Philadelphia County Prothonotary Role
Philadelphia does not use a single generic county clerk for all court records. The civil clerk role is the Prothonotary, now performed by the Office of Judicial Records - Civil. The Pennsylvania courts directory lists Eric Feder as the Philadelphia County prothonotary contact at City Hall. The Philadelphia civil docket access page also identifies Eric Feder as Director of the Office of Judicial Records and gives the civil records email and phone contact for questions about civil docket access.
The Office of Judicial Records - Civil supports civil filings, civil docket reports, judgments, family fee collection, divorce filings, certifications, exemplifications, subpoenas, record production, name searches, non-party docket reports, paper-to-electronic conversion, photocopies, and electronic records. That makes it the main official counter for certified civil court documents in Philadelphia County. Criminal docket sheets and criminal certified copies belong to the related Clerk of Courts / Office of Judicial Records - Criminal, while probate and marriage records belong to the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court.
Office of Judicial Records - Civil
Prothonotary contact: Eric Feder
284 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107
215-686-6652
OJRCivil@courts.phila.gov
Civil administration support: 215-686-8326
Philadelphia County Civil Record Channels
Most Philadelphia County civil record work starts online, but the online docket is not the whole file. The Philadelphia Civil Docket Access landing page offers four public functions: person or company search, judgment search, civil docket report by Case ID, and court listings. These tools are useful when a user needs a docket number, wants to check whether a civil case exists, or needs to follow judgment and hearing activity before contacting the clerk for an official copy.
Official copies, certifications, exemplifications, and some record production requests still run through the Office of Judicial Records - Civil. The research file identifies OJRCivil@courts.phila.gov and 215-686-6652 for civil records questions. For civil administration issues, the First Judicial District lists civiladminsupport@courts.phila.gov and 215-686-8326. The public docket may help a requester identify the precise case, but the certified copy request should still include the document name, case number if known, party names, and copy type.
| Need | Use This Channel | Best Detail to Have |
|---|---|---|
| Find a civil case | Person or company search | Last name or business name, with filing date if known |
| Find a judgment | Civil judgment search | Judgment debtor name and judgment date range |
| Open a known docket | Civil docket report | Philadelphia civil Case ID |
| Check hearings | Court listings | Program or event category after the portal disclaimer |
| Get an official copy | Office of Judicial Records - Civil | Case number, party names, document type, and copy type |
Certified Philadelphia County Civil Copies
A certified civil copy is used when a person needs a court-authenticated document rather than a screen print or plain photocopy. Philadelphia County litigants commonly request certified divorce decrees, civil orders, judgments, docket reports, and other filings through the Office of Judicial Records - Civil. An exemplification is a higher form of authentication, often requested when another jurisdiction or agency asks for more than a standard certification.
Start with the docket search when the case number is unknown. The Philadelphia civil portal can identify the case through a party or company name search, while a known Case ID can open the civil docket report directly. If the docket shows the needed document, contact the Office of Judicial Records - Civil for the current request method and total cost. The civil docket access page warns that a $5 convenience fee is added at checkout for portal transactions, so online document purchases can include more than the per-page or certification amount.
- Identify whether the record is civil, family, or divorce. Criminal, probate, and marriage records use different Philadelphia County offices.
- Search the civil docket portal by party, company, judgment, court listing, or Case ID. Save the exact docket number and document title.
- Contact the Office of Judicial Records - Civil or use the available civil access purchase path for the document. Ask whether certification or exemplification is needed.
- Provide the case number, party names, document name, number of copies, delivery method, and payment. Include the per-page copy cost when required.
- Review the received copy for the certification seal or clerk authentication before filing it with another court, agency, or records office.
Philadelphia County Request Fields
The research did not locate one universal public request form for every civil clerk copy request. The practical field inventory below is built from the civil portal fields and the Office of Judicial Records fee categories. It reflects what a Philadelphia County civil copy request needs so staff can find the case, confirm the document, calculate copy fees, and return the record in the requested form.
| Field | Required | How Philadelphia Uses It |
|---|---|---|
| Case ID or docket number | Strongly recommended | Needed for a direct docket report or exact file match. |
| Party or company names | Yes if case number unknown | Matches the civil person/company search and judgment search. |
| Document type | Yes | Examples include decree, order, judgment, pleading, docket report, or subpoena record. |
| Copy type | Yes | Plain copy, certified copy, certificate, or exemplification. |
| Number of copies | Yes | Needed to calculate per-page and certification costs. |
| Requester's contact details | Yes | Used for fee confirmation, pickup, mail, or electronic delivery questions. |
| Date range | Optional | Helps narrow person, company, or judgment searches with common names. |
For records with restricted material, staff may require redaction review or may direct a party to a court order. Family, juvenile, adoption, and sealed records are not ordinary public files. The Pennsylvania court public access policy controls confidential case record information even when a docket entry is visible online.
Philadelphia County Civil Clerk Fees
The Office of Judicial Records fee schedule is the main fee source for civil and family records. The amounts below come from the research file's located fee table. They are useful for planning a request, but the clerk should confirm the total before payment because a certified copy can include a base certification fee, page charges, and any portal convenience fee that applies to online checkout.
| Item | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Certification or certificate | $41.58 | Additional per-page amounts may apply. |
| Exemplification | $83.16 | Higher authentication for some outside uses. |
| Name search | $58.52 | Civil and family fee schedule item. |
| Non-party docket report | $5.50 | Listed under 42 Pa.C.S. Section 1725. |
| Paper pleading conversion | $1.00 per page | Paper-to-electronic conversion charge. |
| Photocopy of records | $0.25 per page | Philadelphia civil rule fee. |
| Electronic records | $0.25 per page | Electronic record copy fee. |
| Divorce commencement | $334.73 | Family Court filing fee. |
| Defendant first filing | $144.54 | Family Court fee schedule item. |
| Civil docket access checkout | $5.00 | Convenience fee added to portal transactions. |
Civil Clerk Boundaries
The Philadelphia County Prothonotary page should not be used as a shortcut for every court or vital record. Criminal public docket sheets are searched through UJS Case Search, and the criminal certified copy route belongs to the Clerk of Courts function. Probate records, wills, letters, estate inventories, and Orphans' Court dockets are handled by the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. Marriage licenses and marriage records also stay with the Register of Wills, not the civil Office of Judicial Records.
Philadelphia civil files can still overlap with other records. A divorce decree is a Family Court record requested through Office of Judicial Records channels, while a marriage record is a Register of Wills record. A civil judgment may appear in the civil judgment search, while a criminal restitution balance may appear in UJS or PAePay. A civil litigant may search online from home, but certification, exemplification, and some older or restricted files may require direct office contact at City Hall.
Note: Use Philadelphia County Clerk of Courts for criminal clerk records and Orphans' Court for probate records.