York County Prothonotary Office
The York County Prothonotary is the civil and family records clerk for the Court of Common Pleas. Diane M. Platts is listed as Prothonotary, and Billie Jo Bones is listed as Chief Deputy. The office is at 45 N George Street, York, PA 17401. The research lists the main phone as 717-771-9611 and filing hours as Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Passport hours are by appointment only through 717-771-4760.
York County has a split clerk structure. The Prothonotary does not maintain the main criminal case document channel. Criminal docketing, criminal documents, juvenile criminal-division filings, and expungement filings route to the York County Clerk of Courts. Probate, estate, guardianship, adoption, and marriage matters route to the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court.
York County Prothonotary
Prothonotary: Diane M. Platts
45 N George Street
York, PA 17401
717-771-9611
Filing hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
York County Prothonotary Duties
The York County Prothonotary page links civil and family services, electronic filing, court records, forms, self-help forms, divorce hearing-officer forms, passport services, self-representation resources, and naturalization ceremony information. The public portal is configured for York County case categories, not just a generic statewide list. It includes civil, family, judgment, lien, writ, tax sale, support, and PFA-related filing groups.
- Maintain civil Court of Common Pleas filings such as contracts, torts, real property, professional liability, mass tort, and miscellaneous civil cases.
- Maintain family filings such as divorce, custody, conciliation, paternity action, and related family categories.
- Maintain judgments, municipal liens, tax liens, mechanics liens, writs, revivals, and related docket entries.
- Provide public civil and family search access through the York Prothonotary public portal.
- Issue legal and certified documentation from the courthouse office when a portal result is not enough.
Protection from Abuse matters appear in the Prothonotary category structure, including PFA and PFA crossfiling. Sensitive victim information and protected data are restricted under Pennsylvania access rules, so public docket access should not be treated as full file access in those cases.
York County Civil Portal
The York County Prothonotary public search at prothysearchnew.yorkcountypa.gov searches civil and family case information. The portal notice says material obtained from the public-use software is not the legal record. Legal documentation must be obtained from the Prothonotary's courthouse office. The notice also says the portal may not contain every document because it uses a non-production data repository.
| Search Field | Type | York County Use |
|---|---|---|
| Search by Name or Case Number | Tab | General search when a full docket number is not known. |
| Search by Case Number | Tab/text | Best option for known docket numbers. |
| Search by Participant Name | Tab/text | Search by person or business name. |
| Search by Participant Address | Tab/text | Address-based participant search. |
| Search by Reference Numbers | Tab/text | Use for reference-number searches. |
| Case Opened Date Range | Date picker | Narrows results by start and end dates. |
| Only Cases of this Category | Dropdown | Includes civil, family, PFA, judgments, tax sale, and other York categories. |
| Sort Results By | Dropdown | Sorts by case number, category, contact name, opened date, status, or reference number. |
The public portal may be unavailable from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. daily for maintenance. Court-ordered redactions can also require records to be offline for up to 24 hours. If a result is missing or appears incomplete, contact the Prothonotary with the docket number or full party names.
Request York County Certified Copies
Certified copies are needed when a civil or family record must prove a filing, order, judgment, divorce decree, or other court action outside a casual search. A public portal printout is not the legal record. York County's research is clear that legal documentation comes from the courthouse office, not from the public-use software alone.
- Search the Prothonotary portal or existing paperwork to identify the docket number, case caption, and document type.
- Confirm whether the record is a Prothonotary civil/family file rather than a Clerk of Courts criminal file or Orphans' Court matter.
- Contact or visit the Prothonotary with the docket number or full party names and the exact document requested.
- Pay the required copy or certification charge using an accepted payment method.
- Use the certified copy issued by the office for legal, agency, school, title, or court purposes.
York County Request Fields
A strong Prothonotary records request gives the office enough information to separate similar names, locate the right family or civil case, and identify the document to be copied. The research states that users with questions should contact the Prothonotary with docket number or full names. That same information is the base of a useful certified-copy request.
| Field | Required | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Docket or case number | Best if known | Directs staff to the exact case. |
| Full party names | Yes if no docket number | Needed for divorce, custody, civil, and judgment searches. |
| Case category | Helpful | Examples include divorce, custody, civil action, PFA, judgment, lien, or writ. |
| Document type | Yes | Order, decree, complaint, judgment, docket, or other document requested. |
| Certified or plain copy | Yes | Determines the copy process and fee. |
| Requester contact details | Yes | Allows the office to ask follow-up questions. |
York County Prothonotary Fees
The Prothonotary fee schedule page states that the office need not docket a suit, order, judgment, or service until the required fee is paid. The research confirms accepted payment methods and the personal-check rule. Specific civil filing amounts were not included in the research summary, so a fee table should not invent them. The practical rule is to check the current Prothonotary fee schedule before filing or ordering copies.
| Payment or Fee Rule | York County Detail |
|---|---|
| Cash | Accepted by the Prothonotary. |
| Money order | Accepted by the Prothonotary. |
| Credit/debit card | Accepted by the Prothonotary. |
| Certified bank check | Accepted by the Prothonotary. |
| Business check | Accepted by the Prothonotary. |
| Personal check | Not accepted. |
York County Family Record Limits
Family records can be more restricted than ordinary civil records. Divorce and custody may show docket, orders, opinions, or basic case information remotely, while full filings may be limited. Protection from Abuse cases can include sensitive victim details. Mental-health and incapacity material is also restricted under Pennsylvania court access policy. A sealed or redacted filing may exist even when it cannot be viewed online.
The Prothonotary record track is still the correct local channel for divorce and custody files. Marriage and estate filings are handled separately through Orphans' Court and Register of Wills channels, while criminal records are handled by the Clerk of Courts. Note: When the portal and a courthouse copy conflict, the courthouse legal record controls.