Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Adams County, Pennsylvania, has about 108,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas and the Magisterial District Courts, and the file of each case, kept by the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files, directory links, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Adams County public records, Adams County arrest records, Adams County warrants, Adams County inmate search, Adams County criminal records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Adams County
Court cases from Adams County are filed in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas, which hears felonies, civil cases, divorces, estates and juvenile matters.
The Magisterial District Courts take traffic tickets, summary offenses, small claims and preliminary hearings; Philadelphia has the Municipal Court instead.
Divorces go to the Court of Common Pleas, and the file stays with the Prothonotary.
The Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases keep the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Right-to-Know Law.
Looking Up a Case from Adams County
For Adams County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at adamscountypa.gov/departments/clerkoforphanscourt/case-search (page title: Adams County | Case Search), phone 724-656-3100, 350 North Street Harrisburg PA 17120, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Statewide, UJS Web Portal is the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search.
The Pennsylvania court page SearchSystems verified is at ujsportal.pacourts.us/casesearch.
What Reaches the Court from Adams County
Together, the 13 agencies in Adams County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 656 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas or the Magisterial District Courts.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at adamscountypa.gov/departments/districtattorney (page title: Adams County | District Attorney), phone 717-337-9840, 117 Baltimore Street, Room 301, Gettysburg, PA 17324, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Adams County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Adams County criminal records, Adams County divorce records, Adams County traffic tickets, Adams County DUI and Adams County property records.
More Official Court Pages for Adams County
The SearchSystems directory, online since 1997, lists the official pages for Adams County and Pennsylvania. These court pages from its Adams County listing were opened again on October 2, 2026 and each one still answers:
- COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ADAMS COUNTY DOCKET (ujsportal.pacourts.us)
- Courts of Common Pleas (pacourts.us)
Cities in Adams County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Adams County Court of Common Pleas or the Magisterial District Courts.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Adams County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own court records guide opens there:
- Gettysburg (8,647)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Adams County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at adamscountypa.gov, phone 724-656-3100. Statewide, UJS Web Portal is the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search.
Which court hears felonies in Adams County?
The Adams County Court of Common Pleas, which hears felonies, civil cases, divorces, estates and juvenile matters. The Magisterial District Courts take traffic tickets, summary offenses, small claims and preliminary hearings; Philadelphia has the Municipal Court instead.
Who keeps the court records in Adams County?
The Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Pennsylvania?
Yes: UJS Web Portal, the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search.
Is this the official Adams County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.