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Centre County, Pennsylvania public records

In Centre County, deeds are recorded by the Centre County Recorder of Deeds; property values come from the Centre County Tax Assessment Office; court files are kept by the Prothonotary & Clerk of Courts.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Where to get each record
  2. Deeds and land records
  3. Property values, owners and tax bills
  4. Court records: which clerk keeps which case
  5. Marriage records
  6. Divorce records
  7. Birth certificates
  8. Death certificates
  9. Probate records and wills
  10. Business names (DBA)
  11. Voter records
  12. Historical records
  13. Good to know about Centre County records
  14. Office addresses, phones and hours
  15. Records that are not online: public records requests
  16. Questions people ask
  17. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  18. Sources

Where to get each record

RecordOfficeSearch onlineFee
Deeds and land recordsCentre County Recorder of Deeds4Search deeds2$0.50 per page (photocopies)3
Property values and ownersCentre County Tax Assessment Office5Property search2Fee charged—
Property tax billsTax Claim Bureau / Tax Collection6Tax bill search6—
Court casesProthonotary & Clerk of Courts7—Fees: copy: $0.25 per page8
Marriage recordsRegister of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court9——
Divorce recordsProthonotary & Clerk of Courts7—Final divorce decree $6.008
Birth certificatesRegister of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court9—State fee: $20 per certified copy (PA DOH)10
Death certificatesRegister of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court9—State fee: $20 per certified copy (PA DOH)11
Probate and willsRegister of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court9——
Business names (DBA)Statewide: Fictitious names (DBAs) are registered with the PA Department of State, not the county (since early 1980s)12——

Deeds and land records

Deeds, mortgages and other land documents for property in Centre County are recorded by the Centre County Recorder of Deeds.4

About this search
Recorder of Deeds - WEBIA2
Years online
WEBIA lists historical indexes: Mortgage Index 1800-1982, Grantee and Grantor Indexes 1801-1979, Plat Book Index, Redemption and Seated Land Sales 1936-20102
Copy fee
$0.50 per page (photocopies)3
Certified copy fee
$1.50 certification and seal3
How to order
All records since 1800 (except military discharges) open for public inspection in the office during business hours; online subscription via WEBIA4
Recording fee
Deeds and mortgages $71.25 (four pages and four names; $2 per extra page, $0.50 per extra name); UPI stamp $10.00 from the Assessment Office3

How deeds work in Pennsylvania

Property values, owners and tax bills

The Centre County Tax Assessment Office sets property values5; the Tax Claim Bureau / Tax Collection (delinquent real estate taxes; county taxes for State College Borough, College and Ferguson Townships) bills and collects the tax6.

Property search
actdatascout.com/… (DataScout; paid Day Pass $10 for 24 hours or Professional Search $50 per month)2
Tax bill search
Pay real estate taxes at cc.centrecountypa.gov6
Parcel map (GIS)
Public Parcel Viewer experience.arcgis.com/… (no ownership information); free open data site13
Appealing a value
Board of Assessment Appeals: annual appeals filed on or before August 1 (effective the next tax year), or within 40 days of an assessment change notice5
Common level ratio
6.10 (PA Department of Revenue, as of July 1, 2026)4

How property tax works in Pennsylvania

Court records: which clerk keeps which case

CourtCasesRecords kept byCase search
Court of Common Pleas of Centre County (49th Judicial District) - civilCivil actions, judgments, liens, divorce, custodyProthonotary & Clerk of Courts (one office: civil and criminal records of the Court of Common Pleas, divorce, judgments, naturalization, passports)—
Court of Common Pleas of Centre County (49th Judicial District) - criminalCriminal docketsProthonotary & Clerk of Courts (one office: civil and criminal records of the Court of Common Pleas, divorce, judgments, naturalization, passports)—
Fees: certified copy
Certified copy of any paper: $4.00 first page, $2.00 each additional page8
Fees: copy
$0.25 per page8
Fees: criminal search
$7.00 criminal search (seven-year)8
Records request
AOPC Request for Records form by email, mail or in person7
Judges
Four Common Pleas judges (49th Judicial District = Centre County)14

Criminal records and background checks

County search
$7.00 seven-year criminal search by the Prothonotary & Clerk of Courts8
Historical docket
Criminal Docket 1801-1994 index on the former Prothonotary WEBIA2

How Pennsylvania courts keep their files

Marriage records

Kept by the Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court (wills, estates, inheritance tax, marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianships).9

Marriage license
$60.00; both applicants appear in person; 3-day waiting period; license valid 60 days; government ID15
Index
Marriage license index in Register of Wills WEBIA (account)2

Pennsylvania marriage records, statewide

Divorce records

Kept by: Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts16

Fee
Final divorce decree $6.008

Birth certificates

Kept by the Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court (wills, estates, inheritance tax, marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianships).9

County
County births 1893-1905 at the Register of Wills; 1906 to present from PA Department of Health, Division of Vital Records (New Castle)9
State fee
$20 per certified copy (PA DOH)10

Ordering a Pennsylvania birth certificate

Death certificates

Kept by the Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court (wills, estates, inheritance tax, marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianships).9

County
County deaths 1893-1905 at the Register of Wills; 1906 to present from PA DOH9
State fee
$20 per certified copy (PA DOH)11

