail-capacity table, visitation schedule, commissary vendor, mail rule, or sheriff mobile app in the reviewed official sources.
For local custody questions, call the Sheriff's Office. For sentenced state-prison inmates, use the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections locator resources. For custody status notifications, use Pennsylvania VINE. UJS dockets may show bail, commitment, sentence, or hearing events, but they are not a jail roster.
| Need | Best Route |
|---|---|
| Local custody question | Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, 570-946-7361 |
| State inmate or parolee | Pennsylvania Department of Corrections |
| Custody notification | PA VINE |
| Case status | UJS Case Search or local court office |
Sullivan Marriage Divorce Probate
Marriage licenses are handled by the combined Prothonotary, Register, and Clerk office. Sullivan County links an online Landex marriage-license application. The research identifies a three-day waiting period after applying, 60-day license validity, photo ID for both parties, certified proof of the most recent divorce decree or death certificate if either party was previously married, and a $30.50 recording fee. Credit-card payments have a $1.00 transaction fee under $40 and a 2.49 percent charge over $40.
Divorce files are Common Pleas civil or family matters filed through the Prothonotary. Probate uses Pennsylvania's Orphans' Court terminology. In Sullivan County, Kellie Carpenter's office also serves as Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court, with probate petitions, grants of letters, guardianship tracking, estate accounts, and related filings routed through Suite 100.
| Record | Custodian | Online or Office Route |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | Prothonotary/Register office | Landex application plus local office requirements |
| Divorce | Prothonotary and Court of Common Pleas | County civil search, UJS forms, and office copies |
| Wills and estates | Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court | Office search, probate forms, and fee schedules |
| Guardianship | Orphans' Court function | UJS Guardian Tracking System plus local filings |
Sullivan Court Fees
Fees should be confirmed from the current office schedule before payment. The research identifies several exact fees and several linked 2026 schedules whose line items were not text-extracted. The county Prothonotary page says the JCS fee increased to $41.25 effective December 1, 2025. The District Court and UJS payment pages identify a PAePay service fee of 2.75 percent per transaction.
| Item | Amount or Note |
|---|---|
| Marriage license recording fee | $30.50 |
| Credit card transaction under $40 | $1.00 |
| Credit card transaction over $40 | 2.49 percent |
| JCS fee | $41.25 effective December 1, 2025 |
| Custody modification petition | $15.00 filing fee |
| PAePay and PAePay Bail | 2.75 percent online service fee |
Sullivan Jury and Access
Jury Services says jurors are selected randomly from voter registration and driver license records. It also tells jurors summoned for a listed selection date to arrive early to allow time to enter through security. The Jury Coordinator is listed at the Sullivan County Courthouse with phone 570-946-8747 and email Jury@sullivancountypa.gov. Judge's Chambers links court forms, local rules, ADA materials, language access materials, a 2026 court schedule, and a YouTube court-proceeding link.
The jury source appears in the manifest from Sullivan County Jury Services.
The Judge's Chambers source appears in the manifest from Sullivan County Judge's Chambers.
Those pages are useful for hearing schedules, local rules, accommodations, language access, and courthouse-visit preparation.
Sullivan County Court History
Sullivan County was created in 1847 and named for Senator Charles C. Sullivan. Laporte was named for John LaPorte, Pennsylvania's Surveyor General from 1843 to 1851. Historic courthouse material describes the Sullivan County Courthouse as a Romanesque Revival courthouse built in 1894 near Main and Muncy Streets. The county calls itself the Gem of the Endless Mountains and identifies Laporte as sitting on the Appalachian Plateau at 2,060 feet.
Modern access is shaped less by the building and more by Pennsylvania's unified court systems. UJS maintains statewide case and financial systems, while Sullivan County's local structure compresses several record offices into one combined office. The April 1, 2026 Online Civil Case Search launch is the most important recent local access change found in official sources.
The Pennsylvania courts overview appears in the manifest from the UJS courts page.
The UJS learning source appears in the manifest from Pennsylvania courts learning materials.
Those statewide sources explain why local records can be searched through both county offices and statewide docket systems.
Sullivan Court Records FAQ
Where do Sullivan County Court records start?
Many public docket searches start in UJS Case Search. Civil Common Pleas matters may also require the Sullivan County Online Civil Case Search, especially because the county says that portal became available in 2026.
Is Right-to-Know used for court cases?
Usually not. Sullivan County's Right-to-Know page says the Open Records address is not for criminal cases, civil cases, marriage licenses, deeds, or wills. Use the court or row office that holds the file.
Who keeps criminal court records?
The Clerk of Courts function in the combined Suite 100 office keeps Common Pleas criminal records. MDJ 44-3-03 handles early criminal proceedings, bail, preliminary hearings, traffic, summary matters, and warrant events.
Does Sullivan County post a jail roster?
No official Sullivan County PA online jail roster was found in reviewed sources. Call the Sheriff's Office for local custody questions, use PA DOC for state inmates, and use VINE for custody notifications.
Can online docket sheets replace certified copies?
No. Online docket sheets are useful for case tracking, but certified copies and full public filings must come from the official custodian for that case type.