Lackawanna County Orphans' Court Clerk
The secondary clerk office in Lackawanna County is the Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court. Frances Roland Kovaleski serves in that role. The office is located at the Lackawanna County Government Center, 123 Wyoming Avenue, Suite 521 on the fifth floor, Scranton, PA 18503. Its phone number is 570-963-6702, fax number is 570-963-6377, and posted hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except holidays.
This office is separate from the Clerk of Judicial Records, which handles civil, criminal, and family Court of Common Pleas records. The Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court handles probate, guardianship, adoption, marriage-license, estate, trust, and accounting records. That split matters when asking for certified copies because a divorce decree and an original marriage record do not come from the same office.
Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court
Official: Frances Roland Kovaleski
123 Wyoming Avenue, Suite 521
Scranton, PA 18503
570-963-6702
Fax: 570-963-6377
Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Lackawanna County Orphans' Court Records
The Register of Wills function is probate-focused. The office legally establishes the validity of a decedent's will. If no will exists, the office appoints a personal representative under Pennsylvania intestacy law. It also works as an agent for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and collects inheritance-tax revenue tied to estates.
- Probating wills and appointing personal representatives when a person dies without a will.
- Maintaining estate filings, inheritance-tax material, and records dating back to 1878.
- Handling Orphans' Court filings for guardianships, trusts, formal accountings, and incapacitated-person petitions.
- Issuing and recording marriage licenses through the marriage-license function.
- Maintaining adoption records, which are confidential under the county's public-access notes.
The Clerk of Orphans' Court also assists the Orphans' Court judge during proceedings and prepares or maintains proceeding documents. Estate case details and probate court context belong with Orphans' Court records.
Search Lackawanna County Orphans' Court Records
Online lookup for Lackawanna County Orphans' Court records uses Lackawanna Public Access Inquiries, also called the INFOCON public inquiry system. County pages link this system for Register of Wills, Orphans' Court, and marriage records. The application opens from an entry page, and county notes warn that pop-up settings can affect access. Infocon support is listed at 814-472-6146.
- Choose the Register of Wills, Orphans' Court, or marriage-record search path in the local public inquiry system.
- Search by the party, decedent, estate, or record information available for the filing.
- Call 570-963-6702 when the online search does not show enough detail for a certified-copy request.
- Visit the Government Center office when the record is old, copy-sensitive, or tied to a probate appointment.
For statewide public court dockets, Pennsylvania UJS Case Search may help with some court matters, but local Register of Wills and Orphans' Court materials should be checked through the county system and office.
Certified Orphans' Court Copies
Certified-copy needs vary by record type. Marriage records use the certified-copy forms linked from the Clerk of Orphans' Court page, including the Request for Certified Copy of Original Marriage Record and the Third Party Requests for Certified Copy of Original Marriage Record. Estate and guardianship copies should be requested by identifying the case, estate, or filing and stating whether a certified copy is required.
- Identify whether the copy is for a marriage record, estate file, guardianship, accounting, or other Orphans' Court filing.
- Collect the names, approximate dates, docket or estate information, and the copy type needed.
- Contact the Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court for the current fee schedule and accepted payment.
- Submit the request through the office method the clerk provides, then confirm whether the copy includes certification.
The office states that probates are by appointment only. Certified-copy questions can often be handled before an appointment, but probate filings themselves should be scheduled through the office.
For older records, the office's genealogy function may be the better route than a routine copy request. The county reports records dating to 1878 and marriage licenses dating to October 1885. A $25 office-conducted search fee applies to genealogy searches, and adoption files remain confidential even when other old files are public.
Lackawanna County Orphans' Request Fields
There is no single field list for every Orphans' Court request because marriage, probate, guardianship, and genealogy searches need different identifiers. A request should still include enough detail for staff to find the correct file and determine whether access is public or restricted.
| Field | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Required | State marriage, estate, will, guardianship, adoption, accounting, trust, or genealogy. |
| Names | Required | Use applicants, decedent, petitioner, guardian, or estate names as applicable. |
| Date range | Helpful | Older files may require genealogy-style searching if exact dates are unknown. |
| Docket or estate number | Best if known | Use any number found through INFOCON or prior paperwork. |
| Certified copy requested | Required for legal use | Say whether a plain copy or certified copy is needed. |
Lackawanna County Orphans' Court Fees
The office links a Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court fee schedule, and exact filing fees should be checked there before payment. Research captured the marriage-license and genealogy-search fees, plus the office payment methods and no-refund policy. Do not assume probate filing amounts without the current fee schedule.
| Item | Amount or Rule |
|---|---|
| Regular marriage license | $70 |
| Self-uniting marriage application | $100 |
| Genealogy search by office | $25 per search |
| Probate and Orphans' Court filings | Use current official fee schedule |
| Payment methods | Cash, check, credit card, and debit card |
Important: Orphans' Court pages state a no-refund policy, so confirm the filing and fee before paying.
Restricted Lackawanna County Orphans' Records
Most estate and older genealogy materials are public when the county has not restricted the file, but adoption records are specifically identified as confidential. Guardianship and incapacitated-person filings may also include sensitive information, so public access can be narrower than the basic docket or filing label suggests.
Marriage records have their own certified-copy request rules, including a third-party request form. Probate records have appointment and office-copy rules. The key point is to ask for the record by type, because the office can then apply the correct public-access, copy, and certification process.
The same office may appear in searches under Register of Wills, Clerk of Orphans' Court, Marriage License Bureau, or Orphans' Court. Those names do not make the records interchangeable. Use the office name that matches the filing so staff can route the request to the correct index, form, and access rule.
Note: Divorce decrees are Family Court Division records, not Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court records.