Clearfield County Orphans' Court Records
The Clearfield County Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court handles court-related administration for probate and estates, marriage licenses, adoptions, and guardianships. The office also serves as collection agent for Pennsylvania inheritance tax owed by Clearfield County decedents. Probate appointments must be scheduled by calling 814-765-2641 ext. 2126, which makes phone contact an access channel rather than a last resort.
Clearfield County probate records are especially useful for family history and estate work because the office reports estates on file from 1832 to the present. The estate index is computerized from 1990 to the present, and estate records are scanned from December 1, 1998 to the present. Older estate records may exist but can require in-office handling or a scheduled appointment. The office also reports local birth and death records from 1893 through 1905, while later vital records route to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The county source for probate and Orphans' Court functions is the Register of Wills page.
That office page is the core source for Clearfield County Orphans' Court records, probate appointments, record ranges, and local fees.
Clearfield County Probate Terms
Probate language can be dense, but most Clearfield County estate records use a few common terms. These definitions help read estate files, letters, and Orphans' Court docket entries without treating every filing as the final result of an estate. A will filing, for example, is different from letters being granted, and a guardianship matter is not the same as a decedent's estate.
- Testator
- A person who made a will before death.
- Executor
- The person named in a will to carry out estate duties after letters are granted.
- Intestate
- Dying without a valid will, which may require letters of administration instead of letters testamentary.
- Guardianship
- A court-supervised case for authority over a person or property when the law requires protection.
- Conservatorship
- A protective property-management role in some states; in Pennsylvania, related needs usually appear through guardianship terminology.
- Orphans' Court
- The Pennsylvania court division that handles probate, estates, adoptions, guardianships, and similar matters.
Search Clearfield County Probate Records
Clearfield County probate records have three practical search paths. First, call or visit the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court for an appointment or office search. Second, use Landex Remote or Landex Webstore for remote database access where the record type and image access are available. Third, use the statewide UJS case search only when a related Orphans' Court or court docket category appears there, because UJS is stronger for criminal, magisterial district, appellate, calendar, and traffic docket searches than for older estate files.
- Start with the decedent's full name, approximate date of death, and any known estate number, will date, or family representative name.
- Call 814-765-2641 ext. 2126 if probate is being opened, if letters are needed, or if the search requires an office appointment.
- Use Landex Remote for more complete frequent searching or Landex Webstore for a browser-based search that can return basic information and paid images.
- For a certified copy, confirm the record in the index first, then request the certified copy from the Clearfield County office that holds the estate or Orphans' Court file.
Landex access can be helpful before an office visit, but it should not be treated as a promise that every Clearfield County probate record image is available online. The county's record ranges show that older estates are present, yet older paper records may still need staff handling.
Clearfield County Probate Office
The probate office is also the secondary clerk page for Clearfield County under the state structure map. Heather Olson-Desmett is listed as Register & Recorder / Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court in county and association sources. The office handles estate filings, marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianships, local historical birth and death records for the years the county lists, and inheritance-tax collection for Clearfield County decedents.
Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court
Officer: Heather Olson-Desmett
Clearfield County Courthouse
1 North Second Street
Clearfield, PA 16830
814-765-2641 ext. 2126 for probate
Marriage license questions: ext. 2127 or 2128
Office hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Note: Probate and marriage license appointments are specifically required by the county office, so call before arriving with filings.
Clearfield County Probate Fees
The Clearfield County fee details in the research file are estate-size based. Letters have a base fee that rises with estate value, and the JCP/JCS fee applies to all letters, guardianship, small estates, and adoptions. These are filing and issuance fees, not attorney fees, publication costs, inheritance tax, or other expenses that may arise in an estate.
| Probate or Orphans' Court item | Amount |
|---|---|
| JCP/JCS fee for all letters, guardianship, small estates, adoptions | $41.25 |
| Letters, estate $0 to $1,000 | $30 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $1,001 to $5,000 | $40 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $5,001 to $10,000 | $50 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $10,001 to $25,000 | $60 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $25,001 to $50,000 | $70 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $50,001 to $100,000 | $80 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $100,001 to $200,000 | $100 plus applicable JCP |
| Letters, estate $200,001 and up | $150 plus applicable JCP |
| Accountings | $85 |
Clearfield County Small Estates
Pennsylvania small-estate procedure may be relevant when a Clearfield County decedent's estate qualifies for a simplified path. The research identifies 20 Pa.C.S. Section 3102 as the small estates statute. A person should still contact the Register of Wills before assuming a small-estate filing is proper, because the office will need to review the facts and applicable fees.
The Pennsylvania small-estate statute is part of the legal backdrop for Clearfield County probate records.
The statute helps identify a possible estate path, while the Clearfield County office controls local filing and letters.
What Clearfield County Probate Records Show
A Clearfield County probate file may show the decedent's name, estate number, filing date, will, petition for letters, letters testamentary or administration, bond information when required, representative names, inventories, accountings, inheritance-tax material, creditor activity, and distribution filings. Orphans' Court records can also involve guardianships and adoptions. Marriage records are handled by the same office but are a separate record type.
| Record item | What it may show |
|---|---|
| Will | The written directions of the testator, if a valid will was filed. |
| Letters | The authority granted to an executor or administrator to act for the estate. |
| Inventory | Estate property reported during administration. |
| Accounting | Money received, paid, and distributed during estate handling. |
| Guardianship filing | Requests and orders tied to a person or property needing court protection. |
Restricted Clearfield County Orphans' Court Files
Not every Orphans' Court or probate-related file is open for public review. The county Register of Wills page says adoptions from August 1925 to the present are on file and closed to the general public. After an adoption is completed, only a judge can open the file. Guardianship records and files involving minors or sensitive medical information may also have access limits under court rules or orders.
For records outside the probate office, use the proper custodian. The Prothonotary & Clerk of Courts handles common pleas civil and criminal clerk functions, while the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court handles estates, marriage licenses, adoptions, and guardianships. A related divorce case belongs with the Clearfield County marriage and divorce records process, while a civil or criminal docket belongs with the common pleas clerk or UJS search path.
The federal bankruptcy court is separate from Clearfield County probate records. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania handles bankruptcy matters, even when a debtor or estate issue has a Clearfield County address.
This distinction matters because bankruptcy dockets are federal records, while wills and estate letters are county Orphans' Court records.