Lackawanna County Clerk of Judicial Records
The Clerk of Judicial Records is Lauren Mailen. The official office page says the office has been custodian of documents for the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas since 1878. This is a Pennsylvania-specific court-records office, not a generic county clerk. It holds the civil, criminal, and family divisions that support the Court of Common Pleas.
The office is split by record type. Civil Division records are at the Government Center and include liens, judgments, civil files, and equity files. Criminal Division records are at the Lackawanna County Courthouse and include criminal court filings handled through a statewide system. Family Court Division records are at the Government Center and include divorce actions, custody actions, PFA filings, family documentation, juvenile-related record keeping, and copies of divorce decrees.
Clerk of Judicial Records
Clerk: Lauren Mailen
Civil Division: 123 Wyoming Avenue, First Floor
Scranton, PA 18503
Civil: 570-963-6723
Criminal: 570-963-6759
Family: 570-963-5695
The county's Clerk of Judicial Records page shows the office divisions and the records-search entry point.
The office page is useful because it separates civil, criminal, and family contacts before a requester asks for copies or filings.
Lackawanna County Clerk Record Duties
The Clerk of Judicial Records performs the work that turns filings into official court records. The Civil Division maintains liens, judgments, and civil or equity files and reports a caseload of about 8,000 per year. It collects filing fees, time-stamps filings, issues receipts, proofreads indexes, certifies court seals, exemplifies records, sends notices, makes copies, and communicates legally required information by mail or phone.
- Civil Division keeps liens, judgments, civil actions, equity files, and related indexes.
- Criminal Division, also described as Clerk of Courts, handles criminal filings and uses a statewide system.
- Family Court Division maintains divorce, custody, PFA, family, juvenile-related, and Children and Youth Services records.
- Division counters provide copies, certified seals, filing receipts, and record help tied to the correct case type.
The criminal caseload is described by the official page as about 5,000 per year. Family Court Division began in 2008, so older family records may require more care in identifying the correct record path or custodian.
Search Lackawanna County Clerk Records
Online Clerk of Judicial Records searches use two channels. The local county record system is Lackawanna Public Access Inquiries, an INFOCON launch page that opens the public inquiry web app. The statewide docket-sheet option is Pennsylvania UJS Case Search, which covers public docket sheets for appellate, Common Pleas, Magisterial District, citation, OTN, participant, attorney, and docket searches.
- Identify whether the record is civil, criminal, or family before choosing a division.
- Search the local INFOCON public inquiry for county records, allowing pop-ups if the application does not open.
- Use UJS Case Search for statewide public docket sheets and docket-number lookups.
- Call or visit the correct division when an online result is delayed, restricted, or not enough for certified-copy needs.
UJS warns that recent entries may not appear right away and that docket sheets are not criminal-history background checks. For statewide criminal-history checks, the proper source is the Pennsylvania State Police, not a court docket sheet.
Request Lackawanna County Certified Copies
Certified copies are requested from the division that holds the case. A certified seal proves that a copy came from the official court office. Civil judgments, criminal docket documents, and divorce decrees should not be requested from the same counter unless the case type matches that division's records.
- Find the docket number, party names, and case type through INFOCON, UJS Case Search, or the original paperwork.
- Contact the civil, criminal, or family division based on the case type and document needed.
- Ask whether the office needs a written request, copy fee, certification fee, or in-person pickup.
- Use the division counter or mail path the office gives, then confirm whether the copy has the required court seal.
Divorce decrees are part of the Family Court Division record path. Probate, guardianship, estate, and marriage copies belong with the Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court, not the Clerk of Judicial Records.
Lackawanna County Records Request Fields
A useful request gives the clerk enough detail to locate the file without guessing. The research did not locate one universal Clerk of Judicial Records request form for every division, so the safest field set is based on the identifiers used by the office and statewide case systems.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docket or case number | Best if known | Common Pleas docket numbers usually begin with CP in UJS examples. |
| Party names | Yes | Use plaintiff and defendant for civil, Commonwealth and defendant for criminal, or family party names. |
| Division | Yes | Choose civil, criminal, or family to avoid routing delays. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include decree, judgment, order, docket sheet, or filing copy. |
| Certification need | Yes | State whether a plain copy or certified copy is needed. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Include phone, mailing address, or email if the division permits that method. |
Lackawanna County Clerk Fees
The Clerk of Judicial Records page links separate criminal and civil/family fee schedules. Because filing and copy fees can change, the most accurate path is to cite the current official schedule instead of treating every line as permanent. Research captured examples from the civil fee schedule, including appeal arbitration and appeal from District Justice categories, but those examples should be verified before payment.
| Item | Fee or Source |
|---|---|
| Criminal court fee schedule | Official PDF linked from Clerk of Judicial Records page |
| Civil and family court fee schedule | Official PDF linked from Clerk of Judicial Records page |
| Appeal arbitration example | $628 captured from civil fee schedule search result |
| Appeal from District Justice example | $192 captured from civil fee schedule search result |
| Right-to-Know black-and-white copy fallback | $0.25 per page under the county policy |
| Right-to-Know color copy fallback | $0.50 per page under the county policy |
Lackawanna County Clerk Forms
The Clerk of Judicial Records Document Center lists common civil forms and fee schedules. Forms named in the research include Agreement to Revive, Application for Continuance, Certificate for Judgment Note, Certificate of Motor Vehicle Judgment, Certificate of Readiness Civil Trial Listing Action, Civil Court In Forma Pauperis, Landlord's Application for Release of Funds Deposited with Clerk of Judicial Records, New Statewide Civil Cover Sheet, and Notice for Demand of Jury Trials.
These forms serve filing and case-management needs rather than public lookup alone. A person seeking a copy should start with the case identifier, while a person filing a new document should use the current form and fee schedule from the clerk's official page.
Note: Family, juvenile, PFA, and sealed materials can have access limits even when a public docket or division contact exists.
Lackawanna County RTK Fallback
Some records questions are not case-copy requests. For administrative county records, the fallback is the Lackawanna County Right-to-Know Office. The county names Traci Harte, Deputy Chief of Staff and RTK Officer, at 123 Wyoming Avenue, 6th Floor, Scranton, PA 18503. The phone number is 570-963-6800 and the fax is 570-963-6812.
The county policy says Lackawanna County has five business days to grant a request, deny it, or invoke an extension. Prepayment may be requested when fees are expected to exceed $100. The Right-to-Know route should not replace a division copy request for a court filing, but it is useful when the desired record is an administrative county record rather than a docketed case document.
The county Right-to-Know request page provides the public-records fallback when clerk division searches do not fit the requested material.
The Right-to-Know page is separate from court case lookup and should be used for county administrative records that are not available through court-record channels.