Adams County Prothonotary Office
The Adams County clerk structure is split. Beverly Boyd is the elected Prothonotary, and the Prothonotary is the filing officer for civil and family matters in the Court of Common Pleas. The research identifies the Prothonotary's authority under 42 Pa.C.S.A. Sections 2736 and 2737. In practical record terms, this office is the place to start for civil complaints, writs, judgments, liens, mortgage foreclosure, name change, quiet title, divorce files, and other public civil filings.
Adams County Prothonotary
Prothonotary: Beverly Boyd
117 Baltimore Street, Room 104
Gettysburg, PA 17325
Court Administration
117 Baltimore Street, 4th Floor
Gettysburg, PA 17325
717-337-9846
Fax: 717-334-8817
Adams County Civil Record Duties
The Prothonotary page should not be confused with the Adams County Clerk of Courts page. The Clerk of Courts handles criminal Common Pleas records, costs, fines, fees, restitution, and court seal custody. The Clerk of Orphans' Court handles marriage, adoption, termination of parental rights, estates, incapacitated-person matters, and minor matters. The Prothonotary is narrower, but important: it is the civil filing office for the trial court's civil and family records.
- Civil complaints, writs, judgments, liens, and mortgage foreclosure records.
- Name change, quiet title, minor's compromise, structured settlement, and mechanics lien filings.
- Divorce and related civil or family case file access where records are public.
- Motions, petitions, orders, and rules for disposition in civil files.
- Copy and record review requests for civil files not available through a public online docket.
Users who need criminal docket sheets should use UJS Case Search and the Clerk of Courts. Users who need estate, guardianship, or marriage records should use the Orphans' Court and Register of Wills paths. For a broader public case search, the general Adams County court records page separates the offices by record type.
Request Adams County Civil Copies
A good Prothonotary copy request starts with the case name, docket number if known, filing year, document name, and whether the copy must be certified. Divorce decree requests should be specific, because a full divorce file may include papers that are sealed, redacted, or not needed for the requested purpose. If a filing party submits an order, motion, petition, or rule for disposition, the research states that copies and addressed stamped envelopes must be provided for all parties unless attorneys have internal courthouse mailboxes.
- Identify the civil case type and confirm the Prothonotary is the correct office.
- Collect the party names, docket number, filing year, and document title.
- Ask the Prothonotary for current copy and certification fees before mailing payment.
- Include return mailing materials if the office requires mailed copies to be returned by post.
- For divorce records, state whether a certified decree is enough or whether the request concerns another file document.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is the manifest source for this assigned image on the primary clerk template page.
This manifest image is assigned to the Prothonotary template page; it provides related court-system context while the Prothonotary remains the local civil records office.
Adams County Prothonotary Request Fields
The research file does not give a Prothonotary-specific request form screenshot, so the field inventory below follows the case details a clerk needs to locate a public civil or divorce record. These details also reduce the risk of confusing a civil file with a criminal, Orphans' Court, or Register/Recorder record.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case or docket number | Best if known | Use the exact civil docket number when available. |
| Party names | Yes | Provide plaintiff and defendant, or both spouses for divorce. |
| Case type | Yes | Examples include divorce, mortgage foreclosure, quiet title, name change, or judgment. |
| Document requested | Yes | Name the decree, order, complaint, judgment, lien, or other paper. |
| Certified or plain copy | Yes | Certification changes how the office prepares the copy and may change the cost. |
| Return mailing information | If mailed | Use a complete return address and ask whether a self-addressed stamped envelope is required. |
Adams County Prothonotary Fees
The research file gives several examples from the effective 2025/2026 Prothonotary fee schedule. It also states that all motions and petitions, except in abuse cases and for payment of attorney or stenographer fees, require a filing fee. Fees can change, and civil filings often have service or copy costs not shown in a short excerpt, so confirm the current amount before filing or requesting certified records.
The copy request should also account for the envelope rule noted in the research. When a party files an order, motion, petition, or rule for disposition, that party must provide copies and addressed stamped envelopes for all parties unless attorneys have internal courthouse mailboxes. That rule is easy to miss because it is not the same thing as a filing fee, but it can affect whether a filing package is complete at the Prothonotary counter.
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| Motions and petitions | $29 unless exempt. |
| QDRO | $29. |
| Name change | $209. |
| Quiet title | $209. |
| Writ of summons | $209. |
| Mortgage foreclosure | $209. |
| Minor's compromise or structured settlement | $209. |
| Mechanics lien | $236. |
Note: Abuse-case fee exemptions and payment-related exceptions are office-specific details that should be confirmed before filing.
Adams County Civil Search Limits
UJS Case Search is useful for many Pennsylvania dockets, but Adams County research says civil and family Common Pleas records are more likely to require Prothonotary contact or a local file request where public online docket access is limited. That is especially true for divorce, where a docket may not equal the full file and private facts may be sealed or redacted. Court case public access follows the Pennsylvania judiciary policy, while agency records follow the Right-to-Know Law.
For older or unclear civil matters, the best practical route is to start with the party names and case type, then let the office confirm whether a docket, index entry, or archived file must be pulled. A name change, quiet title, foreclosure, or divorce file may have different copy needs, and certification should be requested only when an official copy is required for another agency, court, or legal filing.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is another manifest-assigned image source on the Prothonotary template page, though federal criminal matters are separate from Adams County civil Prothonotary files.
The federal source is not a Prothonotary filing office; it helps distinguish local Adams County civil records from federal Middle District matters.