Clerk of Courts

Patti Sites (Acting)
101 Market Street, Room 100
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: (717) 780-6530

Established by the PA Constitution, the clerk of court is an officer of the court and an independently elected official serving a four-year term. The main office is primarily responsible for recording, maintaining, and processing criminal and juvenile records for the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. Other responsibilities include assessing court imposed costs and fines, and licensing private detectives. Administrative duties include preparing prison commitments, bail, processing motions and petitions, summary appeals, and appeals to the PA Superior and Supreme Courts.

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The majority of office business is conducted pursuant to state law and PA Rules of Court. Most of the work is a direct result of cases bound over for court from the county's sixteen magisterial district judges and from dispositions in the courtroom.

The office interacts with the legal community, public, court administration, and local, county and state governmental agencies regarding matters related to the county criminal court system.