Carbon County Marriage License Office
Marriage licenses in Carbon County are handled by the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. The court research names Jean A. Papay as the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. The office is located at 4 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, PA 18229, and the phone number is (570) 325-2261. The office asks applicants to call for appointments, and the county page says appointments take priority over walk-ins. That matters for license timing because a couple should not rely on a same-day walk-in slot when the office has scheduled applicants ahead of them.
The office note researched for Carbon County states that copies of birth certificates and Social Security cards are required to apply for a marriage license. The county Document Hub also lists marriage-related forms, including Marriage License Requirements, Marriage License Application, the 2021 Fee Schedule, and Marriage Certificate Request. Use those county forms as the control source rather than a generic Pennsylvania checklist, since the Carbon County office may require a local submission format or appointment process.
Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court
Official: Jean A. Papay
4 Broadway
Jim Thorpe, PA 18229
(570) 325-2261
Fax: (570) 325-5098
Email: RegisterOfWills@CarbonCourts.com
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Apply for Carbon County Marriage Records
A license request should be planned around the county office, the official forms, and the identity documents the office says it needs. The research did not extract every blank field from the marriage application PDF, so field names should be checked against the current county form before filing. The safe path is to use the Document Hub, call the Register of Wills office, and bring the documents named by the Carbon County source.
- Open the county Document Hub and find the Marriage License Requirements and Marriage License Application forms.
- Call the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court at (570) 325-2261 to schedule or confirm appointment availability.
- Prepare copies of birth certificates and Social Security cards, because the official Carbon County note says those copies are required.
- Bring the completed local form and required documents to the office at 4 Broadway in Jim Thorpe.
- Use the office's current fee schedule and payment instructions, since the researched file identified the schedule source but did not capture every amount.
The Carbon County Document Hub is also the researched source for the marriage certificate request form. That makes it useful both before the ceremony and later, when a certified proof of marriage is needed for a name change, benefits, insurance, or an agency filing.
The researched Document Hub screen is assigned to Carbon County marriage and divorce records in the image manifest. It shows where the county groups official forms and request documents.
The Carbon County Document Hub is the source for marriage license and certificate forms used by the local Register of Wills office.
For marriage records, this image supports the main rule: use Carbon County's own forms before relying on a state-level checklist.
Carbon County Marriage Form Sources
The marriage application form inventory was not fully extractable in the research pass. For that reason, a field table should avoid guessed entries such as prior name fields, parental data, or prior-marriage questions unless the current PDF is inspected. The confirmed facts are the form source, the required document copies, the certificate request source, and the office that receives the application.
| Form or item | Confirmed source | Use in a marriage records request |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage License Requirements | Carbon County Document Hub | Check before appointment, since it controls local filing requirements. |
| Marriage License Application | Carbon County Document Hub | Use for a new license through the Register of Wills office. |
| Birth certificate copies | Register of Wills office note | Required for a marriage license application. |
| Social Security card copies | Register of Wills office note | Required for a marriage license application. |
| Marriage Certificate Request | Carbon County Document Hub | Use when requesting a certificate after the marriage is recorded. |
Carbon County's Self-Service Center also matters for family filings. It links divorce forms, custody forms, PFA materials, civil forms, Orphans' Court forms, language access materials, and treatment court forms. All forms must be single sided because the court says it cannot process double-sided paperwork.
The Carbon Court Self-Service Center is the researched source for divorce packets and related civil family forms.
For divorce records, the Self-Service Center image ties the court's civil form packets to the Prothonotary filing path.
Carbon County Marriage and Divorce Fees
Carbon County research identified the official fee schedule sources but did not capture every marriage, certificate, divorce filing, or certified copy amount. The Register of Wills page and Document Hub list a 2021 Fee Schedule for marriage and probate office services. The Prothonotary page links a civil filing fee schedule that is effective 6-1-2024 and revised 11-17-2025. Those are the fee sources to check before filing or ordering copies.
| Fee item | Where Carbon County says to verify | Research status |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage license | Register of Wills 2021 Fee Schedule | Amount not extracted in research. |
| Marriage certificate request | Register of Wills forms and fee schedule | Amount not extracted in research. |
| Divorce filing | Prothonotary civil filing fee schedule | Schedule source confirmed, amount not extracted. |
| Certified divorce decree copy | Prothonotary office and fee schedule | Verify with the office before ordering. |
| Archives mail reference | Carbon County Archives | $2.00 per person, $2.00 per reference source, $0.75 per page. |
Do not assume a statewide fee from another county. Carbon County maintains its own row-office schedules, and the civil schedule has a researched revision date. For mailed historical requests, Archives fees are the only dollar amounts captured in the research.
Search Carbon County Marriage Records
Carbon County has a clear date split for marriage records. Marriage records from 1885 through 1967 are at the Archives Department. Marriage records from 1968 to date are at the Register of Wills Office. The Archives Department is at 15 W. 4th St., Jim Thorpe, PA 18229, and the researched phone number is (570) 325-5713. The Archives and Register of Wills jointly indexed and microfilmed records that are available for public viewing and copying at Archives.
For genealogical or older family research, Archives is not just a fallback office. It is the documented record holder for the older marriage range, and the research notes that Archives offers limited mail reference service. The requester must provide enough information for staff to search. Archives warns that staff will not try to identify an ancestor or build a family tree from an open-ended request.
The Carbon County Archives page documents the older marriage-record range and the mail-reference fee rules.
The Archives image is important because Carbon County marriage records change office by date, which can save a requester from starting at the wrong counter.
Note: For a marriage record from 1968 or later, start with the Register of Wills rather than Archives.
Find Carbon County Divorce Records
Divorce is a civil and family matter in Carbon County. Divorce filings route through the Prothonotary and the Court of Common Pleas, not the Register of Wills. The Self-Service Center lists "How to File for Divorce" and a detailed divorce packet set, including the complaint, civil cover sheet, notice to defend, entry of appearance, service affidavits, affidavits of consent under 3301(c), affidavits under 3301(d), notice of intent, praecipe to transmit, divorce decree, non-military affidavit, resume prior surname form, praecipe to reinstate complaint, and a motion for appointment of hearing officer.
Carbon County civil case and judgment information filed since January 1, 1984 is in Tyler Enterprise Justice, also called Odyssey in the court research. Remote civil docket access requires contact with Court Administration for subscription and fee information. The Prothonotary page identifies Karen Sweeney in Court Administration at klsweeney@carboncourts.com for fee and remote-access information. Divorce files may include sensitive financial, custody, personal identifier, or sealed material, so public access to a docket does not mean every document in the divorce file is available to all requesters.
A 2026 administrative order appointed a Divorce Hearing Officer, which shows that Carbon County has an active local hearing-officer role for divorce matters. That officer role affects procedure, not where the record is kept. Divorce case records still follow the civil filing office and court docket path.
Certified Carbon County Family Records
Certified copies serve a different purpose from online docket views or index searches. A marriage certificate request should use the Register of Wills form source documented in the county Document Hub. A certified divorce decree or filing copy should be requested through the Prothonotary because divorce is part of the civil case file. When a record is old enough to fall under Archives, staff can provide public viewing and copying under the Archives rules, but a requester should confirm whether the copy is suitable for the agency that asked for it.
Use the case number if known for divorce records. If the case number is not known, provide full names and a date range, then confirm whether the civil docket can be searched by party. For marriage records, the key items are the spouses' names, the approximate date, and whether the date falls before or after the 1968 office split. Carbon County's date ranges are specific enough that a good request can be routed without guessing.