Dauphin County
Covering 557.7 square miles of land area, Dauphin County is located in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was created in March 1785 from sections of Lancaster County and named after the title of the eldest son of the French King. Dauphin County has a population of approximately 289,000.
The court system in the county consists of two main courts: magisterial district courts and the court of common pleas.
Dauphin County's magisterial district courts handle certain types of civil and criminal cases such as cases related to traffic violations, minor criminal offenses, landlord-tenant disputes, and civil cases involving contract disputes or personal injuries where the damages claimed do not exceed $12,000. These courts also have initial jurisdiction over all criminal cases, determining whether to issue warrants and assessing whether there is sufficient cause to refer misdemeanor and felony cases to the Courts of Common Pleas for further proceedings. Civil cases brought by or against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are not heard in the magisterial district courts.
General jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases in Dauphin County belongs to the courts of common pleas. These courts handle juvenile matters, domestic relations cases, adoption, and appeals of certain administrative agency decisions and arbitration reviews. There is an Orphans' Court division in each court of common pleas handling wills, estates, guardianships, trusts, and termination of parental rights. Some of these courts also have Family Courts and Domestic Relations courts to handle specialized cases.
The Dauphin County clerk of courts maintains criminal and juvenile records for the Court of Common Pleas, while the prothonotary maintains civil court records. You may visit the office of the clerk of court to inspect or copy public court records. The clerk of court's office address is:
Dauphin County Courthouse - 2nd Floor
101 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: (717) 780-6530
The prothonotary office is also located at the address listed. The county does not currently provide online access to court records. To access court records in the county online, you may use the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania Web Portal to access criminal court case information for the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas and the Magisterial District Court. To access civil case information online, visit the Dauphin County prothonotary civil records search page.
