Indiana County Court of Common Pleas
The Indiana County Court of Common Pleas is the county trial court for the 40th Judicial District. County materials describe it as a court of general jurisdiction that hears criminal cases, civil cases, family-law issues, estate matters, and juvenile court matters. That breadth is why Common Pleas records can involve several courthouse offices rather than one all-purpose clerk counter.
Civil and family filings route through the Prothonotary side of the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts office. Criminal Common Pleas files route through the Clerk of Courts side. Estate and guardianship matters may involve the Orphans' Court structure and the Register of Wills office. Public docket access is usually searched through the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System Web Portal, while certified copies and document-level questions go to the office that holds the file.
The official Court of Common Pleas page is the primary county source for Indiana County trial-court structure.
That source ties the court's jurisdiction to the local record paths used throughout the courthouse.
Indiana County Common Pleas Officials
Court Administration lists the current Common Pleas judges and court administration contacts. The research identifies President Judge Thomas M. Bianco, Judge Michael T. Clark, and Judge Gina R. Force. It also identifies Court Administrator Katrina McCombie, Assistant Court Administrator Patricia L. Bracken, and Court Program Manager Mathew G. Simon, Esquire. These contacts matter for court scheduling, administrative questions, program questions, and courthouse routing, while record copies still route to the clerk office that holds the file.
| Court / Official | Phone | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| President Judge Thomas M. Bianco | 724-465-3958 | Court of Common Pleas. |
| Judge Michael T. Clark | 724-465-1017 | Court of Common Pleas. |
| Judge Gina R. Force | 724-465-3961 | Court of Common Pleas. |
| Court Administrator Katrina McCombie | 724-465-3955 | Court Administration; fax 724-463-2532. |
| Court Program Manager Mathew G. Simon, Esquire | 724-465-3962 | Program contact; fax 724-463-2532. |
Indiana County Common Pleas Location
The Common Pleas court is tied to the Indiana County Courthouse at 825 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701. The main courthouse phone is 724-465-3800, and public hours are listed as Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Court Administration's phone is 724-465-3955. Visitors should plan for courthouse screening, including detection devices at main entrances and cell phone deposit with Security Checkpoint Officers when visiting court areas.
Indiana County Courthouse
825 Philadelphia St.
Indiana, PA 15701
724-465-3800
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Court Administration
Indiana County Courthouse
Indiana, PA 15701
724-465-3955
Fax 724-463-2532
Indiana County Court Levels
Common Pleas is not the only court level a record seeker may need. Magisterial District Courts handle many matters before they ever reach the county trial court. Traffic citations, non-traffic summary offenses, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, landlord-tenant cases, and smaller civil claims commonly start at that lower level. Appeals and transfer entries can connect those lower-court matters to Common Pleas records later.
| Level | Primary Role | Common Records |
|---|---|---|
| Court of Common Pleas | County trial court | Criminal, civil, family, estate, juvenile, and appeals from lower courts. |
| Magisterial District Courts | Lower courts | Traffic, summary, preliminary criminal, landlord-tenant, and smaller civil claims. |
| Superior Court / Commonwealth Court | Intermediate appellate courts | Appeals from county trial courts depending on subject matter. |
| Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | Highest state court | Discretionary review and statewide judicial authority. |
Case flow: Magisterial District Court › Court of Common Pleas › Superior Court or Commonwealth Court › Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Indiana County Common Pleas Records
Common Pleas records can include criminal informations, civil complaints, motions, orders, judgments, family filings, divorce decrees, custody docket entries, estate petitions, guardianship records, juvenile court materials, sentencing orders, and appeal entries. Public access varies by type. Juvenile records, sealed files, expunged cases, adoption files, mental-health records, and protected personal identifiers are restricted under Pennsylvania court rules and statutes.
The UJS Case Search system is the main online public docket route. Search by docket number when known, or by participant name with Indiana County selected. Docket sheets can show case status, filing date, event history, party names, attorneys, judge, charges or claims, dispositions, sentence terms, fines, costs, restitution, and scheduled events. Full documents and certified copies require the correct courthouse office.
- Use UJS Case Search and select Court of Common Pleas for trial-court records.
- Search by docket number, participant name, county, case category, or date where available.
- Read the docket sheet to identify the filing office and case status.
- Contact the Prothonotary for civil or family copies.
- Contact the Clerk of Courts for criminal Common Pleas copies.
The PACER system is separate from Indiana County Common Pleas and applies to federal court records.
Federal court links are useful only when the case is in the Western District of Pennsylvania or federal bankruptcy court, not in the county trial court.
Indiana County Federal Court Distinction
Indiana County is in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Federal criminal, federal civil, bankruptcy, Social Security, prisoner, federal-question, diversity, and federal habeas cases are not filed in the Indiana County Court of Common Pleas. Those records use federal CM/ECF lookup, Western District of Pennsylvania resources, the Western District Bankruptcy Court, and appeals through the Third Circuit.
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is the official federal district court source assigned to this Indiana County Common Pleas page.
That federal court source is useful only after confirming that a matter is federal rather than an Indiana County Court of Common Pleas case.
| Record Type | Where It Goes | Search Path |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana County criminal or civil trial case | Court of Common Pleas | UJS Case Search, then Prothonotary or Clerk of Courts. |
| Federal criminal or civil case | Western District of Pennsylvania | PACER and federal CM/ECF. |
| Federal bankruptcy case | U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Pennsylvania | PACER and bankruptcy court resources. |
The PACER CM/ECF lookup helps separate federal court systems from Indiana County Court of Common Pleas records.
Using the wrong system can lead to a blank search even when a case exists in another court level.
Indiana County Court History
The county's Common Pleas page gives a concise court history. Indiana, Armstrong, Cambria, and Westmoreland Counties formed the Tenth Judicial District, and Judge John Young of Greensburg presided over the first term in December 1806. In 1874, Indiana County became a separate judicial district, the Fortieth Judicial District. That history explains why the current county trial court sits at the center of local criminal, civil, family, estate, and juvenile court work.
Historical context should not be used to infer current filing rules. Current record access depends on UJS docket availability, the Prothonotary, the Clerk of Courts, the Register of Wills and Orphans' Court, court orders, and current public-access rules. For a current hearing, case copy, or filing question, use the present office contacts rather than old district history.
Indiana County Bankruptcy Records
Bankruptcy records are federal records, not Indiana County Common Pleas records. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is the researched federal bankruptcy venue for Indiana County. A county courthouse search may be useful for liens, judgments, divorce, estate, or criminal matters, but bankruptcy petitions, schedules, adversary proceedings, and bankruptcy orders are searched through federal court systems.
The Western District Bankruptcy Court is the official bankruptcy source assigned in the manifest for this page.
This distinction prevents county record requests from being sent to an office that does not hold the federal bankruptcy file.