Carbon County Prothonotary Office
Kayla M. Semmel is the Carbon County Prothonotary named in the court research. The Prothonotary maintains filings and records of civil actions. Carbon County states that civil docketing has been fully computerized since 1984 and that every civil case and judgment filed since January 1, 1984 has been entered in Tyler Enterprise Justice, also called Odyssey. Cases can be searched by case or party information through that civil system.
The county contact listing gives the Prothonotary office mailing address as P.O. Box 130, Jim Thorpe, PA, phone (570) 325-2481, fax (570) 325-8047, and email ksemmel@carboncourts.com. Office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Prothonotary also provides passport services by appointment only by calling the same phone number, but passport work is separate from Carbon County civil court records.
Carbon County Prothonotary
Prothonotary: Kayla M. Semmel
P.O. Box 130
Jim Thorpe, PA
(570) 325-2481
Fax: (570) 325-8047
Email: ksemmel@carboncourts.com
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Carbon County Civil Clerk Split
Carbon County has three separate record offices for common court work. The Prothonotary is the primary civil clerk. The Clerk of Courts is the criminal division and collections division. The Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court handles probate, estates, guardianship and incapacity matters, adoption-related petitions, inheritance-tax agency functions, and marriage licenses. That split is the key to finding the right office.
| Office | Main records | Carbon County use |
|---|---|---|
| Prothonotary | Civil actions and judgments | Civil cases, divorce filings, PFA matters, liens, custody filings, civil motions. |
| Clerk of Courts | Criminal court records | Criminal pleadings, costs, fines, restitution, summary appeals, expungements. |
| Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court | Probate and marriage | Estates, wills, guardianship, incapacity, adoption-related petitions, marriage licenses. |
For criminal case records, use the Clerk of Courts rather than the Carbon County Prothonotary. For estate or marriage work, the correct office is the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court.
Carbon County Prothonotary Civil Records
Carbon County civil records include civil complaints, judgments, liens, custody filings, divorce filings, protection from abuse matters, landlord and tenant appeals, license suspension appeals, motions, petitions, continuances, subpoenas, certificates of readiness, civil cover sheets, and confidential-document filings. The Self-Service Center groups several of these forms under civil, divorce, custody, support, PFA, and related topics.
When reading a civil docket, the docket is the chronological case register. It may show party names, filing date, case number, case status, motions, orders, service entries, hearings, judgments, and later activity such as continuance requests or appeals. A judgment is a court decision or money award. A motion is a request for a court order. A subpoena is a command to appear or produce records. A confidential-information form is used to protect sensitive data that should not appear in the public part of a filing.
- Plaintiff
- The party that starts a civil case.
- Defendant
- The party sued in a civil case.
- Petitioner
- The party filing a petition for court action.
- Respondent
- The party answering a petition.
- Docket
- The court's chronological record of filings, orders, and events.
Search Carbon County Civil Records
The Prothonotary page states that civil case and judgment information filed since January 1, 1984 is in Odyssey. Remote civil docket information is available by remote computer access obtained through Court Administration. The research identifies Karen Sweeney in Court Administration at klsweeney@carboncourts.com as the contact for fee and remote-access information. The separate Carbon Prothonotary and Orphans' Court Search Records page states that searching court records requires a subscription and sends subscription questions to info@carboncourts.com.
- Identify whether the record is civil, criminal, probate, or marriage, since the Prothonotary handles civil records only.
- Use the case number or party names if known, because Carbon County says civil cases can be searched by case or party information.
- For remote Odyssey access, contact Court Administration or the subscription email listed on the Carbon public-access page.
- For a copy request, contact the Prothonotary office with the case number, party names, document type, and number of copies requested.
- Ask about certification and fees before submitting payment, since the researched civil fee schedule source did not provide every amount in the build notes.
Note: UJS Case Search is the main public statewide path for criminal Common Pleas and MDJ dockets, not Carbon County civil Odyssey access.
Request Certified Carbon County Civil Copies
A certified copy is often needed when a civil order, divorce decree, judgment, or other court document must be used outside the court file. The Prothonotary is the office to contact for certified copies from civil case records. A docket view or remote search result is not the same as a certified copy. Certification confirms that the copy came from the court record and may be required by agencies, banks, employers, title companies, or other courts.
| Request detail | Why it matters | Research basis |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Helps staff find the correct civil file. | Odyssey can search by case information. |
| Party names | Useful when the case number is unknown. | Odyssey can search by party information. |
| Document type | Distinguishes decree, order, judgment, complaint, or other filing. | Civil records include many filing types. |
| Certification request | Plain copies and certified copies serve different uses. | Certified-copy handling belongs to the record office. |
| Contact and delivery method | Staff need to know whether pickup, mail, or another method is requested. | Request method should be confirmed with the office. |
Carbon County Prothonotary Fees
The Carbon County Prothonotary page links a civil filing fee schedule that is effective 6-1-2024 and revised 11-17-2025. The research did not extract each fee amount, so the current linked schedule should control filing, copy, and certification costs. Fee schedules can change, and some filings require additional costs depending on the case type or service method.
| Fee area | Official source | Research status |
|---|---|---|
| Civil filing fee | Prothonotary civil filing fee schedule | Schedule source confirmed, amount not extracted. |
| Judgment filing or indexing | Prothonotary fee schedule | Verify current schedule before filing. |
| Plain copy | Prothonotary office | Verify with office. |
| Certified copy | Prothonotary office | Verify certification and per-page charge. |
| Remote civil access | Court Administration | Contact klsweeney@carboncourts.com for fee/access information. |
Carbon County Prothonotary Forms
The Self-Service Center is the researched source for civil forms linked to Prothonotary filings. It includes divorce forms, custody forms, PFA forms, support forms, civil forms, language access materials, and court program forms. The researched divorce packet includes a complaint, civil cover sheet, notice to defend, affidavits of consent, affidavits under 3301(d), notice of intent, praecipe to transmit, decree, non-military affidavit, resume prior surname form, and hearing-officer motion.
The court's practical filing rule is clear: all forms must be single sided. The court cannot process double-sided paperwork. That detail is local and worth following because a filing can be delayed even when the content is correct.
The Carbon County courthouse history page is one of the manifest sources for the original clerk page and gives context for the courthouse where civil records have long been kept.
The courthouse history image supports civil-record context because Carbon County notes that court records survived the 1849 Mauch Chunk fire.
Carbon County Civil Court Context
Some Prothonotary records connect to wider Court of Common Pleas operations. Divorce, custody, PFA, support, and civil motions may involve local court officers, administrative orders, or court services. The research notes 2026 appointments for a Divorce Hearing Officer, Custody Hearing Officer, and Mental Health Review Officers. Those officer roles do not change the Prothonotary's civil record duties, but they help explain why some civil and family dockets include hearing-officer events or specialized orders.
The Carbon Veterans Treatment Court page is a manifest image source for the clerk template and reflects the broader Court of Common Pleas service structure.
The Veterans Treatment Court image is background context only; veteran treatment records are criminal program records, while the Prothonotary page focuses on civil filings.
The Carbon Drug Treatment Court page is the third original clerk-page image source in the manifest.
The Drug Treatment Court image helps show the courthouse's specialized programs, but drug treatment files are not Prothonotary civil records.