How to Search Franklin County Court Records
The main online path for Franklin County court records is Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. The portal covers public docket sheets for the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas and Magisterial District Courts. It is the first stop for a known docket number, participant name, citation number, complaint number, incident number, OTN, or scheduled court event. It is useful for civil cases filed through the Prothonotary, criminal cases filed through the Clerk of Courts, and many MDJ traffic or summary matters.
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania homepage is the official state source behind the court portal.
Use the UJS portal for docket review, then use the Franklin County office that keeps the file when a certified copy, older file, or full document review is needed.
Before searching, decide whether the record is civil, criminal, traffic, family, Orphans' Court, or Magisterial District Court. That choice points the searcher toward UJS Case Search, the Prothonotary, the Clerk of Courts, the Register and Recorder, or an MDJ office. UJS warns that recent entries may not appear right away, and docket sheets are not a substitute for a Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history check.
- Open UJS Case Search and choose a search type such as Docket Number, Participant Name, Citation Number, OTN, Complaint Number, or Incident Number.
- Use County = Franklin when the search form offers a county filter.
- Enter the exact CP, MJ, citation, OTN, or party information available from the notice, citation, complaint, or court paper.
- Review the docket caption, court name, case status, filing date, parties, events, charges, disposition, and financial entries.
- Contact the Prothonotary for civil Common Pleas files or the Clerk of Courts for criminal Common Pleas files when the online docket is not enough.
Franklin County Court Records Search Fields
UJS Case Search is field driven. A Franklin County court records search works best when the reader uses the identifier already printed on the court notice, citation, complaint, or docket sheet. Name searches can work, but spelling, date ranges, court type filters, and common names can affect the result list.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By | Dropdown | Yes | Includes Appellate, Attorney, Calendar Event, Citation Number, Complaint Number, Date Filed, Docket Number, Incident Number, Organization, OTN, Parcel, Participant Name, and SID. |
| Advanced Search | Checkbox | No | Shows extra filters for many search types, including court type, docket type, category, status, and date controls. |
| Docket Number | Text | Conditional | Use when a CP or MJ docket is known. Common Pleas examples begin with CP; MDJ examples begin with MJ. |
| Citation Number | Text | Conditional | Useful for traffic citations. UJS help says citation numbers must include the dash, such as A5368532-1. |
| Date Filed Start / End | Date | Conditional | Use mm/dd/yyyy. UJS may limit date ranges for some search paths. |
| County | Dropdown | Optional | Choose Franklin to narrow local records when the county field appears. |
| OTN | Text | Conditional | The Offense Tracking Number can help locate criminal cases after arrest. |
| Scheduled Events Only | Checkbox | No | Limits results to future hearings, trials, arraignments, or conferences. |
Types of Franklin County Court Records
Franklin County court records are split by court level and clerk office. The Court of Common Pleas is the county's general trial court in the 39th Judicial District, shared with Fulton County. Magisterial District Courts handle many lower-level matters before they ever reach Common Pleas, including traffic citations, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, summary offenses, landlord-tenant cases, small civil claims, and minor criminal matters.
For civil Common Pleas records, use the Franklin County Prothonotary. For criminal Common Pleas records, use the Franklin County Clerk of Courts. For estate probate and some Orphans' Court matters, the Register and Recorder and Clerk of Orphans' Court pages are the official local channels. Traffic and summary dockets often remain at the Magisterial District Court level unless the case moves into Common Pleas.
- Civil records include complaints, judgments, liens, divorce filings, family civil filings, orders, and docket entries maintained through the Prothonotary.
- Criminal records include charges, arraignments, pleas, motions, hearings, verdicts, dispositions, sentence entries, bail records, and docket books for older files.
- Traffic and summary records usually begin in Magisterial District Courts and may be searched by citation number or docket number in UJS.
- Orphans' Court and probate records may involve estates, wills, guardianships, adoptions, and related filings, with stronger limits for some case types.
What Franklin County Court Records Show
A Franklin County court record can be a simple docket sheet or a fuller case file. The public docket usually gives enough information to identify the case, court, parties, and progress. The full file may include pleadings, orders, motions, exhibits, certificates of service, sentencing papers, or other documents that are not all displayed online.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket Number | The court's tracking number, often beginning with CP for Common Pleas or MJ for Magisterial District Court. |
| Court Name and County | Identifies whether the matter is in Franklin County Common Pleas, an MDJ court, or another Pennsylvania court. |
| Case Caption | Names the parties, defendant, Commonwealth, organization, or other case participants shown in the public docket. |
| Filing or Initiation Date | Shows when the case was opened or when the filing entered the docket. |
| Case Status | Shows whether the case is active, closed, disposed, appealed, or otherwise marked in the UJS docket. |
| Participants and Attorneys | Lists parties, counsel, and attorney entries when public and entered in the docket. |
| Docket Entries | Chronological actions such as filings, hearings, orders, notices, continuances, dispositions, or sentence entries. |
| Financial Obligations | May show fines, costs, restitution, payments, or balances when those public entries exist. |
Public Access Framework for Franklin County Court Records
Public access in Franklin County is controlled by both Pennsylvania public-record law and court-specific access policy. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. 67.101 et seq., applies to many government records, but court case records are also governed by judiciary rules and the UJS Case Records Public Access Policy. That policy explains why some information appears online, some is redacted, and some must be requested from the filing office.
When a court record is available only from the county office, the copy path depends on the record type. Civil Common Pleas files route to the Prothonotary. Criminal Common Pleas files route to the Clerk of Courts. The Clerk of Courts states that criminal records are open to the public except juvenile records, but it will not provide certified record checks; background checks must go through the Pennsylvania State Police. For exact copy and certification costs, use the official Prothonotary fee schedule or the Clerk of Courts fee schedule.
Note: UJS docket data may lag behind recent filings, so confirm urgent court dates with the issuing court.
Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Franklin County
Not every Franklin County court record is public. Juvenile records, sealed records, expunged cases, limited-access criminal history, certain victim or witness data, adoption records, mental-health matters, some guardianship material, and sensitive domestic or minor-related information may be restricted or redacted. UJS public views suppress or limit information when court policy, statute, or a sealing order requires it.
For criminal expungement and limited-access rules, Pennsylvania uses statutes such as 18 Pa.C.S. 9122 and 18 Pa.C.S. 9122.1. A sealed, expunged, or Clean Slate limited-access record should not be treated the same as an ordinary public docket. People seeking access to a restricted court file generally need to follow the court's procedure or obtain an order from the court that controls the record.
In-Person Franklin County Court Record Requests
In-person Franklin County court record work starts with the correct office. The Clerk of Courts and Court of Common Pleas offices use the main Judicial Center address at 14 North Main Street, Chambersburg, PA 17201. The Clerk of Courts page says public computers are available for criminal record research, with computer docket entries from 1993 forward and docket books for pre-1993 records. Searchers may request the actual criminal file for review, and copies or docket printouts may require a fee.
For estate, recording, and land-record questions, the Franklin County Register and Recorder is at 272 North Second Street, Chambersburg, PA 17201. The county states that Landex questions go to 717-274-5890, and estate probates are appointment-only.
Franklin County Prothonotary
Civil Court of Common Pleas records
Use the official Prothonotary page for current office phone and hours.
Franklin County Clerk of Courts
14 North Main Street
Chambersburg, PA 17201
clerkofcourts@franklincountypa.gov