Mercer County Court Records Sources
Mercer County court records do not live in one database. The Pennsylvania UJS Case Search is the main public portal for criminal Court of Common Pleas dockets, Magisterial District Court dockets, appellate dockets, citations, complaint numbers, incident numbers, OTN searches, participant searches, and public calendars. It is useful for case tracking, hearing dates, charge events, and docket sheets, but it is not a full document-download system.
The civil side is local. The Mercer County Prothonotary keeps civil Common Pleas records, including divorce, custody, protection from abuse, equity, mortgage foreclosure, personal injury, malpractice, civil complaints, appeals, liens, and related filings. The office says all Prothonotary records are open for public view unless sealed by the court. Records from 1994 forward are scanned and viewable on public terminals, while Infocon subscribers can view docket entries without online images.
Criminal records, marriage files, probate, guardianship, adoption, juvenile, dependency, and Orphans' Court records are handled by the combined Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills, and Clerk of Orphans' Court office. Mercer County identifies Mary Jo Basilone DePreta as the elected officeholder for that combined office. Criminal records after 1994 are available through computer access and UJS public docket sheets, while pre-1994 criminal records are in Archives and should be requested before a visit so staff have time to retrieve them.
The UJS public-records policy page explains the statewide rules for court case records and remote access. The Mercer County Open Records Office handles county administrative records, not every court case file.
Mercer County court records are often found first by locating the correct source, then requesting copies from that office.
The UJS case-information page shows how Pennsylvania separates public docket sheets from secure docket services.
That distinction matters in Mercer County because public docket sheets may show case events, while scanned civil images and archived office files stay with local record custodians.
Search Mercer County Court Records
Start with UJS when the record is a criminal Common Pleas case, Magisterial District Court case, citation, complaint, incident, OTN, participant search, or appellate docket. Select Mercer County when the portal offers a county filter. Mercer is Judicial District 35, and its MDJ offices include court offices 35-2-01, 35-2-02, 35-3-01, 35-3-02, and 35-3-03.
Use local offices when the record is not fully served by UJS. Civil records go to the Prothonotary. Criminal copies and older criminal files go to the Clerk of Courts. Probate, marriage, guardianship, and Orphans' Court files go to Suite 112 through the combined Clerk/Register office. County administrative records, such as non-court agency files, use the Mercer County Right-to-Know process.
- Choose the record type first. Use UJS for criminal, MDJ, appellate, citation, calendar, OTN, complaint, and traffic-related docket searches.
- Search by docket number if known. Common Pleas criminal dockets use a format like CP-25-CR, while MDJ traffic examples use MJ formats.
- Use participant name, organization, citation number, complaint number, incident number, OTN, SID, or date filed when a docket number is not known.
- Limit the result to Mercer County or the correct MDJ office when the search screen allows it.
- Contact the filing office for full documents, certified copies, older records, or records that do not appear online.
UJS states that public docket review is free, but recent entries may not appear right away. The portal also warns that public docket sheets should not be treated as a Pennsylvania State Police criminal history background check.
Mercer County Court Records Search Fields
The UJS portal offers several search modes because Pennsylvania court records can begin in different places. Criminal records may be found by defendant name, docket number, OTN, complaint number, incident number, or SID. Traffic matters may be found by citation number or MDJ docket. Calendar searches can focus on scheduled events, while appellate searches use the appellate court and district fields.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By | Dropdown or tab | Yes | Includes appellate, attorney, calendar event, citation, complaint, date filed, docket, incident, organization, OTN, parcel, participant name, and SID. |
| Docket Number | Text | When selected | Common Pleas examples begin CP; MDJ examples begin MJ. |
| Participant Name | Text | When selected | Useful when the party name is known but the docket number is not. |
| Citation Number | Text | When selected | Commonly used for traffic and summary matters. |
| Complaint / Incident / OTN | Text | When selected | Useful for criminal charge tracking and MDJ case starts. |
| Date Filed Start / End | Date | When selected | UJS notes a maximum 180-day date-filed range. |
| County or Judicial District | Dropdown | No | Select Mercer County or Judicial District 35 to narrow results. |
The Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania controls what court case data can be public and what must be withheld or redacted.
The UJS public-records policy source is assigned to Mercer County court records in the image manifest.
Use that policy source when a search result shows limited data or when a confidential document form affects the file.
Types of Mercer County Court Records
Mercer County court records include civil, criminal, family, traffic, probate, Orphans' Court, marriage, guardianship, juvenile, dependency, adoption, and archive records. Each category has a different custodian. That split is important because a civil divorce docket, a felony disposition, a probate file, and an MDJ traffic citation may all be called court records, yet they are not searched the same way.
Civil records are maintained by the Prothonotary. Criminal records are maintained by the Clerk of Courts after a Common Pleas criminal case opens. MDJ courts handle traffic citations, summary offenses, small civil claims within the MDJ limit, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, and some misdemeanor matters. Probate and estate matters are handled by the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court Division.
