Sullivan County Clerk of Courts Office
In Sullivan County, the Clerk of Courts is not a stand-alone office with a separate public counter. The county identifies Kellie Carpenter as Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds, Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. Criminal Common Pleas records still fall under the Clerk of Courts function, while the broader Sullivan County Prothonotary office also handles civil, recording, marriage, probate, and Orphans' Court duties.
The official county Prothonotary page links criminal-case resources, the criminal-case fee schedule, UJS ePay and docket portals, PACFile, and public access policy materials. That makes Suite 100 the local office to contact when a criminal Court of Common Pleas record needs a certified copy, file review, or fee confirmation.
Sullivan County Clerk of Courts
Office holder: Kellie Carpenter
245 Muncy Street, Suite 100
Laporte, PA 18626
570-946-7351
Fax: 570-946-7105
Sullivan County Criminal Clerk Records
The Clerk of Courts criminal function covers Court of Common Pleas criminal files after a case reaches the general trial court. Records may include criminal informations, charges, pleas, motions, orders, sentencing entries, probation or parole conditions, fines, costs, bail, restitution, warrants, and final dispositions. These records differ from Magisterial District Court preliminary records and from Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history checks.
| Record component | What it may show | Main access route |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal information | Formal Common Pleas charging document filed by the prosecutor | Clerk of Courts file request |
| Docket sheet | Case number, entries, hearing dates, bail, disposition, financial events | UJS Case Search |
| Plea or disposition | Outcome of charge or case and court action taken | UJS docket and Clerk of Courts copies |
| Sentence and costs | Sentence terms, fines, costs, restitution, payment events | Clerk of Courts and UJS or PAePay where eligible |
| Orders and motions | Filed requests and judge rulings when public | Office request or PACFile where available |
Search Sullivan County Criminal Clerk Records
Start with UJS Case Search for a public criminal docket. UJS lets users search by docket number, participant, organization, offense tracking number, complaint number, citation number, police incident number, attorney, calendar event, and other fields depending on the court level selected. Sullivan County criminal Common Pleas records use CP-style docket numbers, while lower-court records from Magisterial District Court use MJ-style docket numbers.
- Search UJS by participant name, docket number, OTN, complaint number, or other available criminal case field.
- Review the docket for court level, status, charges, bail, disposition, sentencing, and costs.
- Contact the Clerk of Courts function at Suite 100 when the docket sheet is not enough or a certified record is needed.
- Use PAePay only for eligible court costs, fines, or bail payments, not as a full criminal file search.
UJS warns that docket sheets may lag recent office entries and should not be used in place of a State Police criminal-history background check. That warning is important for Sullivan County Clerk of Courts records because a court file and a statewide criminal-history response answer different questions.
Sullivan County Criminal Case Flow
Many misdemeanor and felony criminal matters begin at Magisterial District Court 44-3-03 for preliminary arraignment, bail, and preliminary hearing. If charges are held for court, the case moves to the Court of Common Pleas, where the Clerk of Courts function becomes central to the criminal case file. Summary matters can begin and end in the Magisterial District Court instead.
Criminal flow: arrest or complaint › preliminary arraignment › bail › preliminary hearing › held for court › criminal information › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing.
The District Attorney prosecutes charges, but the District Attorney is not the public file custodian for docket copies. The Public Defender may represent eligible defendants, but that office also is not the records custodian. Clerk of Courts records requests should remain with the court office that keeps the criminal file.
Request Sullivan County Criminal Copies
A certified criminal copy can be needed for immigration, licensing, employment review, personal file correction, or court compliance. The research file does not provide exact certified copy line-item fees, so requesters should ask the office which criminal-case fee schedule applies before sending payment. The county page notes a JCS fee increase to $41.25 effective 12/1/2025 and links a criminal-case fee schedule.
Requests should be as specific as possible because criminal dockets can include both lower-court and Common Pleas identifiers. If a case began at Magisterial District Court 44-3-03, the requester may have an MJ docket, complaint number, citation number, or OTN before a CP docket exists. If the case was held for court, the Common Pleas number is usually the best Clerk of Courts identifier.
| Request field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Defendant name | Helps staff identify the criminal file and distinguish similar names. |
| Docket number | Best identifier for Common Pleas criminal records, often beginning with CP. |
| OTN or complaint number | Useful when the case began in lower court or after arrest. |
| Document type | Examples include disposition, sentencing order, docket sheet, or certified case copy. |
| Copy certification | State whether a plain or certified copy is needed. |
| Requester contact | Allows the office to confirm access limits, fee, pickup, or mail handling. |
Clerk Records vs PATCH Checks
The Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History portal and the State Police PATCH request process are criminal-history systems, not county case-file systems. PATCH may be the right route for a statewide criminal-history background check, but it does not provide the full Sullivan County Clerk of Courts file, motions, orders, or certified court copies. UJS also tells users not to treat docket sheets as a substitute for a State Police background check.
| Question | Clerk of Courts file | PATCH criminal-history check |
|---|---|---|
| Record source | Sullivan County Court of Common Pleas criminal file | Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history system |
| Best for | Certified court copies, dispositions, sentencing, docket file detail | Statewide background-check response |
| Not for | Live statewide background screening | Full court pleadings or local certified file copies |
Restricted Sullivan County Criminal Records
Public access is limited for juvenile cases, expunged cases, limited-access cases, sealed filings, and confidential information protected by Pennsylvania's public access policy. UJS search help states that juvenile, expunged, and limited-access matters may not display even when the search terms are correct. Criminal-history record information is also governed by 18 Pa.C.S. Chapter 91, including dissemination and expungement provisions.
For Sullivan County criminal records, the practical step is to identify whether the question involves a public court docket, a restricted court file, or a criminal-history record. Court-record relief generally runs through the Court of Common Pleas and Clerk of Courts filing route with any required petition, proposed order, service, and fee. Do not use the county Right-to-Know address for criminal cases because the county expressly excludes criminal cases from that route.
Confidential Information Forms and Confidential Document Forms are linked from the county office materials for filings that contain protected data. Those forms matter when a public criminal file contains private information that should not be exposed on the public docket sheet.
Note: Limited access can remove public visibility, but courts and law enforcement may retain access under Pennsylvania law.