Columbia County Prothonotary Office
Columbia County uses Pennsylvania terminology rather than the generic "clerk of court" label. The 26th Judicial District describes the Prothonotary/Clerk as an independently elected public official responsible for maintaining civil and criminal records for the Court of Common Pleas of the 26th Judicial District. For page structure, the primary clerk page is the Prothonotary, which covers civil Common Pleas records, family filings, judgments, civil appeals, and civil copy or certification requests.
The Pennsylvania Prothonotaries listing names Stephanie Stroup for Columbia County. The listed office is at the Columbia County Courthouse, 35 West Main Street, PO Box 380, Bloomsburg, PA 17815, with phone 570-389-5614 and fax 570-389-5620. The courthouse is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., while the located Prothonotary search-result text gives a shorter 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. window for marriage-license and passport processing.
Columbia County Prothonotary
Prothonotary: Stephanie Stroup
Columbia County Courthouse
35 West Main Street / PO Box 380
Bloomsburg, PA 17815
570-389-5614
Fax: 570-389-5620
Courthouse hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Columbia County Prothonotary Duties
The Prothonotary's civil role should be separated from the criminal Clerk of Courts role. Civil Common Pleas records include complaints, answers, motions, orders, judgments, liens, civil appeals, custody filings, and divorce filings. The Prothonotary is also the practical route for certified copies of civil and family case records when an online docket is not enough.
- Maintains civil Court of Common Pleas case records and docket files.
- Handles family-related civil filings such as divorce and custody where public access rules allow.
- Processes judgments, liens, appeals, civil copy requests, and certification requests.
- Directs criminal record questions to the Clerk of Courts side of the split office structure.
- Works with the Clerk of Orphans' Court function for marriage-license and Orphans' Court-related work.
The local court overview image comes from the 26th Judicial District Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts page, which presents the combined office description for Columbia and Montour court users.
The combined page is useful for orientation, but civil record requests should still be described as Prothonotary requests and criminal filings as Clerk of Courts requests.
Request Columbia County Certified Copies
Certified copies prove that a copy matches a record held by the custodian. In Columbia County civil matters, that custodian is generally the Prothonotary. Certified divorce decrees, civil judgments, custody orders, appeal paperwork, and other civil court papers should be requested with enough identifying information for staff to find the file. If the docket number is known, include it. If it is not known, use the party names and approximate filing date.
- Search UJS Case Search first when a docket number, party name, organization name, or filing date may identify the case.
- Confirm that the file is a civil, family, divorce, judgment, lien, or appeal matter that belongs with the Prothonotary.
- Call 570-389-5614 to ask whether the copy request may be oral or must be written because it is complex or voluminous.
- Provide the docket number, party names, document type, copy type, and contact information for return questions.
- Verify fees and payment method before mailing the request or traveling to the courthouse.
Columbia County Request Fields
The research did not locate a dedicated Columbia County Prothonotary public records request form with a full field list. The Case Records Public Access Policy says a member of the public may generally make an oral request to the applicable custodian, but the custodian may require a written request for complex or voluminous requests. A written request should be specific enough to identify the case record.
| Field | Needed For | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docket number | Fastest case match. | Use UJS Case Search when the number is unknown. |
| Party names | Name-based search and file confirmation. | Include current and former names if relevant. |
| Record type | Routes request to civil, family, divorce, judgment, or appeal file. | Also helps separate Prothonotary from Clerk of Courts work. |
| Document requested | Identifies decree, order, judgment, complaint, or docket sheet. | State whether certified or plain copy is needed. |
| Requester contact | Allows staff to clarify fees or file location. | Include phone, mailing address, or email if requested by the office. |
Remote access to family matters is limited. A divorce docket may be visible while confidential settlement, financial, custody, or minor-related filings remain unavailable online.
Columbia County Prothonotary Fees
The official Prothonotary/Orphans/Criminal Court fee bill is listed as effective January 1, 2025. The accessible research exposed a miscellaneous criminal filing/new case filing fee of $60.00 and a 2025 custody complaint packet showing an initial custody complaint filing fee of $150.25, with the option to ask the court to waive costs. The research did not expose plain-copy, certified-copy, or civil filing amounts for every Prothonotary service.
| Item | Amount Located | How to Use It |
|---|---|---|
| Initial custody complaint | $150.25 | Located in 2025 custody packet text; waiver request may be available. |
| Miscellaneous criminal filing/new case filing | $60.00 | Clerk of Courts-related example, not a civil copy fee. |
| Certified civil copy | Not located in accessible text. | Verify with the Prothonotary before ordering. |
| Plain civil copy | Not located in accessible text. | Verify with the Prothonotary before ordering. |
The Prothonotary fee bill is the official fee source when available. When the PDF cannot be reached or a service is not clear, the office phone line is the safer source than a nonlocal estimate.
Columbia County Civil Forms
The 26th Judicial District and county pages provide the practical form route for Columbia County court users. The court site links local court material, public-defender and district-attorney forms, ADA accommodation forms, and other court resources. For civil Prothonotary matters, use the county Prothonotary page and the court's public resources before filing anything by mail or in person.
- Prothonotary page for office links, fee-bill references, and civil record contact information.
- 26th Judicial District site for Columbia and Montour court resources.
- ADA accommodation policy and form for court access requests.
Columbia County Online and Office Access
Most people should begin with statewide docket access, then move to the custodian when a full file or certified copy is needed. UJS docket sheets are a free public service, but the Pennsylvania judiciary warns that recent filing-office entries may not appear right away and that docket sheets are not Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history background checks. For civil matters, docket access helps identify a Columbia County Prothonotary file but does not replace the file custodian.
In-person access is at 35 West Main Street in Bloomsburg. Phone access starts at 570-389-5614. For criminal court files, use the Columbia County Clerk of Courts route instead. For estate, marriage-license, and Orphans' Court material, the Prothonotary page may overlap with the Clerk of Orphans' Court function, but the Register of Wills and Register & Recorder page is also important for estate packets and probate fees.
| Record Need | Best Starting Point | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Civil docket number | UJS Case Search. | Helps staff locate the file before a copy request. |
| Certified divorce decree | Prothonotary. | Divorce is a civil/family Common Pleas filing. |
| Criminal case document | Clerk of Courts. | Criminal Common Pleas records use the split criminal clerk function. |
| Estate packet or will matter | Register of Wills / Orphans' Court. | Probate records follow a different office route. |
The split structure is not just a naming issue. A request sent to the wrong office can delay a certified copy or produce only a docket referral. Columbia County users should identify the case type first, then use the matching office, phone line, and fee source. That is especially important for records that overlap family, estate, and civil court terms, such as divorce, support, custody, guardianship, or inheritance-related filings.