- Civil court records: divorce, custody, PFA, civil complaints, foreclosures, equity, liens, and appeals filed with the Prothonotary.
- Criminal court records: pleadings, orders, dockets, pleas, dispositions, sentencing, costs, fines, restitution, and summary appeals through the Clerk of Courts.
- MDJ court records: traffic citations, summary matters, preliminary hearings, minor civil claims, and local court events shown through UJS where public.
- Probate and Orphans' Court records: estates, wills, letters, claims, guardianships, adoptions, and marriage-license matters through the combined Clerk/Register office.
- Restricted court records: juvenile, dependency, adoption, sealed, expunged, and limited-access records are not ordinary public lookup records.
What Mercer County Court Records Show
A Mercer County court record can show a case identifier, parties, court office, filing date, event dates, docket entries, court orders, financial data, and the case result. The exact fields depend on the case type. A criminal docket may list charges, OTN, bail, plea, disposition, sentence, costs, restitution, and appeal events. A civil file may list plaintiff, defendant, complaint, motions, orders, judgment, certification, or divorce decree data.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket number | The court tracking number, such as CP for Common Pleas criminal or MJ for Magisterial District Court records. |
| Court or office | The Court of Common Pleas, Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Orphans' Court, Register of Wills, or specific MDJ office. |
| Parties | Plaintiff and defendant, Commonwealth and defendant, applicant and spouse, petitioner and respondent, or estate parties. |
| Docket entries | Filed complaints, summons, motions, orders, hearings, continuances, pleas, dispositions, judgments, appeals, and payment activity. |
| Status | Open, pending, disposed, closed, inactive, appealed, dismissed, bound over, sealed, expunged, or limited access. |
| Documents | Pleadings, petitions, orders, decrees, docket sheets, licenses, inventories, claims, guardianship filings, or adoption records when access is allowed. |
UJS docket sheets are summaries. They are helpful for tracking the public case path, but certified copies and full images usually come from the filing office.
Mercer County Court Records Access Rules
Public access is governed by both court policy and Pennsylvania open-records law. The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law applies to agency records and presumes access unless an exemption applies. Court case records also follow the UJS case-records policy, which sets rules for confidential information, confidential documents, public docket sheets, and remote access.
For records outside court case files, the Mercer County Open Records Office lists Roni Shilling as the open records officer. DA-specific Right-to-Know requests use Peter C. Acker as the District Attorney Appeals Officer. Pennsylvania's standard Right-to-Know request form asks for requester contact details, agency name, method submitted, record description, copy preference, fee threshold, and certification request.
Note: Court records are not all Right-to-Know requests; many must go to the filing office under court access rules.
The official Pennsylvania fee schedule allows black-and-white copies up to set per-page limits, certification fees up to the stated cap, and prepayment in some higher-cost requests. Court offices also have their own copy and certification fees, such as Prothonotary copy fees and Clerk of Courts certification fees.
Mercer County's Open Records office is also assigned to this court records page in the image manifest.
Use that county channel for administrative records while sending court-file copy requests to the Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, or Register of Wills and Orphans' Court Division.
Restricted Mercer County Court Records
Some Mercer County court records are not public even when they are kept by a court office. Juvenile and dependency files are confidential under Mercer County's records-maintained materials and are limited by 42 Pa.C.S. 6307. Adoption records are confidential. Sealed files do not appear through ordinary public access. Expunged records should be removed from public access under the court order, while limited-access records are restricted from public view but may remain available to criminal justice agencies.
Public-access rules also protect personal identifiers, financial account data, minor names, and confidential documents. Mercer Clerk materials link forms for confidential information, confidential documents, compliance certificates, and correction requests. If the issue is a docket error rather than access to a restricted file, UJS directs a party or attorney to submit the correction request to the court where the case was filed.
Mercer County Court Records Requests
In-person and mail channels remain important in Mercer County. The Prothonotary accepts civil filings in person or by mail and does not accept electronic or email filing. The combined Clerk/Register office uses office terminals, archive retrieval, forms, phone, mail, and counter service for criminal, marriage, probate, guardianship, and Orphans' Court files. Older criminal records before 1994 and archive materials should be requested before arrival when retrieval is needed.
Mercer County Prothonotary
125 S. Diamond St., Suite 105
Mercer, PA 16137
724-662-3800 ext. 2263
Clerk/Register Office
125 S. Diamond St., Suite 112
Mercer, PA 16137
724-662-3800 ext. 2248
Common copy costs in the research include Prothonotary copies at $0.50 per page, first certification at $4.75, certified divorce decree at $7.75, Clerk of Courts copies or fax at $0.50 per sheet, Clerk certification at $10, and Register/Orphans' Court research at $7 per name or record.