Ordering a Pennsylvania death certificate

Probate records and wills

Kept by the Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court (wills, estates, inheritance tax, marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianships).9

Index
Register of Wills WEBIA: marriage licenses, inheritance tax, estate/orphans' court indexes (account)2

Business names (DBA)

Where Pennsylvania keeps it: Fictitious names (DBAs) are registered with the PA Department of State, not the county (since early 1980s).12

State
Fictitious names are registered with the PA Department of State17
Older records
Historical Fictitious Names index listed under Prothonotary WEBIA2

Voter records

Kept by: Centre County Elections Office18

Historical records

HRIP
Historical Records Imaging Project online: Naturalization Records, Revolutionary War Declarations, Slave Records16
Naturalization
Naturalization 1802-1929 via the Historical Records Imaging Project; later naturalizations at the Prothonotary16
Museum
Many of the oldest original records transferred to the Centre County Library and Historical Museum (Pennsylvania Room), Bellefonte16
Online archives
Commissioners' minutes, proclamations, ordinances and resolutions 1817-present in the Laserfiche online archives16

Good to know about Centre County records

  • Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts are combined in one office keeping both civil and criminal records.7
  • County created 13 Feb 1800 from Huntingdon, Lycoming, Mifflin and Northumberland counties.19
  • Local birth and death records exist only for 1893-1905 (Register of Wills).9
  • Recorder record year: 36,522 documents in 2003.4
  • Every deed needs a Uniform Parcel Identifier (UPI) stamp from the Assessment Office ($10) before recording.3

Office addresses, phones and hours

Centre County Recorder of Deeds

Address
Willowbank Office Building, 414 Holmes Street, Suite #1, Bellefonte, PA 168234
Hours
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.4

Centre County Tax Assessment Office

Address
Willowbank Office Building, 420 Holmes Street (Suite 301), Bellefonte, PA 168235
Phone
(814) 355-6721; fax (814) 355-67475
Hours
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.5

Tax Claim Bureau / Tax Collection (delinquent real estate taxes; county taxes for State College Borough, College and Ferguson Townships)

Current taxes elsewhere are paid to elected local tax collectors.

Address
Centre County Tax Claim Bureau, 420 Holmes Street, Bellefonte, PA 168236

Prothonotary & Clerk of Courts (one office: civil and criminal records of the Court of Common Pleas, divorce, judgments, naturalization, passports)

Address
102 South Allegheny Street, Room 102, Bellefonte, PA 16823 (Centre County Courthouse)7
Mail
Same as street address (mail or drop off records requests)7
Hours
Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm7

Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court (wills, estates, inheritance tax, marriage licenses, adoptions, guardianships)

Address
Willowbank Office Building, 414 Holmes Street, Suite 2, Bellefonte, PA 168239
Hours
8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; probate by appointment only (in person or virtual)9

Centre County Elections & Voter Registration

Address
Community Services Building, 502 East Howard, Suite 91, Bellefonte, PA 1682318

Centre County GIS Office

Office of Records Management (County Records Center, Willowbank Building; does not give records to the public directly)

Address
Willowbank Building, Bellefonte16

Records that are not online: public records requests

Request page
centrecountypa.nextrequest.com (all county and District Attorney Right-to-Know requests)20
Where to send it
Appeals to the PA Office of Open Records within 15 business days20

How to write a public records request

Questions people ask

How do I get a copy of a deed in Centre County?

The Centre County Recorder of Deeds keeps deed records. To order copies: All records since 1800 (except military discharges) open for public inspection in the office during business hours; online subscription via WEBIA. Plain copies: $0.50 per page (photocopies). Certified copies: $1.50 certification and seal.43

Where do I get a divorce decree in Centre County?

Divorce decrees are court records; ask the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts.16

How do I look up who owns a property in Centre County?

Use the property search of the Centre County Tax Assessment Office: actdatascout.com/…2

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Centre County office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Other counties in Pennsylvania with a full guide: Adams County, Allegheny County, Beaver County, Berks County, Blair County, Bucks County, Butler County, Cambria County, Chester County, Clearfield County, Crawford County, Cumberland County, Dauphin County, Delaware County, Erie County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Lackawanna County, Lancaster County, Lawrence County, Lebanon County, Lehigh County, Luzerne County, Lycoming County, Mercer County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Northampton County, Northumberland County, Philadelphia County, Washington County, Westmoreland County, York County. Every county in the state: Pennsylvania county list.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 21 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  2. Public Records and Information Access Portals | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  3. Recorder of Deeds Fee Bill | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  4. Recorder of Deeds | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  5. Tax Assessment | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  6. Tax Collection & Tax Claim | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  7. Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  8. Fee Schedule | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  9. Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans' Court | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  10. Ordering a Birth CertificatePennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
  11. Ordering a Death CertificatePennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Vital Records
  12. Fictitious NamesPennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
  13. GIS - Geographic Information Systems | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  14. Court Administration | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  15. Marriage License Guidelines | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  16. Records Management | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  17. Fictitious NamesPennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations
  18. Elections & Voter Registration | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  19. County CourthousesPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Pennsylvania State Archives
  20. Open Records Request | Centre County, PA - Official Websitecentrecountypa.gov
  21. County population totals: Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025)US Census Bureau