Find Cambria County Prothonotary Records

Cambria County Prothonotary Office

In Pennsylvania, the Prothonotary is the civil clerk for the Court of Common Pleas. Cambria County explains that the word means first notary of the Court. The office creates, maintains, certifies, records, and retrieves civil proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Cambria County Court of Common Pleas. Lisa Crynock is listed as Prothonotary, Eva Shevock as First Deputy, and Roger D. McGill as Solicitor.

The Cambria County judges landing page is assigned in the manifest as a clerk-page image and gives local court context for filings that move through the Court of Common Pleas.

Use the Prothonotary for civil records, then route criminal, marriage, and probate requests to the offices that keep those records.

What Cambria Prothonotary Handles

The Prothonotary handles civil filings rather than adult criminal case records. The office's listed services include civil filings, divorce, custody, protection from abuse, eminent domain, real estate liens and judgments, appeals from district justice judgments and landlord-tenant actions, appeals involving suspension of driver's license privileges and registrations, appeals to the Superior and Commonwealth Courts, school district financial audits, and filings with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and AOPC.

• Civil Court of Common Pleas complaints, answers, judgments, liens, and related filings.
• Divorce, custody, and protection from abuse records.
• Appeals from Magisterial District judgments and landlord-tenant actions.
• Driver's license and registration suspension appeals.
• Naturalization records from the early 1800s, with free public access noted by the county.

Passport applications are also listed by the office by appointment Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m. That service is not a court-record request, but it is part of the Prothonotary's public counter work. The county notes that birth certificates for passports must list both parents and that DS-11 cannot be printed double-sided.

Request Certified Civil Copies

A certified copy is an official copy authenticated by the office that keeps the record. In Cambria County civil matters, that is the Prothonotary for civil Common Pleas files. A certified copy may be needed for court use, appeals, title issues, judgment proof, divorce record proof, or agency filings. The research confirms that the office certifies and retrieves civil proceedings, but it did not expose a current line-item certification fee in visible page text.

1. Identify whether the record is a civil Prothonotary record, a criminal Clerk of Courts record, or an Orphans' Court record.
2. Search CountySuite by case number, participant name, participant address, reference number, or date-opened range if the civil case is online.
3. Write down the case number, party names, filing date, and document title before contacting the office.
4. Ask the Prothonotary for the current copy and certification cost, accepted payment method, and pickup or mail options.
5. Use the county Open Records Officer only for county administrative records when the request is not a court case copy.

Cambria Civil Request Details

A strong civil record request gives the office enough information to locate the filing without guessing. If the CountySuite search does not return a case, call the office before mailing payment or a request. Recent filings may not be online, older records may be indexed differently, and some records may be restricted by law or court order.

Cambria Prothonotary Fees

The research file confirms that the Prothonotary page links fee information, forms, and office resources, but it does not provide current visible line-item Prothonotary copy or filing fees. For that reason, dollar amounts should be confirmed with the office or current fee schedule before payment. The Register of Wills marriage copy fees and Sheriff service fees appear elsewhere in the research, but those amounts do not belong to Prothonotary civil-copy requests.

Forms and Civil Access

The Prothonotary page links state forms and county divorce instructions. It also warns that the office cannot give legal advice, recommend attorneys, advise how to proceed, tell a filer what to file or when to file, or provide legal paperwork beyond pointing to available forms. That distinction matters for self-represented filers. The office can process filings and copies, but it cannot choose a form or legal strategy for the filer.

For broader public-record requests that are not case-file copies, Cambria County Open Records lists Melissa Kestermont as Open Records Officer and accepts requests by email, mail, fax, or in person. For civil court case copies, the Prothonotary remains the direct record office.

The Pennsylvania Megan's Law registry image is assigned to the clerk-page manifest, but Megan's Law is not a Prothonotary civil-record function.

That distinction helps separate civil court files from statewide criminal justice registries and law-enforcement databases.

Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts

Cambria County follows Pennsylvania's split clerk structure. The Prothonotary is the primary civil clerk for Court of Common Pleas filings. The Clerk of Courts, led by Max R. Pavlovich in the research, keeps adult criminal Court of Common Pleas records. The Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court keeps marriage records, probate records, and estate-related records. A user searching for a record should choose the office by record type, not by the general phrase "clerk of court."

The U.S. Census QuickFacts image is assigned to the clerk-page manifest as local county context rather than a court-record source.

County context can be useful, but record access still turns on the correct Cambria County court office.

Cambria County Civil Record Boundaries

The Prothonotary is the right office for many civil Court of Common Pleas files, but it is not the only records office in the courthouse. Adult criminal cases belong to the Clerk of Courts. Marriage and probate records belong to the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. Sheriff service, prison custody, and county administrative records have separate channels. Choosing the Prothonotary is correct when the record is a civil complaint, divorce, custody case, PFA filing, civil judgment, lien, civil appeal, license suspension appeal, or similar Common Pleas civil matter.

The county office also makes clear that it cannot give legal advice. It cannot recommend an attorney, tell a filer how to proceed, tell a person what to file or when, or provide legal paperwork beyond pointing to available forms. That limit is important for self-represented users. The Prothonotary can maintain, certify, record, retrieve, and process civil records, but the legal decision about which pleading, petition, or appeal to file belongs to the filer or counsel.

Cambria County Naturalization Records

The Prothonotary provides free public access to naturalization records from the early 1800s. That makes the office relevant not only for current civil court searches but also for genealogy and historical records. Naturalization files are different from marriage, probate, and birth or death records. The Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court holds marriage records from 1885 to the present and birth or death records from 1893 through 1905, while estate files stay with the probate office.

The Prothonotary also processes passport applications by appointment Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The research notes local passport cautions, including that a birth certificate must list both parents and that Form DS-11 cannot be double-sided. Passport service is not a court record, but it is a real office function and a useful reminder that the Prothonotary page should be treated as the civil clerk's office profile, not just a search portal page.