Wayne County Prothonotary Office
Wayne County uses Pennsylvania's split clerk structure. The Prothonotary handles civil Court of Common Pleas records, while the Clerk of Courts handles criminal records and the Clerk of the Orphans' Court handles estate, guardianship, adoption, and marriage-license functions. Research identifies Edward "Ned" Sandercock as the Wayne County Prothonotary. The office page says the Prothonotary files and maintains civil actions, judgments and liens, stipulations, domestic relations cases such as divorce actions, PFAs, support and custody, equity actions, and eminent domain proceedings.
That office role is narrow but important. A person seeking a divorce decree, civil docket entry, judgment lien, custody filing, PFA record, or civil certified copy starts with the Prothonotary, not the criminal Clerk of Courts. Criminal docket questions, bail questions, and adult criminal records belong with the Clerk of Courts or the Pennsylvania UJS docket system. Estate accounts and guardianship filings belong with the Orphans' Court side. The split keeps Wayne County Prothonotary records focused on civil filing and civil-copy work.
Wayne County Prothonotary
Prothonotary: Edward "Ned" Sandercock
925 Court Street, Second Floor Annex
Honesdale, PA 18431
570-253-5970 ext. 4030
Fax: 570-253-0687
County court hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Wayne County Civil Clerk Duties
The Prothonotary's local page includes a direct public-access rule. Most records are available to the public by coming into the office, and digital records exist from 1996 to present. The same page states that the office will not perform index searches, including judgments and liens. That means staff may make available the record systems and files that are open to the public, but a requester should be ready to search names, case numbers, filing dates, or docket information without asking staff to conduct a broad research project.
- Civil actions and equity actions filed in the Court of Common Pleas.
- Judgments, liens, stipulations, and related civil docket entries.
- Domestic relations matters such as divorce actions, custody, support, and PFAs.
- Eminent domain proceedings and other civil filings assigned to the office.
- Certified civil copies when the requester supplies enough case detail and fees.
The Wayne County Comprehensive Plan page is one of the manifest sources assigned to this Prothonotary page.
County planning material is not a civil case index, but it provides local courthouse and county context around the offices that keep Wayne County records.
Request Wayne County Certified Copies
Certified copies are used when a civil record must carry the clerk's certification rather than a plain photocopy. Divorce decrees, judgment records, and civil docket entries may need certification for legal, financial, title, or agency use. Wayne County's fee schedule notes that any request for copies, docket entries, or return of certified or time-stamped copies must include a stamped self-addressed envelope large enough for return mail when the requester is not picking up the copies.
- Find the case number, party names, filing year, or record type before contacting the Prothonotary.
- Confirm whether the requested file is civil, domestic, PFA, judgment, lien, or divorce rather than criminal or Orphans' Court.
- Submit the copy request with payment for certification and page charges, plus a stamped self-addressed envelope for mailed returns.
- Ask whether the document is sealed, restricted, or unavailable through public inspection before relying on the request.
Wayne County's 2024 Comprehensive Plan page is another manifest source image for this Prothonotary assignment.
The planning source does not replace the fee schedule, but it anchors the Prothonotary page in Wayne County's official local web domain.
Wayne County Request Fields
For county agency records, Wayne County provides a Right-to-Know web form. Court records use judiciary access rules, and the county policy separately routes court-related records to Court Administrator Nicole Hendrix. Still, the field inventory helps show what level of detail Wayne County expects when a request is made in writing. A Prothonotary civil-copy request should be at least as specific as the county form's records-request field.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Submitted to agency name | Yes | Name the office receiving the request. |
| Date of request | Yes | Use the date the request is made. |
| Request submitted via | Yes | Email, U.S. Mail, fax, in person, or online. |
| Name and address | Yes | Provide full requester contact details. |
| Telephone | Yes | Useful if staff need to clarify a copy request. |
| Records requested | Yes | Describe the exact civil case, party, docket, or document. |
| Copies choice | Yes | Electronic, printed, or in-person inspection if available. |
Note: A broad request for staff to find all liens or judgments by name conflicts with the Prothonotary's no-index-search notice.
Wayne County Prothonotary Fees
The Wayne County fee schedule lists filing and copy fees that matter for Prothonotary records. A filing fee is not the same as a copy fee. A person filing a new action pays the filing charge. A person requesting an existing document pays copy and certification costs, and may also need postage or a return envelope.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Prothonotary commencement of action | $145.25 |
| Divorce complaint, first count | $151.25 |
| Divorce additional count | $66.25 |
| Divorce master | $750.00 |
| Certified copy of divorce decree | $15.00 |
| Certified copies | $6.00 plus per-page copy fee |
| Copies 8.5 x 11 | $0.50/page |
| Copies 8.5 x 14 | $1.00/page |
| Copies 11 x 17 | $1.50/page |
The Wayne County About page appears in the manifest for the Prothonotary page and gives county background tied to Honesdale and county government.
That local background helps place civil record requests in the county courthouse system rather than a private search site.
Wayne County Prothonotary Access Limits
Public inspection does not mean every record is open without limits. The Prothonotary page states that all records except those sealed by law or court order are available to the public. Domestic relations files, PFAs, custody filings, and support matters may contain sensitive information even when the docket or some parts of the file are public. Sealed orders, protected identifiers, and court rules can limit what a visitor sees or what a clerk may copy.
For docket-level searching, the Pennsylvania UJS Case Search can show many public docket sheets, but the Wayne County research notes that civil Common Pleas public web display has limits. Older or non-digitized Wayne County civil files often require in-office inspection because digital records are described as 1996 to present. Use the Prothonotary office for file access and the UJS portal for public docket clues.
Important: Wayne County Prothonotary staff make public records available, but the office does not perform index searches for the public.
Wayne County Courthouse Context
The Prothonotary filing process places civil actions in the Courthouse Annex on the second floor. Research also notes that any action requiring a hearing must be copied to Court Administration in the Annex on the fourth floor. Courtroom Number 2 and the Arbitration Room for master hearings are also identified with the fourth floor Annex. Those floor details matter for people who are filing a civil case, requesting a hearing, or checking the status of a divorce master matter.
Wayne County's historical program video page is the fourth successful manifest source assigned to the Prothonotary page.
The historic courthouse context is separate from a civil filing search, but it reflects why several Wayne County court offices share the Honesdale courthouse complex.