Union County Clerk of Courts
The official county page lists Diane Miller as Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts, with the combined office on the first floor of the Union County Courthouse, 103 S. Second Street, Lewisburg, PA 17837. The office hours are 8:30 AM-4:30 PM. The phone number is (570) 524-8751, and the fax number is (570) 524-8628. The county states that the office files, records, stores, and distributes official court documents for civil, criminal, and Orphans' Court records.
For criminal court records, Clerk of Courts is the key Pennsylvania term. This page keeps that function distinct from the Union County Prothonotary, which handles civil and family filings. Criminal charges may begin at a Magisterial District Court, but Common Pleas criminal filings and later criminal case records move through the Clerk of Courts function.
Union County Clerk of Courts
Official: Diane Miller
103 S. Second Street, first floor
Lewisburg, PA 17837
(570) 524-8751
8:30 AM-4:30 PM
Union County Criminal Filings
The Clerk of Courts function handles criminal docket materials after cases move from Magisterial District Court preliminary stages to the Court of Common Pleas. The record may include charges, criminal information, arraignment entries, motions, pleas, dispositions, sentencing, costs, fines, restitution, probation events, and appeal entries. Public UJS dockets can show much of the docket history, but full documents and certified copies may require a courthouse request.
- Common Pleas criminal filings after charges are held for court or otherwise filed at the county level.
- Criminal docket entries, pleas, dispositions, sentences, costs, fines, and restitution entries.
- Appeals from Magisterial District Court criminal and traffic convictions.
- Certified copies and searches for criminal case records held by the Clerk of Courts.
- Coordination with payment systems when public cases are eligible for online payment.
Search Union County Criminal Records
The main online criminal docket path is Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. It supports searches by participant name, docket number, OTN, complaint number, SID, citation number, date filed, county, judicial district, and other search modes. The UJS portal is a free public service, but it warns that recent entries from filing offices may not appear right away and that docket sheets are not Pennsylvania State Police criminal history checks.
| Search Mode | Best Use | Union County Note |
|---|---|---|
| Docket Number | Known Common Pleas criminal case | Look for CP criminal docket format. |
| Participant Name | Name-based criminal case search | Filter county to Union when possible. |
| OTN | Track charges from arrest to court case | Useful when OTN appears on charging papers. |
| Complaint Number | Early criminal or MDJ link | May connect preliminary case information. |
| Judicial District | District-level filter | Select Snyder/Union - 17 when available. |
Union County Appeals and Costs
The Magisterial District Court FAQ states that criminal and traffic appeals must be filed within 30 days after conviction with the County Clerk of Courts. The Clerk of Courts provides the appeal form and accepts the filing fee, then the case is heard by a Common Pleas judge. Civil and landlord-tenant appeals follow the Prothonotary path instead, which is another reason the two clerk functions should not be merged.
Fines, costs, restitution, bail, and payment plan entries can appear on public criminal docket sheets when the case is public. The statewide UJS portal links PAePay for traffic tickets, court costs, fines, restitution, bail, and probation or parole fees. Limited-access cases cannot be paid online because they are not publicly visible.
Appeal timing is a record-access issue as well as a legal deadline. If a summary traffic or criminal conviction is appealed from an MDJ office, the Common Pleas case becomes part of the county-level record path. The docket may show the lower-court origin, the filing of the appeal, hearing activity, and the final Common Pleas result. A requester should identify both the MDJ case and the Common Pleas docket when both are known.
Request Union County Criminal Copies
A certified criminal case copy should be requested from the Clerk of Courts when an official criminal court document is needed. A web docket printout is not the same as a certified court copy, and it is not a PSP background check. Certified copy requests should identify the docket number, defendant name, document type, and whether the request is for a docket sheet, sentencing order, disposition record, or another filed paper.
- Search UJS or court papers for the docket number, OTN, or complaint number.
- Confirm the case is a Union County Common Pleas criminal record, not a civil Prothonotary record.
- Contact the Clerk of Courts to confirm copy, certification, and search fees.
- Submit the request with payment and return-mail materials if copies must be mailed.
- For criminal-history screening, use the Pennsylvania State Police CHRIA process instead of a court docket.
Union County Criminal Request Details
The research did not locate a dedicated online Clerk of Courts criminal-copy request form. The same data points are still needed for counter, mail, or phone requests.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docket number | If known | Best way to identify a Common Pleas criminal case. |
| Defendant name | Yes | Use full name and any known date range. |
| OTN or complaint number | If known | Helps connect charges filed after arrest to the court case. |
| Document requested | Yes | Examples include disposition, sentence, docket sheet, or certified order. |
| Certification need | Yes | State whether a certified copy is required. |
Union County Clerk Fees
The combined office posts the Prothonotary fee bill for many filing and copy amounts, and criminal financial obligations are also tracked through docket and payment systems. The research supports specific civil copy/search amounts from the fee bill, while criminal fines, costs, restitution, and bail vary by case and court order.
| Item | Amount or Source |
|---|---|
| Certification or certifying copy | $9.00 shown on fee bill |
| Search | $13.00 |
| Exemplification of records | $28.00 |
| Docket-entry copies | $1.00 per page shown in one fee line |
| Criminal fines and costs | Case-specific docket or PAePay amount |
| Restitution | Case-specific court order amount |
Union County Criminal Case Offices
The Clerk of Courts keeps criminal case filings, but the District Attorney and Public Defender explain how those records are created and used. The Union County District Attorney page lists Brian Kerstetter as District Attorney and says the office is the chief law enforcement office in the county, working with local, state, and federal law enforcement and holding authority over criminal investigations and prosecutions. The DA office is at the courthouse, with phone (570) 524-8651.
The Union County Public Defender page says applicants may obtain an application by calling (570) 524-8780, using the linked form, or requesting by mail. The application must be completed, signed, dated, and submitted with required verifications. Approval or denial is sent by letter after processing. These offices do not replace the Clerk of Courts as record custodian, but they are part of the criminal case path.
Victim Witness is another courthouse criminal-case office listed in the research. It is located at 103 S. 2nd Street, Lewisburg, with hours of 8:00 AM-3:00 PM, phone (570) 524-8768, and fax (570) 524-3830. Victim Witness information does not make a criminal file public or private by itself, but it helps explain why a docket may include victim-related scheduling or restitution events.
Restricted Criminal Clerk Records
Pennsylvania public access rules limit some criminal records. Juvenile court files and juvenile law-enforcement records are restricted under 42 Pa.C.S. Sections 6307 and 6308. Expunged and limited-access records are not available through ordinary public searches. Under 18 Pa.C.S. Sections 9122, 9122.1, and 9122.5, the public view of an eligible criminal record can change even though criminal justice agencies may retain access.
Note: A UJS docket sheet is not a certified Pennsylvania criminal history background check.