How to Search Cumberland County Court Records
Two tools do most of the work. The Cumberland County OnBase Web Viewer holds civil court files filed after 1994. Pennsylvania's UJS Web Portal holds statewide dockets for criminal, magisterial district, traffic, citation, and appellate cases. The county Public Records page sets the coverage: criminal files from 2001 forward, civil files from August 2001 forward, both updated daily, with juvenile and other non-public files left out.
The statewide portal is the broadest starting point for a name or docket search. Open the Pennsylvania UJS Case Search to begin.
From that screen you pick a search type, enter your terms, and filter down to Cumberland County. The steps below keep the process simple.
- Pick the record type. Civil files load in OnBase; criminal, traffic, and MDJ cases load in UJS Case Search.
- Choose a Search By option, such as Participant Name, Docket Number, or Citation Number.
- Enter your terms, then set the County filter to Cumberland to narrow results.
- Open the matching docket sheet and read the entries, charges, and disposition.
- Buy a document image, or request a certified copy from the Prothonotary or Clerk of Courts when you need one for court.
Cumberland County Court Records Search Fields
The UJS portal offers more than a dozen ways to search, and the right one depends on what you already know. A docket number gives the cleanest result. A name plus the county filter works when you do not have a number. The main public fields are below.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search By | Dropdown | Yes | Options include Participant Name, Docket Number, Citation Number, OTN, Complaint Number, Date Filed. |
| Docket Number | Text | Conditional | Examples: CP-21-CR-0009999-2017 for Common Pleas; MJ-09xxx for district court. |
| Citation Number | Text | Conditional | Include the dash, e.g. A5368532-1. |
| Participant Name | Text | Conditional | Last and first name; pair with county and date filters. |
| County | Dropdown | Conditional | Select Cumberland (Judicial District 09). |
| Date Filed | Date range | Conditional | mm/dd/yyyy; the range is capped at 180 days. |
| Case Status | Dropdown | Conditional | Active, Closed, Inactive, Adjudicated, Active/Disposed. |
UJS warns that some cases will not display even with correct terms, including juvenile, expunged, limited-access, and certain civil Common Pleas cases.
Types of Cumberland County Court Records
Records here are grouped by the office that keeps them. The Prothonotary keeps civil files. The Clerk of Courts keeps criminal files. The Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court keep estates and marriage records. Magisterial District Courts keep the lower-level cases. Each office sets its own online coverage and access rules.
- Civil records: complaints, judgments, liens, name changes, and mortgage foreclosure, available in OnBase from 1994 forward.
- Criminal records: Common Pleas dockets, pleas, sentencing, and bail papers from 2001 forward, held by the Clerk of Courts.
- Magisterial District Court records: traffic citations, summary offenses, landlord-tenant, and small civil claims.
- Family records: divorce and custody, with restrictions on files after June 21, 2010.
- Probate records: wills, estates, and Orphans' Court filings at the Register of Wills.
Family law and Protection From Abuse files carry extra limits, covered further down this page.
What Cumberland County Court Records Show
A docket sheet is the public record of a case. It does not always include the full documents, but it does carry the key facts. Criminal Common Pleas records, for example, show the CP docket number, the defendant, the charges with statute and grade, the bail entries, and each event from arraignment through sentencing. The table lists the fields you will most often see.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Docket Number | Case ID with county code and category (CP for Common Pleas, MJ for district court). |
| Parties / Participants | Defendant, the Commonwealth, plaintiff or petitioner, and attorneys of record. |
| Charges / Claims | Criminal statute and grading, or the civil claim type. |
| Docket Entries | Filings, orders, hearings, continuances, and transfers in date order. |
| Disposition | The outcome of each charge or claim. |
| Financials | Fines, costs, restitution, and bail or bond entries. |
A docket may also note a transfer, such as "Case Transferred to Court of Common Pleas," when a district court binds a case over.
Searching Civil Records in OnBase
Civil files are a Prothonotary function. The county's Searchable Civil Records page points users to the OnBase Web Viewer, where civil court records filed after 1994 are available. Docket entries can be viewed free of charge. Document images cost eight cents per page. The county supports Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. Two limits matter: Protection From Abuse records are not online under the Violence Against Women Act, and family law cases filed after June 21, 2010 are not online by local court order.
The purchase flow is cart-based. You click the document icon by a docket entry, review the page cost, add it to the cart, and check out with email and a card. Accepted cards are Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Purchased documents are not emailed; you return to the viewer and open them under Recently Paid Views. The county recommends an account so paid documents are not lost.
Public Access Framework for Cumberland County Court Records
Pennsylvania splits access into two tracks. County agency records follow the Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, adopted as Act 3 of 2008. Court case records follow the judiciary's own rules under 204 Pa. Code § 213.81, the Case Records Public Access Policy. That policy governs electronic case records and lists what is excluded.
The state courts also publish a plain overview of free docket access and public-record rights.
For the judiciary's own summary of what is public and how to get it, see the UJS public records page.
Anyone may view a public docket sheet, but a docket is not a certified criminal history. That check comes from the Pennsylvania State Police.
Note: Court case files and county agency files follow different access rules, so a Right-to-Know request is not the path for most court dockets.
Records That Are Sealed or Confidential in Cumberland County
Several categories stay out of public view. Juvenile cases, expunged cases, and limited-access records do not appear on the public dockets. Adoption and guardianship records can be seen in person only by certain parties. Mental health and medical material is confidential by statute. The Clerk of Courts states that all records are public except juvenile records and other non-public files.
The state courts publish the policies that explain these exclusions. Review the UJS public record policies for the case-records and financial-records rules.
To view a sealed file, you usually must be a party, an attorney of record, or hold a court order. Ask the custodian office for the lawful path before you file.
Cumberland County Court Records Fees
Searching a docket is usually free. Costs start when you want copies, certified documents, or a name search run by staff. The amounts below come from the county fee schedules. A certified copy is the version courts and agencies accept; a plain copy or a free online view is not.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| OnBase civil document, per page to view | $0.08 |
| Photocopy or docket page (Clerk of Courts) | $0.50 per page |
| Clerk of Courts criminal search, per name | $24.75 |
| Certification or exemplification | $13 |
| Petition to expunge or limited access | $155 (plus possible added fees) |
The county also charges a processing convenience fee on online card payments, which it does not waive.
Federal Court Records for Cumberland County
Some Cumberland County cases are federal, not state. The county sits in the U.S. Middle District of Pennsylvania, and the nearest federal courthouse for many residents is in Harrisburg, not Carlisle. Federal matters include federal crimes, civil rights suits, and federal-question civil cases. These do not appear in OnBase or UJS.
The district court keeps its own site and docket system. Visit the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania for filing and case information.
Appeals from the district court go up one more level.
Federal appeals are heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.
Federal dockets are searched through PACER, covered on the court dockets page.
In-Person and Form-Based Record Requests
Some files are not online, and some copies must be certified. For those, you go to the office that holds the record. Civil files and certified divorce decrees come from the Prothonotary in Suite 100. Bring a name or docket number and be ready to pay the copy and certification fees. The statewide forms library covers common filings if you need to start a case rather than search one.
Standard court forms are posted by the state. Browse the Pennsylvania UJS forms page for civil and other case forms.
Prothonotary (Civil Records)
1 Courthouse Square, Suite 100
Carlisle, PA 17013
717.240.6195
Mon-Fri 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.