Find Northampton County Clerk of Courts Records

Northampton County Clerk of Courts Records

The Northampton County Criminal Division is the Clerk of Courts office for criminal court records. The county's Criminal Division page states that the Clerk of Courts is the custodian of Criminal Court records and maintains accurate criminal records for the court and the citizens of Northampton County. The local contact page names Leigh Ann Fisher as Clerk of Court, Criminal Division, with phone 610-829-6453.

The statewide UJS Clerks of Courts directory also lists Leigh Ann Fisher for Northampton County at Northampton County Government Center, 669 Washington Street, Easton, PA 18042, phone 610-829-6457, fax 610-252-4391. This page is the criminal counterpart to the Northampton County Prothonotary, which handles civil filings.

Northampton County Criminal Records

The Clerk of Courts / Criminal Division keeps criminal court filings after cases reach the Northampton County Court of Common Pleas. Common Pleas criminal records can include charges, offense tracking number, docket number, filing date, prosecutor, defense attorney, bail, preliminary hearing history, arraignment, pleas, motions, orders, trial events, disposition, sentence, court costs, fines, restitution, probation, and bench warrants when they are publicly reflected. Public docket sheets may also be visible through UJS, but certified copies and local criminal search requests are handled through the criminal clerk.

Traffic tickets and citations are different. The Criminal Division page directs questions about traffic tickets or citations to the Magisterial District Court or police agency that issued the ticket or citation. The criminal clerk handles summary appeals after a Magisterial District Judge decision is appealed into Common Pleas, but the first payment, plea, or trial contact for a new traffic citation is normally the issuing MDJ or agency.

• Common Pleas criminal files: criminal docket records, filings, orders, dispositions, sentences, and financial entries.
• Criminal record searches: Northampton County Court of Common Pleas criminal record search requests.
• Summary appeals: appeals from qualifying Magisterial District Judge summary dispositions.
• Costs and fines: payments accepted by mail, in person, or online when eligible.
• Routing support: DA, sheriff, prison, probation, and DUI Probation / ARD contacts for questions outside the clerk's role.

Northampton County Criminal Records Search Fee

The Criminal Division page gives a clear local fee for criminal searches. A Northampton County Court of Common Pleas criminal record search costs $10. Requests can be made in person or by mail. If the request is mailed, it must include a business check, certified check, or money order payable to "Criminal Division" in the amount of $10 plus any additional copy or certification fees. Personal checks are not accepted, credit card information is not taken over the phone, and cash should not be sent by mail.

Note: The Criminal Division is not permitted to provide disposition or sentencing information over the phone.

Northampton County Criminal Records Copies

Certified criminal copies are requested from the criminal clerk when an official copy of a docket entry, order, disposition, sentence, or other criminal filing is needed. The county research confirms that mail requests for a criminal search must include the $10 search fee plus any additional copy or certification fees. It does not extract exact certification charges, so the current cost should be confirmed with the Criminal Division before mailing payment.

1. Search the public docket first through UJS if the docket number, OTN, participant name, or citation details are available.
2. Identify the defendant name, date of birth, docket number, and case number if known.
3. Decide whether the request is only for a criminal record search or also for plain or certified copies.
4. For mail requests, include a business check, certified check, or money order payable to Criminal Division for the confirmed amount.
5. For in-person requests, use the Criminal Division counter and one of the accepted in-person payment methods.

Northampton County Criminal Records Request Fields

A criminal search or copy request should be specific enough for staff to locate the Common Pleas case and distinguish defendants with similar names. The county page confirms that mail payments should include the defendant's name, date of birth, and case number if known. UJS docket search may also use OTN, docket number, citation, participant name, court type, county, case type, and date ranges depending on the search route.

Northampton County Summary Appeal Records

Summary appeals are a key Clerk of Courts function because they move certain minor matters from Magisterial District Court to the Court of Common Pleas. The criminal filing research states that a summary appeal filing fee is $45 and that summary appeals must be filed within 30 business days of the disposition or conviction date. The appeal is filed with the Clerk of Criminal Court, not with the Prothonotary.

Traffic and ordinance matters can be involved in summary appeal practice, but new traffic citations still route first to the issuing Magisterial District Court or police agency. Northampton traffic self-help materials say a person charged by citation with a summary offense may plead not guilty and request trial in person at the MDJ office or by mailing the MDJ a letter. After an MDJ decision, the summary appeal route is a de novo Common Pleas hearing, which means the appeal is heard fresh in the trial court rather than only reviewed on paper.

Northampton County Criminal Records Routing

The Criminal Division is not the answer for every criminal case question. The county page gives a practical routing list. Hearing dates, scheduling, and restitution claims go to the District Attorney's Office at 610-829-6666. Bench warrant questions go to the Northampton County Sheriff's Office at 610-829-6561. Northampton County Prison questions route to Central Booking at 610-923-4300 or Records at 610-923-4303. Adult Probation is listed at 610-559-6800, and DUI Probation / ARD is listed at 610-559-6810.

Northampton County Criminal Records Access Limits

Public criminal docket sheets are useful, but they are not the same as a certified criminal record search. UJS warns that recent entries made in court filing offices may not immediately appear on docket sheets, and docket information should not be used in place of a criminal history background check from Pennsylvania State Police. Juvenile, sealed, limited-access, expunged, and confidential records may not appear publicly. The Criminal Division's own phone limit is also important: disposition and sentencing information is not given over the phone.

Right-to-Know may help with some county agency records, such as administrative records outside the criminal case file, but court case records should begin with the court custodian or official court portal. DA-specific records use the District Attorney's Right-to-Know route, including online, email, fax, and mail methods. The DA open-records process has a five-business-day response rule after receipt, unless the request is otherwise handled under law.