Lehigh County Court Docket Search and Records

Lehigh County is home to Allentown, Pennsylvania's third-largest city, and the county court system handles a significant volume of criminal, civil, and family filings each year. Court docket records for Lehigh County are publicly available through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System portal. The 31st Judicial District courthouse is located at 455 West Hamilton Street in Allentown. The UJS portal provides free access to docket sheets covering all case types handled by the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas and its 29 Magisterial District Courts. No registration is required to search records by name, docket number, or organization.

Lehigh County Court Docket Search

The Pennsylvania UJS Web Portal is the official resource for Lehigh County court docket searches. The portal provides free, no-login access to case data from all Pennsylvania courts. Searches can be filtered to Lehigh County to return only local filings. The portal is updated continuously as new case events are recorded.

The UJS Case Search page accepts searches by participant name, docket number, or organization. Results link to complete docket sheets that include charges or civil claims, attorney information, scheduled and completed court dates, and case status. Docket sheets are downloadable as PDFs at no cost.

Because Allentown generates a large volume of cases, name searches may return numerous results. Using a full legal name, filtering by court type, or entering a known docket number are effective strategies for locating specific Lehigh County records quickly.

Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas

The Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas is the trial court for the 31st Judicial District. It handles felony criminal cases, civil disputes, family law matters, orphans court proceedings, and appeals from Magisterial District Judge decisions. The courthouse is located at Lehigh County Courthouse, 455 West Hamilton Street, Allentown, PA 18101. Multiple judges sit on the court due to the county's population and case volume.

The Lehigh County Prothonotary manages civil filings including complaints, judgments, liens, mortgage foreclosures, and appellate filings. The Clerk of Judicial Records handles criminal case records including all criminal filings, motions, sentencing documents, and archiving. Both offices are located at the courthouse and open to the public during regular weekday hours.

Lehigh County's court operates several specialized divisions including a drug treatment court, mental health court, and veterans court. These specialty dockets handle certain eligible cases with alternative supervision and treatment tracks. Judges in the 31st Judicial District are elected to ten-year terms, and the President Judge oversees court administration and caseload management.

The Hamilton Street courthouse is centrally located in Allentown and is accessible by public transportation. Parties with court business in Lehigh County should verify courtroom assignments and hearing times in advance, as the courthouse serves a busy daily docket.

Criminal Court Dockets in Lehigh County

Criminal docket records for Lehigh County are stored in the statewide Common Pleas Case Management System, known as CPCMS. Every criminal case processed through the 31st Judicial District is recorded in CPCMS, from initial charging through preliminary hearing, arraignment, trial or guilty plea, sentencing, and post-sentence proceedings. The UJS portal provides public access to all CPCMS records for Lehigh County at no cost.

Lehigh County criminal docket sheets include the charges filed, bail conditions and amounts, scheduled and completed court dates, attorney appearances, and the final case outcome. Docket sheets are updated as new events occur. Active cases display upcoming court dates, while closed dockets show the final disposition including any guilty pleas, jury verdicts, or dismissals.

For a certified official criminal history, the PATCH system operated by the Pennsylvania State Police compiles statewide conviction data. PATCH is separate from the UJS portal and should be used when a certified official record is required. Expungement petitions in Lehigh County are filed with the Clerk of Judicial Records and heard by a Common Pleas judge. When expungement is granted, the affected records are removed from public access under the terms of the court's order.

Note: Criminal docket records in Lehigh County include cases where charges were dismissed, withdrawn, or otherwise resolved without a conviction, and those entries do not indicate guilt.

Lehigh County Magisterial District Courts

Lehigh County has 29 Magisterial District Courts serving Allentown, Bethlehem, and the surrounding municipalities. MDJ courts handle summary criminal offenses, preliminary hearings in felony and misdemeanor cases, small civil claims, and landlord-tenant disputes. Their records are searchable through the UJS portal by selecting the Magisterial District Judge court type.

The Magisterial District Judges Web System, or MDJS, is the statewide database that tracks all MDJ cases in Pennsylvania. Lehigh County's 29 MDJ offices submit case data to MDJS as cases progress. The UJS portal connects to MDJS and returns docket sheets for Lehigh County MDJ cases showing the hearing dates, case types, and outcomes. Preliminary hearing dockets indicate whether cases were held for Common Pleas or dismissed at the MDJ level.

The PAePay system allows online payment of traffic fines and other eligible MDJ costs in Lehigh County. It is accessible from the UJS portal. Given the high number of MDJ districts in Lehigh County, parties should confirm the correct district number for their municipality before appearing at an MDJ court or submitting a payment.

Civil Court Dockets in Lehigh County Pennsylvania

Civil docket records for Lehigh County are managed by the Prothonotary at 455 West Hamilton Street in Allentown. The Prothonotary processes civil complaints, consent judgments, mechanics' liens, mortgage foreclosures, and MDJ civil appeals. All filings are assigned docket numbers and entered into the statewide civil case tracking system, making them searchable through the UJS portal.

Searching the UJS portal for Lehigh County civil records returns docket sheets showing party names, the nature of the claim, filing dates, case events, and current case status. Civil dockets are important resources for lien searches, title research, and reviewing pending litigation involving Lehigh County property or local businesses.

Public Access to Lehigh County Court Records

Public access to Lehigh County court records is governed by 204 Pa. Code § 213.81, which establishes the rule of openness for Pennsylvania court records. Most criminal and civil docket information in Lehigh County is publicly accessible under this rule, with limited exceptions for sealed orders and sensitive personal data.

Juvenile records in Lehigh County are protected under 42 Pa.C.S. § 6308. This statute limits public access to proceedings involving minors, and juvenile dockets do not appear in standard UJS portal searches. A court order is generally required to access juvenile records in Lehigh County.

The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law at 65 P.S. § 67.301 provides general access rights to government records. Court docket records in Lehigh County are primarily governed by judicial rules, but administrative records of court agencies may fall under the Right-to-Know Law's scope. The Pennsylvania courts public records page provides additional information on requesting access.

Lehigh County Court Record Fees and Copies

Online access to Lehigh County court docket records through the UJS portal is free of charge. Viewing docket sheets, downloading PDF copies of public filings, and conducting name or docket number searches are all available without any cost, registration, or subscription. This covers both Common Pleas and all 29 MDJ-level courts in Lehigh County.

In-person copies from the Lehigh County Courthouse at 455 West Hamilton Street are charged at $0.25 per page. Certified copies require an additional certification fee established by court rule. The Prothonotary and Clerk of Judicial Records both offer in-person copy services. Individuals needing certified documents should contact the appropriate office in advance to confirm current fees and expected processing times.

Lehigh County Family and Orphans Court Records

The Family Division of the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas handles a high volume of divorce, child custody and support, protection from abuse, and domestic relations cases each year given Allentown's population. Family court records that involve minor children or sensitive domestic information may be restricted by court order or applicable statute to protect the parties.

The Orphans Court division in Lehigh County oversees estate litigation, adoptions, guardianships for incapacitated persons, and trust matters. Filings are processed through the Clerk of Judicial Records and are generally searchable through the UJS portal. Adoption records and certain guardianship proceedings are sealed, and access to those records requires a court order.

The Register of Wills office handles probate in Lehigh County, including the submission and probating of wills, and the issuance of letters testamentary and letters of administration. When estate disputes escalate to contested proceedings, those matters are referred to Orphans Court and enter the court docket. Register of Wills records are maintained separately from the UJS portal and are accessed at the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown.

Nearby Counties

Court docket records from counties bordering Lehigh County are available through the same UJS portal.

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