Venango County Clerk of Courts
The official Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts page lists Maryann Smith as Acting Prothonotary / Acting Clerk of Courts. For criminal proceedings, the same office acts as Clerk of Courts. The office is at 1168 Liberty Street, Courthouse, 1st Floor, Franklin, PA 16323. The phone number is 814-432-9577. Public hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except legal holidays.
The Clerk of Courts is the chief clerk and record keeper for criminal proceedings in Venango County Court of Common Pleas. This office is the correct local contact for criminal copies, bail bond money, fines, forfeited bonds, criminal trial minutes, ARD records, exhibits, and the criminal court seal. It is also a fallback when the statewide UJS docket sheet is delayed, incomplete, restricted, or not a certified record.
Venango County Clerk of Courts
Acting Clerk of Courts: Maryann Smith
1168 Liberty Street, Courthouse, 1st Floor
Franklin, PA 16323
814-432-9577
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., except legal holidays
Venango County Criminal Clerk Duties
Venango County's Clerk of Courts duties are criminal-case duties, not general county records work. Published duties include administering oaths and affirmations, certifying juror payments, collecting and transmitting fines and forfeited bonds, holding bail bond money, keeping custody of juvenile records, keeping custody of the court seal, maintaining ARD records, keeping hearing and trial minutes, maintaining exhibits, and swearing juries and witnesses.
Those duties tie the Clerk of Courts to the full criminal case file. A public UJS docket may show the caption, docket number, charges, events, bail, sentence, and financial obligations. The Clerk of Courts is the office for the filed record, certification, minutes, exhibits, bail records, and criminal copy questions after a case is in Common Pleas. Magisterial District Courts still hold lower-court matters such as preliminary hearings, traffic citations, and summary cases.
- Felony and serious misdemeanor Common Pleas criminal case files.
- Trial minutes, juror and witness oaths, criminal exhibits, and court seal records.
- Bail bond money, fines, forfeited bonds, and criminal financial records.
- ARD records maintained by the criminal clerk for eligible diversion matters.
- Juvenile record custody, with public access limits under Pennsylvania law.
Request Venango Criminal Certified Copies
A certified criminal record copy may be needed for court filing, appeal, employment licensing review, immigration, personal records, or proof of disposition. It is different from a free docket sheet. The UJS portal warns that docket sheets are not a substitute for a Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history background check, and recent filing-office entries may not appear right away.
- Search the Pennsylvania UJS case search portal when a docket number, participant name, OTN, complaint number, or state ID may help identify the case.
- Confirm that the case is a Venango County Court of Common Pleas criminal matter rather than an MDJ-only case.
- Call or visit the Clerk of Courts with the docket number, defendant name, charge or disposition, filing year, and requested document.
- Ask whether a plain copy, certified copy, seal, or financial record is needed for the intended use.
- Pay the applicable copy, research, appeal, summary appeal, or expungement fee from the current schedule.
Venango County Criminal Request Fields
Criminal copy requests work best when the request identifies the case from the criminal docket and explains the document needed. The statewide PAeDocket and UJS systems support several identifiers, but office requests should still be clear enough for staff to locate the file and determine whether public access, certification, or restriction rules apply.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Docket or case number | Best when known | Use the Common Pleas criminal docket number if available. |
| Defendant or participant name | Yes if no docket number | Name searches can have multiple matches, so add date or charge detail. |
| OTN or complaint number | Useful | UJS and PAeDocket list these as criminal search identifiers. |
| Document requested | Yes | Examples include disposition, sentencing order, bail record, exhibit record, or trial minutes. |
| Copy type | Yes | State whether a plain copy, certified copy, or sealed/court order matter is involved. |
| Requester contact | Yes | Name, phone, email, and mailing address help staff quote fees and return records. |
Venango County Criminal Clerk Fees
The Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts fee schedule is effective 01/2026 and includes criminal clerk items as well as copy and research fees. The entries below are the most relevant for Clerk of Courts criminal work. A summary appeal can involve traffic or non-traffic summary matters from a Magisterial District Court. An expungement is a court filing, not an automatic removal based on a phone request.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Appeal to Commonwealth/Superior/Supreme Court, Clerk of Courts | $50.00 |
| Summary appeal, traffic and non-traffic | $55.00 |
| Expungement | $132.00 |
| Research, civil-criminal | $12.00 |
| Copies per page | $0.25 |
Venango County Clerk Routing
The Clerk of Courts page should not be used as a catch-all clerk page. Pennsylvania's split structure matters in Venango County because the civil clerk, criminal clerk, and Orphans' Court clerk handle different records. Criminal records after filing in Common Pleas belong with the Clerk of Courts. Civil lawsuits and divorce records belong with the Prothonotary. Probate, guardianship, adoption, and marriage records belong with the Register and Recorder / Clerk of Orphans' Court.
| Need | Office | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal case file, ARD, bail, exhibits, trial minutes | Clerk of Courts | Criminal proceedings are kept by the criminal clerk. |
| Divorce decree, civil complaint, custody, PFA, lien, writ | Prothonotary | Civil proceedings are kept by the civil clerk. |
| Estate, will, guardianship, adoption, marriage license | Clerk of Orphans' Court | Orphans' Court and Register of Wills records are in that office. |
| Traffic citation or preliminary hearing record | Magisterial District Court first | Many lower-court matters originate at the MDJ level. |
Restricted Venango Criminal Records
Criminal records are public only within access limits. Juvenile records are a special category because the Clerk of Courts has custody of juvenile records, but Pennsylvania juvenile files are governed by state juvenile law and are not ordinary public docket files. Sealed records, expunged records, limited-access cases, private identifiers, and some pre-execution warrant or investigative materials may be absent from public systems or available only by order.
For expungement, the local fee schedule lists an expungement filing fee of $132. Pennsylvania expungement law is found at 18 Pa.C.S. ยง 9122, and juvenile expungement is separate. Staff can explain filing procedure and fees, but eligibility is a legal question. A public docket may lag after an order is entered and processed.
Venango County Criminal Financial Records
The Clerk of Courts collects and transmits criminal fines and forfeited bonds and holds bail bond money. Some payment information may appear on docket sheets or through PAePay for eligible obligations, but PAePay is a payment channel, not the full criminal case file. Court financial record requests may also use Venango County's Rule 509 process through the court administrator at 1168 Liberty Street, Franklin, phone 814-432-9610.
When the question is a balance, payment plan, bail status, or forfeited bond tied to a criminal case, give the Clerk of Courts the docket number and defendant name. When the question is a public court financial record rather than a case copy, the Rule 509 Request Form is the more precise channel. The form warns that prepayment may be required if expected compliance costs exceed $100.