NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS TO ONLINE RESEARCH

Subscriptions allow user to search and print online public records from 1994 to the present. 

Appointments are strongly encouraged!

Instructions for Marriage License applications by Video Conferencing (pdf)

Instructions for Probate by Video Conferencing (pdf)

Register of Wills

The Register of Wills acts in a quasi-judicial capacity by probating wills and granting letters to a personal representative of an estate.  The Register of Wills determines whether a document offered for probate should be received as the last will and testament of a decedent.  When disputes arise at the time of probate, the Register can hold hearings, take testimony, review evidence, and render decisions on how the administration of the estate should proceed.

The primary duties of the Register of Wills include:

1. Grants Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without a will) to qualified individuals for deceased residents of Cumberland County.
2. Acts as Agent to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue for the collection of Inheritance Tax.
3. Administration and maintenance of estate dockets and files, including historical files.

Clerk of Orphans' Court 

The Clerk of the Orphans’ Court serves as the filing office and custodian of records for matters including adoptions, guardianships of minors and incapacitated persons, accounts, estate litigation, and other miscellaneous court filings.  The office also processes marriage license applications to couples who plan to marry in Pennsylvania.

The primary duties of the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court include:

1. Processing Applications for and issuance of Marriage Licenses
2. Maintaining marriage license records from 1885 to the present
3. Administration and maintenance of Orphans’ Court matters including termination of parental rights, adoptions, accounts, and guardianship dockets and files.

Genealogy & Historical Records

As official record keeping offices, the Register of Wills & Clerk of the Orphans’ Court are valuable resources for genealogical information.

In addition to modern marriage and estate records, these offices are the record keeper of:

1. Marriage Licenses from 1885 to the present.
2. Estates filed from 1750 to the present.
3. Inheritance tax dockets from 1915 to 1919. 
4. Orphans’ Court records from 1750 to the present.
5. Birth and Death records from 1894 to 1906.

Most historic documents must be viewed in the offices.  Online Records from 1994 to the present are accessible here:  Search Records

Birth or death records from 1906 forward, please visit PA Dept of Health