Venango County Prothonotary Office
The official Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts page lists Maryann Smith as Acting Prothonotary / Acting Clerk of Courts. For civil records, she serves in the Prothonotary role. 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 Prothonotary is the chief clerk and record keeper for civil proceedings in Venango County Court of Common Pleas. That office is the local fallback when a civil record is old, incomplete online, sealed in part, needs certification, or requires a filed document rather than a docket summary. The statewide UJS portal is useful for many public docket sheets, but filed pleadings, decrees, writs, and certified copies still route through the filing office.
Venango County Prothonotary
Acting Prothonotary: 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 Civil Clerk Duties
Venango County research lists several Prothonotary duties that are specific to civil practice. The office records and files legal papers, prepares argument lists and civil trial lists, signs and authorizes writs and court process, certifies and transmits appeals to higher courts, collects state taxes on legal documents, pays civil court jurors, and keeps the Common Pleas Court seal.
The Prothonotary also has divorce-specific duties. The office serves as custodian for divorce costs, divorce testimony, arbitration funds, Common Pleas Court funds, and court exhibits. It also appoints divorce masters and arbitrators. Those duties make the Prothonotary the correct office for a certified divorce decree and for civil file questions tied to family, custody, or civil litigation records.
- Civil complaints, judgments, liens, writs, subpoenas, and appeals.
- Divorce files, divorce decrees, divorce testimony, and count-based divorce filings.
- Custody filings, Protection from Abuse filings, change of name matters, and civil action starts.
- District Justice judgment appeals and appeals to Commonwealth, Superior, or Supreme Court.
- Certified civil copies, plain copies, and civil-criminal research fee requests.
Request Venango County Certified Copies
A certified copy is an office-issued copy that carries certification for legal use. In civil matters, that may mean a divorce decree, judgment, court order, writ, or other filed civil paper. An online docket printout can be helpful for reference, but it is not the same as a certified Prothonotary copy. Ask for certification when the record will be used for remarriage, benefits, title work, appeal, compliance, or another official purpose.
- Identify whether the record is civil. Criminal copies should go to the Clerk of Courts, and probate or marriage copies should go to the Clerk of Orphans' Court.
- Collect the docket number if known, party names, filing year, document type, and whether a certified or plain copy is needed.
- Call 814-432-9577 or visit the 1st Floor courthouse office to confirm availability, fee, and pickup or mail options.
- Pay the applicable research, copy, certification, or filing fee from the current Prothonotary schedule.
- Review the copy before leaving or before relying on it, especially when a seal or certified decree is required.
Venango County Request Fields
Venango County has a formal Right-to-Know form for agency records and a separate Rule 509 form for court financial records. Civil case records are usually requested through the Prothonotary as the filing office, but the field inventory below is useful when a written request is needed. Specific details reduce delay because staff can separate a civil case file from criminal, Orphans' Court, and agency records.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name of requestor | Usually yes | Needed for contact, pickup, mail, or form submission. |
| Mailing address, city, state, county, ZIP | Usually yes | Right-to-Know form marks city, state, and county with an asterisk. |
| Telephone and email | Useful | Phone is listed as optional on the RTK form, but contact information helps resolve questions. |
| Records requested | Yes | Describe docket number, parties, filing year, document, and civil case type. |
| Copies, inspection, or certified copies | Yes when applicable | The county RTK form separates copies, inspection, and certified-copy choices. |
| Receive an email copy | Optional | The county online form includes a confirmation checkbox and email field. |
For county agency records outside a civil case file, use the Venango County Right-to-Know Request Form. For court financial records, use the Rule 509 form rather than the Prothonotary copy process.
Venango County Prothonotary Fees
The Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts fee schedule is effective 01/2026. It includes civil filing, divorce, appeal, expungement, copy, and research fees. Only the civil and Prothonotary-related entries are listed here. Criminal entries are better handled through the Venango County Clerk of Courts page because that office keeps criminal proceedings.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Appeal to Commonwealth/Superior/Supreme Court, Prothonotary | $50.00 |
| District Justice judgment appeal | $136.00 |
| Civil action complaint | $141.00 |
| Custody filing | $178.00 |
| Protection from Abuse | $141.00 |
| Divorce, one count | $158.00 |
| Divorce, two counts | $234.00 |
| Divorce, two counts with custody | $268.00 |
| Certified copy of divorce decree | $10.00 |
| Election to retake maiden name | $35.00 |
| Research, civil-criminal | $12.00 |
| Copies per page | $0.25 |
Venango County Clerk Split
Pennsylvania terminology can cause mistakes. Venango County does not have one county clerk for all court records. The Prothonotary handles civil proceedings. The Clerk of Courts handles criminal proceedings. The Register and Recorder / Clerk of Orphans' Court handles estates, guardianships, adoptions, and marriage licenses. Sending a request to the wrong office can slow down a copy request, especially if the requester says only "court record" without naming the case type.
| Office | Records | Main Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Prothonotary | Civil actions, divorce, custody, PFA, judgments, liens, writs, civil appeals | 814-432-9577 |
| Clerk of Courts | Criminal case files, ARD records, bail, exhibits, criminal fines, trial minutes | 814-432-9577 |
| Clerk of Orphans' Court | Estates, guardianships, adoptions, marriage licenses, Orphans' Court decrees | 814-432-9539 |
Venango County Civil Access
For public online docket summaries, start with the Pennsylvania UJS case search portal. For certified civil documents, older civil files, divorce decrees, civil exhibits, and documents not shown in the public docket, use the Prothonotary office. The courthouse is the most direct in-person access point because the Prothonotary is on the same floor as the criminal clerk and near other court offices.
Formal county agency records are different from civil case records. Venango County's Right-to-Know contact is at the Courthouse Annex, 1174 Elk Street, Franklin, PA 16323, with phone 814-432-9508. Court financial records use a separate Rule 509 administrator at the courthouse, phone 814-432-9610. Use those channels only when the request is not a routine civil copy request handled by the Prothonotary.
The most practical Venango County sequence is to search for any public docket reference first, then call the Prothonotary before sending payment or traveling for copies. That avoids mixing civil records with criminal, Orphans' Court, or county agency requests. It also gives staff a chance to confirm whether the file is available for ordinary inspection, whether certification is needed, and whether a current fee schedule line applies to the request. For divorce files in particular, the docket number, spouse names, and approximate year are more useful than a broad name-only request.